The zoo of the Hungarian capital is one of the oldest in Europe; it opened back in 1865! Its first director, Janos Xantus, assembled quite a large collection of different animal species living in Europe, and later Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria herself helped ensure that a giraffe appeared at the zoo. Her husband, Franz Joseph I, also made his contribution by donating more than thirty species of exotic animals to the collection. Parrots and monkeys immediately became a sensation, while the public's main favorite was a brown bear named Christoph.
Today, you can spend the whole day at Budapest Zoo, admiring lions, polar bears, hippos, rhinos, Bactrian camels, turtles, and penguins. Among the primates, you can spot lemurs, red-handed tamarins, and mandrills, while the bird collection includes ducks, toucans, and crowned cranes.
On the zoo grounds there are also an aquarium, a recreated Hungarian village with domestic animals, and a butterfly house. And not far from it are the healing Szechenyi Baths, so a trip to the zoo can also be combined with a spa break.
