The country's oldest zoo (first opened in 1874) is home to nearly 1300 animals including tigers, pumas, polar bears – you name it – in naturalistic habitats. Its unique Zoo360 series of see-through mesh trails for gorillas, big apes, tigers and meerkats, allow these animals more space to roam the zoo grounds.

Check online for all kinds of events and tours throughout the year.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Ellen Phillips Samuel Memorial

0.27 MILES

This riverside garden section of Fairmount Park comprises three terraces decorated with 17 sculptures that were commissioned between 1933 and 1961. Among…

2. Sweetbriar Mansion

0.31 MILES

Built in 1787, this neoclassical mansion was the home of Samuel Breck, a wealthy merchant who purchased 33 acres of land along the Schuylkill. The Marquis…

3. Boathouse Row

0.53 MILES

A major Philly landmark, this picturesque strip of rowing clubs is made up of mock Tudor and Victorian boathouses from the late 19th and early 20th…

4. Cedar Grove

0.56 MILES

One of two historic houses in Fairmount Park managed by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cedar Grove was moved here from its original location in Frankford…

5. Lemon Hill

0.56 MILES

This 1799 mansion is named after the lemon trees that once grew in the greenhouses that were here in the early 19th century. The Federal-style mansion is…

6. Smith Memorial Arch

0.57 MILES

Several bronze statues by 13 different artists stand on the stone plinths and columns that make up this striking 1912 memorial to Pennsylvania’s naval and…

7. Mount Pleasant

0.65 MILES

This 1764 mansion was described by John Adams in 1775 'as the most elegant seat in Pennsylvania.' The Georgian building is closed for general maintenance,…

8. Fairmount Waterworks

0.77 MILES

A National Historic Engineering Landmark, this beautiful Greek Revival complex was built in 1815 and pumped water from the Schuylkill River for the city's…