Warsaw Zoo With Kids: Autumn Prices, Hours and How to Get There
The essentials: In the autumn-winter season (October to March), Warsaw Zoo costs 35 zł normal and 30 zł reduced; a family ticket is 30 zł per person for a group of at least three. Open daily all year: 9:00-17:00 in October, 9:00-16:00 in November and December, last entry one hour before closing. Children under 3 pay 1 zł.
A full-size zoo on the right bank of the Vistula
Warsaw Zoo sits in Praga, on the right bank of the Vistula, a short tram ride from the Old Town across the river. For expat families it is one of the easiest weekend outings in the city: big enough to fill a day, open every single day of the year, and noticeably cheaper in the autumn-winter season that runs from October to March. Autumn is a good time to visit with children: the crowds thin out, the animals in the heated pavilions stay active, and the paths through the old park turn gold.
This guide covers the current autumn-winter prices, the seasonal hours, what children actually enjoy most, and the simplest ways to reach the three entrances without a car.
* Data source: zoo.waw.pl official zoo pages cited per section, all checked 23 October 2026.
Tickets: autumn-winter prices until March
In the autumn-winter season, from October to March, a normal ticket costs 35 zł and a reduced ticket 30 zł. The reduced rate covers children from the age of 3, school pupils, students up to 26, and pensioners up to 75, in each case only with a valid document. Holders of the Karta Warszawiaka pay 30 zł for a normal ticket, and holders of the Karta Młodego Warszawiaka pay 25 zł in the reduced categories.
Families should look at the family ticket: 30 zł per person for a group of at least three people, covering a maximum of two adults with children up to 16. For two adults with two children that is 120 zł in total, cheaper than buying separate normal and reduced tickets for older children. Children under 3 (until their third birthday) and visitors over 75 pay a symbolic 1 zł. Annual passes cost 150 zł normal and 100 zł reduced, sold at the Customer Service Point, with a 12 zł pass for children under 3 and people over 75.
Free entry, after collecting a 0 zł ticket at the ticket office, covers people with a disability certificate together with one adult guardian, pensioners on the first Tuesday of every month, and children up to 12 on Children's Day with a school ID. For organised groups, one guardian per ten eligible visitors enters for 1 zł.
You can buy tickets at the ticket offices (card or cash), at ticket machines (card only), or online through the zoo's own shop at warszawskiezoo.pl and through the kupbilet.pl and ebilet.pl platforms linked from the zoo's site.
* Data source: zoo.waw.pl official ticket price list, checked 23 October 2026.
Hours: open every day, but the day is short in November
The zoo is open daily throughout the year, including Sundays and all public holidays. The seasonal hours matter for planning: in October the gates run 9:00-17:00, and from November through December they shorten to 9:00-16:00. From January to February it stays 9:00-16:00, then hours lengthen again through spring to a summer peak of 9:00-19:00 on weekends and holidays.
Two closing rules catch families out. The ticket offices and the Customer Service Point close one hour before the zoo, and the last entry is always one hour before closing time, so in November you must be through the gate by 15:00. On a short autumn day, arriving at opening gives you the fullest visit.
* Data source: zoo.waw.pl official opening hours page, checked 23 October 2026.
What children enjoy most
The zoo keeps the classic big-animal circuit: elephants in the elephant house, hippos in the modern hippopotamus house with an indoor pool, giraffes, big cats, apes and a herpetarium. In late autumn the indoor pavilions become the main event, which makes the zoo a workable outing even on cold or drizzly days. The ape enclosure is the first thing you meet if you enter from Jagiellońska street.
Beyond the animals, the zoo lists a few paid extras. The Safari Train, a small ride in the central part of the zoo next to the playground, carries children and adults for an additional fee, with discounts for organised groups; depending on the weather it runs all year. An immersive VR cinema by the main alley, next to the bison enclosure, shows 3D nature films with moving seats. There is also a playground by the Safari Train for burning off energy between pavilions.
For older children and parents, the Żabiński Villa on the grounds tells the zoo's wartime story. During the Second World War, director Jan Żabiński and his wife Antonina hid several hundred people escaping the Warsaw ghetto in the villa and in empty animal enclosures, a story later told in the book and film "The Zookeeper's Wife". The modernist villa survives, restored to its 1930s atmosphere, with the basement rooms where people were hidden and a memorial room for the sculptor Magdalena Gross.
* Data source: zoo.waw.pl attractions page and Żabiński Villa history page, checked 23 October 2026.
Getting there without a car
The zoo recommends public transport, and it is genuinely the easier option. By tram or bus, the Park Praski stop on Aleja Solidarności serves the main gate: from there you cross Park Praski along the wide avenue under the ZOO sign to the Ratuszowa street entrance. The Ratuszowa-ZOO tram stop sits directly by the Jagiellońska street entrance, near the ape enclosure, and the Rondo Starzyńskiego stop is a few steps from the gate by the Gdański Bridge on Starzyńskiego street.
By rail, the Warszawa ZOO station is only a few steps from the Gdański Bridge gate. From Warszawa Wileńska station, or the Dworzec Wileński bus and metro hub, you can walk through Park Praski to the main gate or hop a tram one stop to Park Praski. From Warszawa Wschodnia or Warszawa Stadion, trams run to the Park Praski or Ratuszowa-ZOO stops.
The zoo has three entrances, from Ratuszowa street, from Jagiellońska street, and from the Gdański Bridge side, plus an exit-only turnstile onto Wybrzeże Helskie along the river that is not passable with pushchairs. If you arrive with a pram, plan to leave by one of the three main gates.
* Data source: zoo.waw.pl official getting there page, checked 23 October 2026.
Planning the day
For an autumn visit with children, arrive close to the 9:00 opening, head first to the indoor pavilions while they are quietest, break at the playground and the Safari Train around midday, and keep the last hour for a slow loop along the main alley. Buy tickets online the evening before to skip the ticket office line, and remember the one-hour-before-closing last entry if you plan an afternoon arrival.
Dress for outdoor walking between pavilions: the site is a large historic park, paths are exposed, and in November the usable visiting day is only seven hours. The zoo is reachable entirely by tram, bus, train or metro, so there is no need to budget for parking, and the Park Praski approach doubles as a short walk through one of Warsaw's oldest parks.
* Photos: CC BY-SA 4.0 Radosław Botev via Wikimedia Commons (giraffes in the giraffe house, cover; elephant in the elephant house, body).
Frequently asked questions
How much is Warsaw Zoo in autumn 2026?
In the autumn-winter season (October to March) a normal ticket costs 35 zł, a reduced ticket 30 zł (children from 3, pupils, students to 26, pensioners to 75 with a valid document), and a family ticket 30 zł per person for groups of at least three (maximum two adults, children up to 16). Children under 3 and visitors over 75 pay 1 zł. Holders of the Warsaw resident cards pay less.
Is Warsaw Zoo open in November and on holidays?
Yes. The zoo is open every day of the year, including Sundays and all public holidays. In November and December the hours are 9:00-16:00 daily. Ticket offices close one hour before the zoo, and the last entry is one hour before closing time.
Can anyone enter Warsaw Zoo for free?
Yes. With a free 0 zł ticket collected at the ticket office: people with a disability certificate together with one adult guardian, pensioners on the first Tuesday of each month, and children up to 12 on Children's Day with a school ID.
How do I get to Warsaw Zoo by public transport?
Trams and buses stop at Park Praski (walk through the park to the main Ratuszowa gate) and Rondo Starzyńskiego (for the Gdański Bridge gate). The Ratuszowa-ZOO tram stop is right by the Jagiellońska entrance. Trains to Warszawa ZOO station stop steps from the Gdański Bridge gate, and Dworzec Wileński (metro M2) is a walk across Park Praski away.
