Since I moved to Amsterdam, I’ve been recommended to visit Holland’s biggest Planetarium and Zoo called the Artis Royal Zoo. For many Amsterdam visitors and inhabitants the Artis Royal Zoo is more than just a Zoo. It’s more like a very remarkable spot where nature, culture, knowledge and pleasure come together.
Although I felt a bit disappointed with the place, I still want to recommend it as a weekend getaway for families with kids.
Why disappointed? After playing with tigers in Thailand or feeding elephants in Sri Lanka, seeing Artis Royal Zoo animals species (there are approximately 750 of them), such as zebras, giraffes, elephants and chimpanzees was not that exciting. Nevertheless, I spent a nice afternoon there accompanied by my partner.
About Artis Royal Zoo
The name of the Zoo, Natura Artis Magistra, stands for a Latin phrase “Nature is the teacher of art and science”. Located in the city center of Amsterdam, it is the oldest zoo in the Netherlands.
It contains an aquarium, a planetarium as well as arboretum and a fairly large art collection and over 27 monumental buildings, most of which are used as enclosures for the animals, making Artis a unique cultural heritage of the 19th century.
Apart from the animals, visitors can visit Artis Library on the history of zoology and botany. With an impressive number of 20,000 books collected, it is a true knowledge source for kids and adults. The library is part of the special collections of the University of Amsterdam, where I did my Master’s Degree in New Media and Digital culture 2014-2015.
Location
Opening hours
Monday – Sunday 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Tickets price
0 – 2 years – free entrance | Youth (3 – 9 year) – €16,50 | Normal (10+) – €19,95
Do you feel like adding the Artis Royal Zoo to your Amsterdam bucket list?
15 thoughts on “Artis Royal Zoo In Amsterdam”
Pricey, but I love seeing animals. :) Worth it.
So don’t miss it when in Amsterdam!
Shame you found it a little disappointing but I know what you mean, when you have had wildlife experiences out in countries like Asia or Africa, it can be difficult to still be impressed by zoo experiences but like you say, it can still be a fun experience for families and children etc.
It’s not like I didn’t like the place at all. I just felt a bit disappointed.
oooh new look! very nice!
:)
I have heard of this zoo, but I really don’t get into zoo’s, so never get around to visiting them when I travel. Looks pretty cool tho, except for the spiders, holy moly…. almost threw my laptop. Give a girl some warning. Gahhhh, shudder, cannot handle spiders.
You should go to zoos more often :P
Interesting! I might need to add this to my list for when I’m in Amsterdam next year!!
Definitely!!
I can totally understand that you were disappointed with Artis Royal Zoo, Agness, after having encountered tigers and Thailand and elephants in Sri Lanka. It makes such a difference to see animals in “wild” than in a zoo. But despite my own visits to the Giant Panda Breeding Sanctuary in Chengdu and the Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre in Borneo plus having seen elephants and several other exotic animals in the wild, I still like to visit the zoo and aquarium in Cologne, at least sometimes. I’ll definitely put Artis Royal Zoo on the list of places to visit when coming to Amsterdam. Thank you so much for this post and for the recommendation. :)
You’re welcome!!! :)
I’ve never been in the artis zoo, I do like the zoo in my city, but I never saw the zoos as a place to go if I’m on a trip. Even if it could be interesting, I don’t know, next time that I’ll go to Amsterdam I’ll think about it.:)
You should definitely visit it if you like animals :).
The Zoo is a great idea for the weekends and i understand you agnees nothing will compare to your trip to africa