265 acres, around 6,000 animals, and the zoo that led the shift from cages to habitats. Pay what you wish on Wednesdays.
The biggest zoo in an American city
It opened in 1899 and covers 265 acres, which makes it one of the largest metropolitan zoos in the world. It is run by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which also runs the Central Park, Queens and Prospect Park zoos and the New York Aquarium, and which does a substantial amount of field conservation work internationally that the ticket price partly funds.
The zoo has a genuinely bad chapter in its history that it now acknowledges directly: in 1906 it exhibited a Congolese man, Ota Benga, in the monkey house. The zoo issued a formal apology in 2020.
Its better legacy is that it pioneered the move away from bars. The African Plains exhibit in 1941 was one of the first in America to use moats rather than cages, and the design ideas that followed spread worldwide.
What to see
Congo Gorilla Forest — six and a half acres of rainforest with a large western lowland gorilla troop, viewed through glass at close range. It is the best exhibit in the zoo and there is usually a queue.
JungleWorld — an indoor Asian rainforest, warm in January, which matters.
Madagascar! — in the beautifully restored 1903 Lion House.
African Plains — the original moated exhibit, with lions, wild dogs and giraffe.
Tiger Mountain — Amur tigers with underwater viewing.
The Wild Asia Monorail runs from spring to autumn over a large open range with elephants, rhino and deer, and it is the only way to see that section.
Butterfly Garden, Sea Lion pool and the Children’s Zoo for younger visitors.
Tickets
General admission covers the grounds and most buildings. A Total Experience ticket adds the monorail, Congo Gorilla Forest, the Butterfly Garden, the Bug Carousel and the 4-D theatre — which is the version most first-time visitors want.
Wednesdays are pay what you wish for general admission all day, including the extras on a donation basis. Expect it to be full.
Getting there and around
The Bronx River Parkway and Fordham Road gates are the main entrances; Asia Gate is closest to the 2/5 subway. The BxM11 express bus from Madison Avenue in Manhattan drops you at the gate and costs more than the subway but is direct and comfortable.
It is a very long walk around. Wear proper shoes, allow four to five hours, and use the shuttle. The New York Botanical Garden is directly across the road and is a separate ticket and a full afternoon in itself.
More Other Places
Coney Island
A wooden roller coaster from 1927 that is a designated landmark and still runs, a boardwalk, a free beach and the hot dog contest. Forty minutes on the subway.
The Oculus
A four-billion-dollar train station shaped like a bird leaving a hand, which is either the most beautiful transit hall in America or the most expensive shopping mall. Free.
Green-Wood Cemetery
478 acres of Victorian garden cemetery that was the second most visited attraction in America after Niagara Falls in the 1860s. Free, and a flock of green parakeets lives on the gate.