Brussels Zoo

The Planckendael Zoo is the closest zoo to Brussels, easily reachable by train or car, in the small town Mechelen, on the way to Antwerp. It has a large enclosure measuring 42 hectares.

Animals are categorised by the continent on which they originate. An exotic assortment of animals can be found here; amongst them are Indian lions, red giant kangeroos from Australia and giraffes from the African Savannah. Soon to come in 2010-2012 are elephants. It is a great day trip for families with children.

The featured continents are South America, Oceania, Africa, Asia and Europe. There are four places to purchase food, these are scattered around the zoo. Each continent was carefully designed and built to have the look and feel of the continents. Therefore the park took special care to import native plants from Asia and built temple ruins to resemble parts of Southeast Asia. The largest area is the simulated areas of Niger and Sudan to represent the African Savannah. Hectares of land cleared to make way for the giants of the African wilderness including zebras, antelopes, ostriches, Bongos and hyenas all set in a real African village.

For a hands-on experience a mini-farm is also on location. Children are faced nose-to-nose with animals such as the alpaca Wouter. In this enclosure animals are docile and children can pet them. Another unique feature of the zoo is the Tree Walk, which takes visitors through a small forest of 80-year old Beech trees and videos are played to tell the stories of small tree animals.

All together, the Planckendael Zoo is an experience with nature, which welcomes visitors to not only see the animals but feel like they have arrived in faraway lands.

Location near Brussels
The ZOO is about 30 minutes drive north from the centre of Brussels on the way to Antwerp. The easiest ways to get there are car or train. For the train, there are excursion tickets available from the train station. “Excursion” tickets combine the entrance fee and train ticket at a discounted price. Purchase these tickets from Brussels Centrale or Brussels Midi stations.

The Planckendael / Leuvensesteenweg 582 – 2812
Mechelen (Malines)
Website: www.planckendael.be