The giant pandas
The zoo's headline animal and the strongest reason to cross the city for it, though their presence depends on the loan agreement with China.
A zoo and aquarium deep inside Casa de Campo, Madrid's largest park, west of the centre. The collection is broad: mammals, reptiles and birds, an indoor aquarium with sharks, and dolphin and sea lion pools with daily shows. Its best-known residents are the giant pandas. It is one of the few European zoos to have kept them: they first arrived in the 1970s and have been here for most years since, with gaps between loans, and cubs have been born here. The animals are loaned from China and can be swapped or returned, so check the official site before going. Otherwise it is a conventional large zoo: some enclosures renovated, others dated and tight, and the dolphin shows that delight children draw objections from others on welfare grounds. Entry costs far more than the state museums, so it is hard to justify without children along; the Natural Sciences museum is closer and cheaper. Allow half a day. The grounds are big and the walking adds up, and the July sun is punishing, so go early. Nearest Metro is Batan on Line 10, and the amusement park next door makes a full day for children.
The zoo's headline animal and the strongest reason to cross the city for it, though their presence depends on the loan agreement with China.
Indoor tanks with sharks give relief from the heat outside, and the dolphin and sea lion shows run at set times, with the seating filling before they start.
The zoo sits inside the city's biggest park, crossed by a cable car from Paseo del Pintor Rosales, though its terminus is a long walk from the gate.
The Metro is simplest: Batan on Line 10 is the nearest stop, Casa de Campo (Lines 5 and 10) is a longer walk, and bus 33 from Principe Pio runs into the park. The cable car from Paseo del Pintor Rosales is a pleasant ride over the park, but its far terminus leaves you in the middle of the woods a long walk from the gate, and it runs on a reduced calendar outside summer. Treat it as an outing in itself, not as transport to the zoo.
Usually not. The ticket costs more than any of the big museums, getting there takes time, and what you see is a conventional zoo. If your interest is animals and nature, the Natural Sciences museum is closer, cheaper and a shorter visit; if you want air and a walk, Retiro or Casa de Campo itself costs nothing.
There is no guarantee. Madrid's pandas come under a loan agreement with China, animals have been sent back and replaced more than once, and the enclosure can close temporarily for maintenance or on health grounds. If they are the point of your visit, check the official site beforehand, and confirm prices and hours while you are there.
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Casa de Campo s/n, 28011 Madrid