Franklin Park Zoo

While the 70-acre Franklin Park Zoo is surrounded by one of the city’s sketchier neighborhoods, the zoo itself is safe. It boasts a well-designed Tropical Forest pavilion, complete with lush vegetation, waterfalls, lowland gorillas, warthogs and over 30 species of free flight birds. The Serengeti Crossing features Grevy’s zebras, Masai giraffes, wildebeests, ostrich and ibex, while the Australian Outback Trail allows visitors to walk among red kangaroos and wallabies. Don’t miss the magical Butterfly Landing, where you can stroll among blooming perennials, gushing waterfalls, and 1000 fluttering butterflies in free flight. One excellent exhibit is Tiger Tales, which recounts the sad stories of Anal, a Bengal tiger, and Luther, a white tiger, both of whom were ‘purchased’ by US Fish and Wildlife agents in an undercover sting operation. Other big cats include an African lion and an Amur leopard. Take bus 16 from Forest Hills.