ZooParc de Beauval covers 46 hectares and around 800 species. Without preparation, you spend the day chasing the clock. With these 10 tips from passionate visitors, the day is a completely different experience.
Book your tickets in advance
Dated online ticket: €4 less than at the gate.
Contents
- 1. Arrive at opening time
- 2. Buy your tickets online
- 3. Download the map before you leave
- 4. Check the programme at the entrance
- 5. Plan your meals cleverly
- 6. The essential kit
- 7. Choose the right time
- 8. Plan two days and stay nearby
- 9. Enjoy the end of the day
- 10. Free parking
- Bonus: leave and come back the same day
🕘 1. Arrive at opening time
This is tip number one. The ZooParc opens at 9am all year round, and the first hour changes everything:
- Animals that are often more active, before the heat
- Few people in the most popular territories, like the Heights of China or Les Terres Rouges
- Photos without the crowds
2. Buy your tickets online in advance
The dated online ticket is cheaper: from €39 per adult instead of €43 at the gate, and from €32 per child (3-10) instead of €36.
There is no time slot to book: you just choose the date, and you skip the ticket office.
To compare every option: ZooParc de Beauval tickets.
3. Download the map before you leave
On 46 hectares, without a map, you soon waste time doubling back. Download the 2026 map (available in English) and pick 5 or 6 must-sees for your family: pandas, wombats, gorillas, elephants...
The map and the territories in detail: ZooParc map. For a ready-made route: our suggested itinerary.
4. Check the programme at the entrance
At the entrance, the day's programme shows the times of the two shows, Les Maîtres des Airs and L'Odyssée des Lions de Mer, and of the educational talks. The shows are included in the ticket.
Plan your route around these times, and arrive a little early to get a good seat. Everything to know: shows and activities.
🍽️ 5. Plan your meals cleverly
Option 1: picnic outside
Picnics are not allowed inside the park, but there are picnic areas outside. With a re-entry stamp, you can go out and come back on the same day.
Option 2: eat earlier or later
On busy days, the ZooParc advises eating before 12.30pm or after 2pm. The ZooParc has 23 food outlets.
All the details: picnics at the ZooParc and ZooParc restaurants.
6. The essential kit
- Comfortable shoes: you walk a lot on 46 hectares
- Sun cream and a cap: many territories are in the open air
- A water bottle
- A light waterproof: the ZooParc has four tropical greenhouses and the Equatorial Dome, all covered
- A pushchair for the little ones (hire on site, €9 per day)
- A change of clothes if the children go to the Les Roches Vives water play area (April to late September)
7. Choose the right time
July and August are the busiest months. For more calm: weekdays outside French school holidays, in May-June or in September. Saturday is busier than Sunday.
Our month-by-month crowd calendar.
8. Plan two days and stay nearby
With Les Terres Rouges, Bucolia and Les Roches Vives open in 2026, a single day means a brisk pace. The two-day ticket works out at €31.50 per day for an adult online.
Our tip: stay nearby. No driving in the evening, and you are there for opening time the next day. Les Jardins and Les Pagodes are a 5 and 7-minute walk from the ZooParc.
Two days without the back and forth
Beauval package: night, breakfast and ZooParc entry.
Help to decide: one day or two? and which Beauval hotel to choose?
9. Enjoy the end of the day
The ZooParc closes at around 9pm in summer and around 7.30pm in winter. The end of the day is often quieter, with lovely light for photos.
It is also the right time to try the wombats again, often more visible early in the morning or late in the day.
10. Free parking
Parking is free: 8 car parks and 4,000 spaces around the ZooParc. Paid charging points are available at the South and North entrances. All the details: ZooParc parking.
Bonus: leave and come back the same day
You can leave the ZooParc and come back during the day with a re-entry stamp. You get it at the open entrances (South and North), at the kiosk under the giant screen or at the central gate.
To finish your planning: checklist before your visit and all prices.