Heart of Africa
The newest and largest zone, opened in 2025 and the biggest habitat ever built at a UK zoo: giraffe, zebra and flamingos on one open plain. Go here first, before the crowds.
Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Gareth James — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photograph by Mike Peel (www.mikepeel.net). — CC BY-SA 4.0
Around two million people a year make this Britain's most visited zoo, ahead of anything London offers, and it is run by a charity that takes no government money. Since 1931 it has spread across some 51 hectares on the northern edge of Chester: tropical houses, an aquarium, an Islands zone that rebuilds six islands of the Philippines and Indonesia with a boat ride threading between them, Asian elephants, giraffes and orang-utans, and its newest large addition, Heart of Africa, a nine-hectare savannah opened in 2025 where zebra and giraffe share the same grass as they would in a reserve. Visitor rankings put it among the best zoos in the world year after year, and for once the reviews are not exaggerating. The operative word is size. Plan two hours and you will leave having seen a quarter of it; a full day is the honest minimum, children under five will need a pushchair, and the paths are paved and level enough for one. Buggies, wheelchairs and mobility scooters can be hired at the entrance if booked ahead. There are plenty of cafes inside, all of them heaving at lunchtime, and nobody objects to bringing your own food: British families arrive with picnic baskets and spread out on the lawns, which is faster and far cheaper for a large group. Price is where the unprepared visitor loses. Walk up to the gate and an adult ticket is about GBP 38.65, rising to GBP 42.50 if you add the optional ten per cent charity donation the zoo shows on top of every price. Booked ahead on the site the same ticket is GBP 34.55 on standard dates and around GBP 22.70 on the quieter 'value' dates, with children (3 to 15) at GBP 25.45 on standard dates. Choosing a value date rather than turning up at the gate saves a family of five about GBP 45. Toddlers of one and two pay GBP 2.50, babies under one go free, and there are large car parks on site whose charge is worth checking when you book. Doors open daily at 10:00 and close by season: 17:00 in early summer, 18:00 from late July to early September, 16:30 in autumn and 16:00 from November, with the last entry an hour before closing. The only closed days are 25 and 26 December. Summer is when Gulf families come and also when British school holidays fill the place; arriving exactly at 10:00 and heading straight for the elephants and Heart of Africa before the crowds gains you a clear hour. The zoo sits just 3 km north of Chester city centre, roughly fifteen minutes on the Stagecoach 1 or X1 bus from the bus interchange, or about fifty minutes by car from Manchester or Liverpool via the M56. It pairs well with a day on Chester's Roman walls, but not the same day.
The newest and largest zone, opened in 2025 and the biggest habitat ever built at a UK zoo: giraffe, zebra and flamingos on one open plain. Go here first, before the crowds.
Six islands built in the style of the Philippines and Indonesia, with Sumatran tigers, sun bears and tapirs and a boat ride threading between them, and the part children remember most.
A multi-generational herd in one of the zoo's largest paddocks; the morning, before the crowds build, is the best time to watch them.
Upton-by-Chester, Chester CH2 1EU
With children, yes: it is consistently rated the best zoo in Britain and is about fifty minutes by car. Without children and on a tight schedule, Chester's walls and old centre are enough on their own, and the zoo becomes a luxury.
Not strictly; same-day tickets are sold up to 14:00. But the gate price is about GBP 4 above a standard online adult ticket and about GBP 16 above a 'value' date, so booking a day or two ahead pays for itself on any family.