Munich Zoo

The Munich Zoo (also called Tierpark Hellabrunn) is a fantastic place to go to with your kids. I'm sure they'll love it (and you, too)!

Personally I used not to like zoos very much, because I hate to see the caged creatures that barely have enough space to turn around. Gladly, this is a concept of the past, and especially the Munich wildlife park is much different.

Vast Spaces with Almost Natural Habitats

It was founded in 1911 and prouds itself to be the first geo-zoo worldwide. This means, that the animals are grouped according to where they originally come from.

If you follow the visitor's tour you will travel around the world continent by continent and experience the fauna of that area.

This gives you the possibility to leave out fauna/continents that you already know and go straight to the more interesting ones.

Hellabrunn management does their best, to have the animals live as "natural" as possible.

This means, most of the times, the animals live in vast areas outside (with inside shelter for tropical creatures) and can move around more or less freely.

But don't be afraid, barriers like fences and ditches, some filled with water, separate you from the animals. The one disadvantage is, that you don't get to see the animals as close by as you might be used to. Take binoculars with you and you will be delighted!

Take Your Time and Plan Ahead

The Munich zoo is big! If you want to do the whole tour, it will take at least 4-5 hours.

Depending on the age of your children, you should skip some or most of the parts and concentrate only on the animals you like most.

Our kid only managed to pay attention for one hour and a half during his first visit (he was about 15 months old at that time).

Therefore it is a good idea to print out the Hellabrunn map and plan your visit ahead.

Hellabrunn Animal Shows

Off course the daily special animal shows are the main attractions in Hellabrunn Tiergarten.

Every day at different times you can watch special shows like the Flipper Parade with Californian sea lions, the Jungle Patrol with the Elephants and Air Acrobatics with the birds of prey just to name a few.

Find out when the special demonstrations that interest you most are held.

But keep in mind that you shouldn't plan for too much. The Munich Zoo can easily take up a whole day and you or your kids might get very tired. So do the most interesting things first.

Munich for Kids: Touch Paddock

Another area that's a kids favorite are the Children's zoo and "Touch Paddock" (Streichelzoo in German), where you can pet and feed the animals.

Mainly goats and sheep are in the touch paddock area and off course they're accustomed to being petted by kids of all ages.

Although I wouldn't recommend to let very small children below 3 years of age alone into the Touch Paddock, because some of the animals can become really stubborn when they don't get what they want (usually food).

Food and Drinks

As everywhere in Bavaria and especially Munich, there's no shortage in food and drinks. There are plenty of so-called kiosk in the wildlife park, where you can buy anything from Bratwurst to Crepes and Sandwiches as well as soft drinks, water and beer. And off course, there's a beer garden too. You would have expected this in Munich anyways, didn't you :-)

Prices and Directions

• Children (4-14): 4,50 Euro
• Teens and Students 15+ : 7,50 Euro
• Adults: 11 Euro

Family tickets are also offered and give you a good bargain. If you spend at least 3-6 months in Munich and plan on visiting Tierpark Hellabrun at least two times, you can buy an annual ticket.

How to get there:
Take the underground U3 to Thalkirchen and follow the signs from there, it's less than 5 minutes walk.

I hope you have as much fun on your visit to the Zoo as we did!

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