In the Spotlight: Toronto Zoo

Plan your visit to Canada’s largest zoo, connecting people, animals and conservation science since 1974.

With a walking map, exclusive one-of-a-kind tours and a drive-thru safari, there’s no shortage of ways to see the hundreds of species at this gorgeous zoo. With a focus on conservation and protecting the environment, your ticket to the Toronto Zoo (2000 Meadowvale Rd.) will contribute to helping keep these striking animals thriving for as long as possible.

The Toronto Zoo is divided into seven zoogeographic regions—Indo-Malaya, Africa, the Americas, Australasia, Eurasia, Canadian Domain and the Tundra Trek. With animals from all over the world, you can spend days here, so make sure to decide exactly who you want to see before you set off. Animals like apes, tigers, lions and bears can be seen indoors in tropical pavilions and outdoors in their habitats.

Toronto Zoo tickets vary by age and season (adult tickets are usually around $30). Visit the Toronto Zoo website for more information on ticket prices.

Toronto Zoo Food & Drinks

With plenty of restaurants and food stands to choose from, you’ll find something to satisfy the whole family during your visit to the zoo.

Peacock Café

Conveniently located right where you walk into the zoo, the Peacock Café is a mainstay with staples like Tim Hortons coffee, pastries and easy sandwiches.

Simba Safari Lodge

This themed restaurant has fast food like burgers, chicken fingers and more kid-friendly options. Located right by the white rhino exhibit, visitors of age can enjoy a pint on the Simba Patio while they watch the animals play below.

Polar Patio

This fully licensed eatery has a delicious poutine and plenty of beers to choose from. Enjoy some sunshine while you sip a cider and munch on some nachos.

Smoke’s Poutinerie Trailer

All the poutine toppings you could ever want, wrapped up in one small trailer. Ask for whatever you like on your poutine at this simple but satisfying eatery located in the front courtyard.

Toronto Zoo Activities

With more than 5,000 animals to see, clearly the wildlife is the best part of a visit to the Toronto Zoo. The animals hail from all over the world, making it a truly diverse experience. You’ll also have plenty of opportunities to shop for plush animals to remember your trip by, or stop for lunch in an unforgettable zoo-themed restaurant.

From wildlife encounters to informational signs, there are tons of ways to experience the zoo. Plan your walk through the zoo with pre-mapped walking tracks provided by the zoo. One-way routes throughout the zoo will allow you to see many of your favourite animals and ensure that you won’t miss a thing.

While much of the zoo is outdoors, you can pop into the pavilions for some air conditioning and to see some of the coolest animals the zoo has to offer. This includes the African Rainforest Pavilion, Australasia Pavilion, Indo-Malaya Pavilion, Giraffe House, gift shops, the Membership Building, washrooms and restaurants.

You can also book drive-thru visits with the zoo’s Scenic Safari. See the animals from a whole new perspective using staff-only roads, normally closed to visitors. Take a tour from the comfort of your own car with zookeeper commentary to learn about the animals as you drive along—even through the lion caves!

One-of-a-kind Wild Encounters tours will take you behind-the-scenes to experience some of the animals and habitats up close. Book one of these experiences before you get to the zoo to ensure you can get up close and personal with your favourite fuzzy creature.

Wildlife preservation is a hot topic and the Toronto Zoo offers great tips and research about fighting extinction, like adopting your very own zoo animal. The Toronto Zoo also participates in many conservation initiatives including captive breeding and reintroduction, habitat and species research and much more.

Let staff bring the zoo to you with activities and other resources that make learning fun for the kids and easier for you. With interactive virtual learning opportunities, you can now see more of the zoo from home or the classroom than ever before.

You can also get up close and personal with the animals and zookeepers without leaving your couch. Have burning questions for the zookeepers? Ask away during the daily interactive live streams and spend some time learning about the animal of the day from different parts of the zoo.

Not only can you see polar bears at the Toronto Zoo—you can adopt one too

Fun facts about the Toronto Zoo

The Toronto Zoo is a non-profit benefiting the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy, which is committed to helping save endangered and at-risk animals from around the world
The zoo is shrouded by several conservation areas, making it a great place to go for a hike in nature and see some wildlife out in the world
The zoo opened in 1974
Thanks to the Toronto Zoo Wildlife Conservancy, several breeding missions have resulted in new life, including one baby Masai giraffe in 2020
For the first time ever, the Toronto Zoo opened a drive-through safari during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020
The Toronto Zoo welcomes over one million visitors each year
The largest animal at the Toronto Zoo is Samson the hippopotamus, who weighs 2.25 tonnes
The smallest animal at the Toronto Zoo is a leaf-cutter ant that clocks in at 7.5 millimetres long
Each day, the zoologists and their teams prepare around 1.5 tonnes of food for the animals
The rocks in Toronto Zoo habitats come from all over Ontario and match what the animals would have in their natural environments