Bioparc de Doué-la-Fontaine — Attraction in Saumur

We adore this park, which is cleverly set in a fantastic troglodyte quarrey, creating a natural world habitat, so we have visited many times over the past 20 years. It specialises in endangered species from all over the world and works with the countries of origin to breed and reintroduce animals to the wild while improving their habitat to help them survive. It is all open plan so the animals have room to be themselves, and thoughtfully laid out so all the breeds of different monkeys and tamarins can put on a show for the visitors on their own island areas! The bat cave is always a great hit, as are the young giraffes, four of which have been born in last 12 months. Add to that some rare big cats, a valley of beautiful birds, penguins, vultures, reptiles, zebras, beavers, rhinos, goats and even guinea pigs, and you have a fantastic day out. There is a lovely restaurant overlooking the giraffe & zebra enclosure so you enjoy good food while feeling like you are on safari! All zoos should be made this way. Highly...

One of the best zoos I've visited. Huge enclosures, lots to see but also thoughtfully laid out so you hardly need to double back on yourself. It was busy in the car park but didn't feel it once inside.

Initially I wasn't keen on the fact that picnics aren't allowed in the park, but it actually meant most people left to eat lunch. This meant it was never overly busy as people were always coming to and from the park.

The walk through sections were excellent and the whole zoo was very clean. There were often more than one viewpoint into an enclosure to give you the best chance of getting a good look at the animals inside.

Would return again in a heartbeat.

Tip: You can save a few Euros by booking online in advance. However, the queue for pre booked tickets took a lot longer than paying on the door, so consider if you want to queue for 10 minutes or so just to...

Excellent zoo. Animals are set in their natural environment and there are two routes - through tunnels and normal path to reach them. Tunnels give you break from the heat in the summer and you appear from them into brand new enviroment. You get very close to animals and there is good choice to see for one day. We arrived just before 11am and stayed until giraffes feeding at 5.30pm ( where you get the chance to feed them yourself). Shows (around 15min) are in French only but you get to see the animals being fed right at the end of it so it is worth it. We stopped for lunch in the giraffe restaurant and it was bit confusing as you get your main elsewhere , all bit heavy for me to eat in the summer with limited salad choice ( if any) but they had vegan burger my daughter was pleased about. Good gift shop. Visit here is highly...