Basel Life 2019 Summer
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SLIDE MY CITY • OUTDOOR CONCERTS & CINEMAS • ANIMAL PARKS • BIKEFESTIVAL Volume 7 Issue 10 CHF 6 6 A Monthly Guide to Living in Basel 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, Zürich Zoo, Bern 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 Switzerland 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 (Liestal, 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 (Aarau, 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 Lucerne, (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.