Planckendael — Attraction in Mechelen

We visited Planckendael on Saturday with family and a small child. There is plenty of parking on site. It costs €11 for one day and €32 for a yearly pass, which is a good deal! The animals are organized by continent, and we managed to visit three continents in one day. There are many play areas for kids, which is really nice. On the downside, the washrooms were not clean at all. We checked four different ones, and it seemed like no one was in charge of maintaining them, which is disappointing. The bird enclosures were quite small, with not enough space for them to fly. Other animals seemed to have better conditions, although of course a real jungle would always be more suitable. There are also several restaurants and places to grab a drink or ice cream. We chose the warm food self-service restaurant, which wasn’t very crowded, but the prices were high for self-service. The tables were not clean, and the service was quite slow. Honestly, if they lowered their prices, I believe they would have more clients. On the positive side, there is also a flying show at certain hours, which could be very interesting for some visitors. I also noticed a baby cabin with a microwave for parents who want to rest or warm up their baby’s food, which is a very nice detail. All in all, considering everything, I give Planckendael 4 stars out of 5. Thank you to the team, and I really hope to see some progress on my...

This zoo is a pleasant environment. We didn't expect this to be so much fun and nicely kept. It is much nicer as the zoo in Antwerp.

It is much less crowded (and vast) as Paira Daiza. While the idea is the same (and in some parts you are reminded of Jurassic park, even), you are closer to the animals and need to walk less to see new animals. Today was a more rainy day but it left the park nearly entirely to ourselves: the animals are well kept and look happy. The different "continent" themes place animals together (educational) while it also gives a bit of structure and atmosphere in the different regions of the park.

Some parts allow feeding of animals and there are restaurants that fit in each continent-theme. Including a playground. It surely gives variety to the experience. You'll go between looking at animals, climbing on some ropes or banging on a drum in a tipi to climb on a hill to discover new animals. Very enjoyable for children and adults.

The only aspect to improve is the way you navigate the park. We have seen Asia 4 times while circling around the elephants. The different sections are only very subtle connected and transitioned. (if you miss the path to the other section, you're going in circles) It gives a larger sense of discovery and "natural environment".. But it could've be a bit better indicated.

Very nice park in all. And a very...

Okay zoo, but there’s a lot of construction going on. The Oceania part of the zoo is completely closed off and some other parts are currently under construction. All fine but definitely not worth the full price.

Food and drinks are very not affordable, a coke costs €3,70 and a water costs €3,20 (?????). There’s a donut truck that sells grocery store donuts for €3,20.

It’s a zoo so I wasn’t expecting cheap foods and drinks but the prices ar Planckendael are insanely high.

Anyways, enough ranting about the catering. The zoo itself is okay, there’s several ‘districts’ that are bound to a certain continent of the planet, for example Asia and America. The habitats for the animals are pretty large, some other zoo’s can learn from this.

There’s enough variation of animals, although we didn’t get to see them all as some were either inside, not there or their habitat was undergoing maintenance.

There are multiple playgrounds so there’s plenty stuff to do if you have kids with you. There’s even a place with water for the summer.

Parking isn’t an issue, there’s a ‘small’ parking lot (400 spots) and a big parking lot (1500 spots). The second parking lot is connected to the zoo via a tunnel, so no dangerous road crossing.

Overall a decent zoo, good care for animals and enough...