The Beauval Zoo is located in the suburb of Saint-Aignan, centre of France. This Zoo is considered as one of the fifth most beautiful zoos in the world with more than 10 000 animals from 600 different species spread over 40 hectares.

Beauval, as people call it, has incredible and rare animals as well as koalas, okapis, lamantins, gorillas, elephants, hippopotamus, … and their famous couple of pandas which gave birth in 2017.

With more than 35 years of experience, the Delord family, who is managing this park, is deeply involved in the conservation and protection of animals. They want to inform people about animal lives, especially the ones which are in danger.
And with more than 750 births they also help to repopulate rare species. Their veterinary clinic which is unique in Europe is a huge help to the research and conservation of animal species.

It takes a full day to visit the park. They have a big parking area for cars and camping-cars and inside the zoo there are some restaurants where you can have your lunch but also buy drinks, snacks and ice creams.

They propose lots of activities, but also sea lions and birds shows several times per day during the summer. My favourite is the birds show. More than 500 birds will fly in front and over your heads.
It’s very impressing, you will see birds you have never seen before like the condors, marabouts but also owls, parrots, starks and more. At the same time the birds are flying they explain how they hunt, what is their role in the nature, why they are in danger and what we can do to protect them.
For me, this is one of the best birds shows I’ve ever seen.

Inside the park, you will find small paper maps but if you prefer to plan your visit in advance, what I really recommend in order to not lose too much time just download their free mobile application with is available on Google Play and App Store. Click on the following picture to download it:

Here are some of the pictures I took during my visit. The vivarium is full of beautiful but also scary reptiles like the green Iguana you have seen at the top of this page:

Savanna animals have lots of space and they have made their environment they feel like being home.

The best way to go to Beauval is by car as it’s quite far from everything. It’s about 2 hours drive from Paris. You can also go by train but from Paris you will need to change a couple of times and then take a taxi. There are also buses but the best is to look at Beauval’s website or contact the Tourism Office of Saint-Aignan. Links are below.

Here is a small video made during my vist:

ZooPark of Beauval: www.zoobeauval.com
Tourism Office of Saint-Aignan: www.saintaignan-tourism.co.uk

Where to stay?

There are few hotels in Saint-Aignan, close to the Zoo, you can find very good deals below:

But our choice went to a very nice guesthouse, La Mare Aux Bambous, located in Couffy, a small hamlet at 8 kilometers, about 11 minutes by car from the Zoo. It’s an old farm which has been renovated. We had a very nice welcome, the owners were very helpful with us and the bedroom was spacious, calm and clean.

They have a free, private and safe parking and in their garden there is equipment for kids like a swing and trampoline, a petanque court and the best, a swimming pool with warm water. The breakfast was excellent with fresh and local products. For the lunch and dinner, we drove to Saint-Aignan where there are very good restaurants, recommended by Alain from La Mare Aux Bambous.

La Mare Aux Bambous, prices and availabilities!