SLIDE MY CITY • OUTDOOR CONCERTS & CINEMAS • ANIMAL PARKS • BIKEFESTIVAL

Volume 7 Issue 10 CHF 6 6

A Monthly Guide to Living in July / August 2019

RocksSummer in Basel! SpecialEvents Featurein Basel: February 2015 (continued)

Animal Parks: An Adventure for Everyone

By Adriana Musso Did you know that wolves can go more than a week without eating? Or that An even larger number of animal parks house local species, where visitors a tiger’s roar can be heard as far as two miles away? Or even that a giraffe’s can specifically discover and enjoy the regional fauna. Most of these are heart weighs about 11 kilograms? It can be fascinating to watch and learn part of local animal conservation initiatives and offer the chance for visi- about animals because big or small, somehow animals just fascinate us all. tors to get close to the animals and even partake in their feeding and pet- So what better way to spend a family day out than visiting an animal park? ting. These include parks such as the Tierpark Lange Erlen, NaturOparC, Believe it or not, there are at least 29 animal parks in a 90-minute radius Tierpark Reinach, Langental Zoo, Tierpark Bad Zurzach, and many more. from Basel! Whichever size and type of animal park you prefer; there is A handful of animal parks also specialize in certain species of animals surely one for every taste! If you favor large zoos with diverse exhibits that such as the Vogelpark Steinen, a bird park dedicated to birds of all sizes will take probably a whole day (or maybe even two) to visit, there are great and from different habitats; La Montagne des Singes, a natural reserve for options like the Basel Zoo, Zoo, Tierpark (animal park) “Dähl- the preservation of monkeys; the Schlangen Zoo, which exhibits non-toxic hözli,” or the Mulhouse Zoological and Botanical Garden. These offer a and poisonous snakes; and Bern’s Bear Park. Additionally, a very peculiar unique park-like atmosphere with enclosures that often attempt to repli- park is the Römischer Haustierpark in Augusta Raurica, which specifically cate the animals’ natural habitats, for the exhibits animal species that were popular in Roman times. benefit of both animals and visitors. They And finally, if you are looking for a mix of animals and adrenaline, there are exhibit a wide array of species and include also a few animal theme-parks offering a combination of zoo and amusement conservation projects to promote care and elements, such as a stage shows, rollercoaster rides, and mythical creatures. reproduction of the animals as well as Among them are the very popular Steinwasen Park, Tatzmania, and Erleb- ­education. niswelt Seeteufel. These exhibit a smaller number of animal species,­ offering If you prefer, however, to skip the large their visitors the opportunities to also enjoy fun rides, bobsled runs, and wa- queues and big crowds, there are many ter rides. In addition to the animal exhibits, most of these parks offer the op- smaller parks that house either endan- portunity to pet animals, attend feeding sessions, and host birthday parties, gered, exotic, or regional species worth while others also offer pony riding sessions and special tours. The following visiting, such as the Sikypark, Toni’s Zoo, table provides information about nearly 30 animal parks that are within a Zoo Hasel, Plättli Zoo, and Tier-Natur-­ 90-minute drive from Basel (ordered by country and then by distance from Erlebnispark Mundenhof. Basel)—you will surely find one to please every member of the family!

ANIMAL PARK GETTING THERE DESCRIPTION PRACTICAL INFO Zoo Basel On foot: 20 minutes from The zoo is home to over 6,000 animals. Many exhibits have Large restaurant, kiosk, (Basel) Marktplatz indoor and outdoor viewing areas, so animals can be visited playground. www.zoobasel.ch Public Transport: Tram 1 or 8 in all weather conditions. Exhibits include an African theme When weather permits, to “Zoo Bachletten,” tram 2 or area, Vivarium, an Australia exhibit, and the antelope house, penguins walk through the zoo bus 34 or 36 to “Zoo Doren- ape house, and elephant house, among others. at 11:00. bach,” or tram 10 or 17 to “Zoo” Tierpark Lange Erlen By Car: 3 min from Basel city A beautiful small animal park in the outskirts of Basel, with Kiosk, restaurant, playground. (Basel) center, limited parking places a selection of native animals, such as deer, goats, ducks, Pony rides are offered every www.erlen-verein.ch Public Transport: From swans, boars, etc. The park borders the Wiese river, which Sunday afternoon. Badischer Bahnhof, take bus is an ideal path for bike riding or walking. 36 direction “Kleinhüningen” Free entry to stop “Lange Erlen” Tierpark Reinach By Car: 20 minutes Zoo is home to fallow deer, pygmy goats, ducks, geese, The “Tierparkfest” usually (Reinach, BL) Public Transport: Train hens, rabbits, and various ornamental birds. takes place on the first Sunday www.tierpark-reinach.ch from Basel SBB to Reinach Free entry in June. (20 min) + 6-min walk

14 Basel Life Magazine / www.basellife.com Römischer Haustierpark By Car: 20 minutes Augusta Raurica presents a wonderful indoor and outdoor Visit the animal park in Augst Public Transport: Train from museum of the Roman era. In the zoo, you can see animal combination with the Roman (Augst, BL) Basel SBB to Kaiseraugst species that were already popular during Roman times. museum and Roman excavated www.augustaraurica.ch/ (12 min) + 11-min walk Free entry ruins. en/visit/sights/ animal-park Tierpark Weihermätteli By Car: 25 minutes This publicly accessible, beautifully landscaped animal park Self-service restaurant (, BL) Public Transport: Train from is home to around 200 animals. Many of these are indige- Pony rides are offered www.tierpark-­ Basel SBB to Liestal (9 min) + nous to the region; however, this park also houses other Wednesdays from 14:00–16:00. weihermaetteli.ch 13-min walk. animals such as Scottish Highland cattle, llamas, Dartmoor ponies, and spotted deer. Free entry Wildpark Roggenhausen By Car: 50 minutes The Wildpark Roggenhausen is an area of around Restaurant with playground (, AG) Public Transport: Train from 15 hectares featuring regional wildlife, rare pet species, Visitors can download and www.roggenhausen.ch Basel SBB to Aarau (40 min) + a nature trail, and an orchard. Visitors can expect fallow print documents from the zoo’s bus to Aarau, Roggenhausen deer, spotted deer, red deer, wild boar, mini pigs, chickens, website. (3 min) + 2-min walk and more. Free entry Langenthal Zoo By Car: 50 minutes The zoo covers an area of 30,000 m2 where about 80 animals There is a children’s play- (Langenthal, BE) Public Transport: Train from live in loosely structured enclosures. You can observe red ground right next to the animal www.vvl-langenthal.ch Basel SBB to Langenthal ­ deer, wild boar, dwarf goats, donkeys, and ponies in the wild. enclosures. (35 min) + bus to Langenthal, Feeding is allowed! Elzweg (4 min) + 4-min walk Free entry Zoo Hasel By Car: 50 minutes Petting zoo with exotic species; it currently has about The park offers children’s (Remigen, AG) Public Transport: Train from 160 animals in an area of 10’000 m2. Animals include birthday parties, pony rides, www.zoo-hasel.ch Basel SBB to Brugg (45 min) donkeys, mini-pigs, ponies, emus, alpacas, snowy owls, as well as carriage rides. + bus to Rüfenach (13 min) + a black vulture, nymphs, and budgerigars, as well as 10-min walk cockatoos, grey parrots, and macaws. Sikypark By Car: 60 minutes This animal park houses 300 animals from 54 different Restaurant, picnic areas, pony (Crémines, BE) Public Transport: Train from species, including native and exotic animals, big cats, house riding, Siky Express train, www.sikypark.ch Basel SBB to Cremines Zoo pets, and birds of prey. The zoo team reports daily on the playground, and mini-luna (60 min) + 3-min walk. diverse and amazing abilities of the animal inhabitants. park Do not miss the walk-in aviary, the largest of its kind in Switzerland. Vogel Voliere Stansstad By Car: 60 minutes This bird park houses a large number of species, such as Located next to Lake , (Stansstad, NW) Public Transport: Train from cockatiel, canary, zebra finches, rose-ringed parakeet, visitors can enjoy a relaxing www.voliere-stansstad.ch Basel SBB to Stansstad black-headed parrot, sun conure, Bali star, purple starling, lake-side stroll. (75 min) + bus to Stansstad, silver duck, Mandarin duck, sulfur crested cockatoo, and a Schützen (1 min) + 9-min variety of parrots. walk. Free entry Zoo Zürich By Car: 65 minutes Around 360 animal species from all over the world can be SBB offers discount for the (Zürich) Public Transport: Train from observed at the Zürich zoo. The animals live in different travel tickets and entrance to www.zoo.ch Basel SBB to Zürich HB exhibits designed to mimic nature. Travel down under and the Zürich Zoo; more info on (60 min) + tram to “Zoo” marvel at the koalas Milo and Mikey as well as kangaroos, SBB website. (17 min) + 4-min walk. emus, and giant blinds. Another attractive exhibit is Kaeng Krachan elephant park. If you prefer to see the winter professionals, you can visit the Amur tiger and the small pandas. Tierpark Bad Zurzach By Car: 70 minutes At the Tierpark Bad Zurzach, people can find fallow sheep, Visitors can observe the feeding (Bad Zurzach, AG) Public Transport: Train from dwarf goats, ducks, geese, aviaries with cranes and exotic of the animals daily. www.tierpark- Basel SBB to Brugg (45 min) + birds, and a special variety of peacocks and pheasants. badzurzach.ch bus to Tierpark Bad Zurzach Free entry (31 min) + 3-min walk Erlebniswelt Seeteufel By Car: 70 minutes This animal and adventure park houses more than 45 species Attractions include feeding (Studen, BE) Public Transport: Train from of animals from all continents, including lemurs, red-necked animals, pony rides, play- www.seeteufel.ch Basel SBB to Biel/Bienne wallabies, nandus, crocodiles, watusi, and zebras. Addition- ground, indoor game room, (70 min) + bus to Studen BE, ally, the park has an adventure world that includes numerous beer garden, small train ride, Grien (16 min) + 3-min walk games and entertainment options for children ages 2–12. mini cars, and bumper boats. Bern Animal Park—­ By Car: 75 minutes About half of the Dählhölzli is freely accessible or visible: the Restaurant, playground, grill Dählhölzli Public Transport: Train from enclosures along the Aare river, the children’s zoo, the lynx and picnics areas (Bern) Basel SBB to Bern train station park, the wisent forest, the grouse, and flamingo enclosures. The park offers pony rides and www.tierpark-bern.ch (57 min) + bus to Tierpark But if you wish to visit the vivarium or the species that live face painting. 7 min) + 7-min walk beyond it (brown bear, leopard, wolf, elk, seal, muskox, and many others) you will have to pay the entrance fee. Their smartphone quiz offers a wealth of information. Bern Animal Park—­ By Car: 75 minutes Visit the three brown bears living in the heart of the city of A free lift connects the Aare Bear Park Public Transport: Train from Bern, in a generously sized, humane enclosure—a unique promenade with the visitors' (Bern) Basel SBB to Bern Train Station experience. From the upper terrace or from the Aare, visitors path near the restaurant. www.tierpark-bern.ch (57 min) + Bus to Tierpark can observe how the powerful bears search out food, laze The bears used to be kept in (7 min) + 7-min walk around in the sun, or take a cool bath. small pits that are now open to Free entry visitors; children can climb on the wooden bears and boulders. Tierpark Biel By Car: 80 minutes The Tierpark Biel offers many native animals in their natural Playground and BBQ fire pits (Biel/Bienne, BE) Public Transport: Train from habitat, including red fox, lynx, wild boar, marmot, racoon, https://tierpark-biel.ch Basel SBB to Biel/Bienne chamois, mouflon, sika deer, red deer, and capricorn, (65 min) + bus to Taubenloch amongst others. There are no fences around the park and (11 min) + 12-min walk no cash register. Free entry photo credits:© natur und tierpark goldau; © zoo basel July / August 2019 15 SpecialEvents Featurein Basel: (continued) February 2015 (continued)

Toni´s Zoo By Car: 80 minutes The park houses approximately 400 animals from Restaurant and playground (Rothenburg, LU) Public Transport: Train from 90 different species, including cheetahs, leopards, black Guided tours and birthday www.toniszoo.ch Basel SBB to Menziken (36 min) panther, donkeys, llamas, snakes, amphibians, a wide celebrations are offered. + bus to Rothenburg, variety of birds, and more. Wegscheiden (28 min) + 7-min walk Wildpark Bruderhaus By Car: 80 minutes This park houses a small but significant number of endan- Guided tours are available. (, ZH) Public Transport: Train from gered species, including fallow deer, lynx, mouflon, Mongo- www.wildparkverein.ch Basel SBB to Winterthur lian wild horse, red deer, Vietnamese sika deer, wild boars, (75 min) + bus to Bruderhaus European bison, and European grey wolves. (10 min) + 2-min walk Free entry Nature and Animal Park By Car: 80 minutes On 42 hectares you can observe deer, wolves, bears, lynx, Restaurant, playgrounds, grill, Goldau Public Transport: Train from birds of prey, and many other animals up close. The nature and picnic areas (Goldau, SZ) Basel SBB to Arth-Goldau and animal park Goldau accommodates around 100 domestic They also offer interesting www.tierpark.ch (100 min) + 8-min walk and European wildlife species. Watch the animals swimming events and courses. through the underwater window in the pool of the common enclosure for bears and wolves. Plättli-Zoo By Car: 85 minutes In the Plättli Zoo, visitors can admire wildlife such as lions, Restaurant, playground and (Frauenfeld, TG) Public Transport: Train from pumas, wild boars, llamas, camels, ponies, goats, and birthday parties are available. www.plaettli-zoo.ch Basel SBB to Frauenfeld donkeys. There is also a significant number of birds, rabbits, (89 min) + bus to Frauenfeld, turtles, and guinea pigs. Plättli Zoo (5 min) + 1-min walk Schlangenzoo Eschlikon By Car: 90 minutes The park exhibits over 220 non-toxic and poisonous snakes Photo shooting session with (Wallenwil/Eschlikon, TG) Public Transport: Train from from all over the world in a 320 m2 exhibition area. snakes are available. www.schlangenzoo.ch Basel SBB to Eschlikon (99 min) + 6-min walk

Germany Vogelpark Steinen By Car: 30 minutes This park is dedicated to birds of all sizes and from different Restaurant, children’s (Steinen-Hofen, DE) Public Transport: Train from habitats. A special attraction is the daily bird-of-prey show playground, kiosk, areas for www.vogelpark-steinen.de Basel SBB to Steinen (25 min) + with eagles, falcons, and owls. The park also features a barbecues, and a paddling pool bus to Hofen Vogelpark (25 min) free-flight aviary containing many types of parakeets, exhibits with barefoot path + 1-min walk of Barbary Macaques, and the Bennett kangaroos. Visitors can feed the monkeys. Tier-Natur-Erlebnispark By Car: 45 minutes With 38 hectares, the Mundenhof is the largest animal Playground, restaurants, and Mundenhof Public Transport: Train from enclosure in Baden-Württemberg. Domestic and livestock picnic places (Freiburg, DE) Basel Badischer Bahnhof to breeds from all over the world live on the spacious paddocks. www.mundenhof.de Freiburg, Breisgau (30 min) + In addition, agriculture continues to provide around 180 2 busses to Freiburg Munden- hectares for an ecological cycle economy. hof (30 min) + 9-min walk Free entry Steinwasen-Park By Car: 70 minutes Several animal enclosures and fun rides are spread over an Kiosk, restaurants, play- (Oberried, DE) Public Transport: Train from area of 35 hectares. The park is integrated into the natural grounds, many fun rides, and www.steinwasen-park.de Basel Badischer Bahnhof to mountain landscape and takes the Black Forest as a central even a 3-D cinema are Freiburg, Breisgau (30 min) + theme. Over 30 different wild animals live in their natural available. tram to Freiburg Lassberg- habitats in the park. It is particularly attractive for young strasse (18 min) + bus to families. St. Wilhelm Steinwasen, Oberried (33 min) + 5-min walk Schwarzwaldzoo By Car: 80 minutes At this zoo, visitors can enjoy a pleasant stroll discovering Large games arena, kiosk Waldkirch Public Transport: Train from animals such as deer, alpacas, ibex, lynxes, foxes, diverse restaurant, and barbecue area (Waldkirch, DE) Basel SBB to Denzlingen types of birds, and many other species. Due to its great www.schwarzwaldzoo.de (50 min) + bus to Post, location at the edge of the forest and diverse leisure facilities, Waldkirch (14 min) + 8-min the family fun is combined with a walk in the great outdoors. walk Tatzmania By Car: 90 minutes Tatzmania is an animal park that also includes fun rides. Beer garden and restaurant (Löffingen, DE) Public Transport: Train from It exhibits tigers, lions, bison, deer, sheep, llamas, www.tatzmania.com Basel Badischer Bahnhof ­porcupines, pygmy goats, elk, ibexes, ponies, kangaroos, to Titisee (80 min) + bus blue peafowl, domestic chickens, and emus. It also has a few to Löffingen (31 min) + fun rides such as Waveflying, African Spin, free-fall tower, 14-min walk Venture River, and a jungle land for the younger guests.

France Mulhouse Zoological and By Car: 30 minutes Visit the Zoological and Botanical Park of Mulhouse and Kiosk, restaurant, playground, Botanical Garden Public Transport: Train from discover 1,200 animals from all continents, ranging from stroller friendly (Mulhouse, FR) Basel SBB to Gare de Mulhouse lions, Siberian tigers, and polar bears to red pandas and a Thematic activities for children www.zoo-mulhouse.ch (31 min) + 18-min walk wide collection of birds. The botanical garden consists of 25 and a train “Zoo express” are hectares of greenery where 3,000 varieties of trees and available. plants flourish. Visitors can download and print documents from the zoo´s website as well as the zoo´s App. NaturOparC By Car: 55 minutes This center aims to safeguard regional species like storks, Restaurant, playgrounds, and (Hunawihr, FR) giant hamsters, otters, goats, ducks, penguins, nutria, picnic area are available. www.centredereintroduction.fr turtles, and more. La Montagne des Singes By Car: 60 minutes In the Monkey Mountain, about 200 Barbary Macaques roam Park includes a self-service (Kintzheim, FR) Public Transport: Train from freely through this protected area. As you walk through and cafeteria, children’s play area, www.montagnedessinges. Basel SBB to Sélestat + shuttle receive informative explanations, monkeys appear from all and picnic area. com “Navette du Haut-Koenigs- parts of the forest, very keen to receive a popcorn treats from bourg—Linie 500” to Montagne your hand (provided to you at the park entrance). des Singes (approx. 25 min)

Adriana Musso is a communications, journalism, and media specialist with 12 years of experience in the field. She is married and has two children and has lived in Basel since 2009. Adriana has previously lived and worked in Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Lima.

16 Basel Life Magazine / www.basellife.com