IllustrationVisit Wilhelma for a day that gives animals, plants and a remarkable royal garden equal billing.
Visit Wilhelma for a day that gives animals, plants and a remarkable royal garden equal billing. The mood changes as you climb: glass-and-cast-iron houses and formal pools in the lower park give way to larger animal enclosures and tall trees above. Start at the main entrance on Neckartalstraße, collect a park plan, and choose two or three things your family really wants to see before adding anything else.
The historical greenhouse row is worth slowing down for. Rounded cacti, orchid displays and bird-filled domes turn a walk towards the Moorish Garden into a succession of small discoveries. In the neighbouring house for small mammals, birds and insect-eating plants, look for Venus flytraps. The Moorish House offers a different botanical journey, from dry-country plants to tropical crops and ferns. Finding the plant that produces chocolate can be every bit as engaging as finding a favourite animal.
Terra Australis brings you into the world of koalas and other Australian animals, including a dimly lit nocturnal section. Farther uphill, the great-ape house rewards patient watching: gorillas and bonobos have several spaces and can move out of your first line of sight. At the Africa area, compare a giraffe with its much shorter-necked forest relative, the okapi. Pause long enough to see an animal choose what to do rather than moving on as soon as you have identified it.
Keep looking between the exhibits, too. Wilhelma’s old trees and pools support free-living birds alongside the animals in human care. Moorhens on the water and the calls of stock doves belong to that wild layer of the park. The planted botanical collections, zoo residents and wild visitors make three different kinds of nature encounter; each deserves a little time. Enhance your adventure: download the Snappit app to identify the local species you encounter.
Wilhelma began with King Wilhelm I of Württemberg’s plans for a retreat near the mineral springs discovered below Rosenstein. Architect Karl Ludwig von Zanth developed the Moorish-style buildings; the complex was inaugurated in 1846, with the core garden scheme completed in 1853. The royal residence, ornamental garden and glasshouses explain why this zoo looks so different from a purpose-built animal park. After the end of the monarchy, the grounds became a public botanical garden. Air raids in 1944 caused extensive damage, and rebuilding changed several structures. The animal exhibitions of the early 1950s brought the large mammals that helped establish Wilhelma as a zoological-botanical garden in 1952. Later additions include the Aquarium/Terrarium, opened in 1967, and the new great-ape house of 2013. Terra Australis repurposes the older ape building, showing how the site continues to change.
For a first family visit, make a lower-park circuit through the historical greenhouse row and Moorish Garden, then choose the Aquarium/Terrarium or Terra Australis. These are suggestions for organising the day, so adapt the order to house opening times and the diversions on the current map. This circuit avoids the longest uphill excursion, but historic buildings still have steps.
With a full day, continue uphill to the gorillas and bonobos, then the giraffes and okapis. Add the mountain-animal area and Mammutbaumwäldchen if everyone still has energy. This upper-park detour brings longer climbs; coming back down takes time too. Keep the Amazonienhaus and its adjacent playground as an alternative focus rather than another compulsory stop.
Inside the warm, humid Amazonienhaus, stop at the river window and look both above and below the waterline for arapaimas and the caiman. Some birds and other zoo animals move freely through the planted hall, so a quiet pause can reveal more than a fast lap. Outside, the rainforest playground offers climbing, balancing and water play.
Give children a small challenge: compare a cactus with a fern, find cacao flowers or fruit growing from the trunk if present, or watch how a penguin moves on land and in water. The Kinderturn-Welt adds animal-inspired movement stations across the park; ask for its stamp booklet at the entrance. Pick one Wilhelma-Talk from the day’s programme for a chance to ask a keeper or other specialist a question. Some talks include feeding, while others focus on observation.
Magnolias usually flower in March and April; use Wilhelma’s bloom updates to choose a day, since weather changes the timing. Tropical water lilies are planted out in the Moorish pool around mid- to late May and displayed into October as conditions allow. Summer also brings the terrace container plants outdoors. In winter, camellias and the changing glasshouse displays provide colour. A titan arum bloom is a brief, irregular event, so plan around an announced flowering rather than expecting one on a normal visit.
Wilhelma is hilly, with steep paths and historic buildings that have real access limits. Ask entrance staff for the free step-free route plan and the day’s diversions; avoiding difficult paths can mean a longer journey. Some historical glasshouses and the Moorish House contain steps that cannot be bridged by ramps. The carnivore house has steps and steep ramps; the accessibility plan advises using its exit as an alternative entrance to see the other section.
The main entrance has a step-free approach from the parking garage. Accessible toilets are provided at several points, including the main entrance and great-ape house; staff at the main entrance also provide access to an adult-changing facility. Limited manual wheelchair loans are available. Assistance-dog visitors should check the specific admission requirements and house exclusions before travelling.
Ornamental pools, magnolias and the elaborate façade of the former royal residence give the botanical collections their memorable setting.
Take time at the upper-park gorilla and bonobo enclosures to watch feeding, climbing or quiet social interaction as it happens.
Koalas, Australian planting and a nocturnal section invite a slower look at animals with very different daily rhythms.
A humid rainforest hall, a river-viewing window and a neighbouring adventure playground make a strong family pairing.
Main gate → historical greenhouse row → Moorish Garden → Aquarium/Terrarium or Terra Australis → main gate. Leave space for the stop that unexpectedly catches your attention.
Choose paths with the official reduced-mobility plan; this suggested sequence does not establish step-free access to every building.
Main gate → upper-park great apes → giraffe-house collection → lunch → selected lower-park gardens or houses → main gate. Add the giant-tree grove only if the group wants more walking.
Choose paths with the official reduced-mobility plan; this suggested sequence does not establish step-free access to every building.
Main gate → Amazonienhaus → adjacent playground → penguins or a short garden stop → main gate. Let the playground set the pace rather than rushing to another house.
Choose paths with the official reduced-mobility plan; this suggested sequence does not establish step-free access to every building.
In the tropical crop collection, let each person choose a familiar food and find its plant label. At cacao, look along the trunk for flowers or pods if present. End by comparing the shape of a fern and a water-storing succulent.
Choose one Kinderturn-Welt station rather than trying to collect every stamp. Watch the relevant animal first where possible, then try the climbing, balancing or jumping challenge in the designated play area.
Pair the Aquarium/Terrarium with Terra Australis, or make the Amazonienhaus the main event. Leave time to watch rather than packing in every house. Rainwear is still useful for the outdoor connections.
At the upper-park great-ape house, check the indoor and outdoor viewing areas without expecting the gorillas to stay in one place. Look for how they handle leaves or investigate enrichment, and give a resting animal the same quiet attention.
Watch the bonobos in the great-ape house for a few minutes before taking a photo. Wilhelma provides connected spaces for changing social groups; if a group moves away, try another public viewing window rather than trying to attract it back.
Search the branches in Terra Australis carefully: a resting koala may look like a rounded patch of fur. Feeding or movement is a bonus. Look at how the animal grips its perch and the eucalyptus supplied around it.
At the giraffe-house collection, look for the okapi’s striped legs, then compare its body and neck with the giraffes. It is a forest-dwelling relative of the giraffe, so allow time for an animal that may remain behind planting.
At the penguin enclosure in the lower park, compare the same bird moving on land and swimming. Its flipper-like wings make more sense underwater. Check the day’s programme if you would like the penguin talk, and leave the birds to approach their viewing areas naturally.
The younger tulip trees at Terra Australis offer a useful leaf-shape challenge. Look for the distinctive flattened tip, as though the top of the leaf were cut off. Yellow autumn foliage can help them stand out; view trees in animal enclosures only from visitor paths.
In the house for small mammals, birds and insect-eating plants, find the labelled flytrap and look for the paired trap leaves with bristly edges. Compare them with other carnivorous plants on display. Enjoy the mechanism without touching or triggering it.
Look for the labelled lotus in the Moorish Garden and Moorish House collection. It shares this botanical setting with water lilies, so compare the labels and leaf shapes rather than treating every large aquatic leaf as the same plant. Display and flowering vary with the season.
Watch the pool edges from the paths for free-living moorhens moving between open water and cover. Their deliberate steps make an interesting contrast with the swimming penguins elsewhere. Keep your distance from any young birds and never offer food.
Pause beneath the park’s older trees and listen for a low, repeated two-part call. A stock dove may be easier to hear than to pick out among the leaves. Stay on the paths and leave holes and nest boxes undisturbed.
The upper park’s giant-tree grove includes trees from the royal sowing programme of 1864. Seedlings from that programme were also distributed elsewhere in Württemberg.
Terra Australis occupies the former ape building of 1973, transformed for Australian animals half a century later.
Ask entrance staff to mark a suitable route for your group. A route without stairs can still include tiring gradients, and historical house interiors may remain inaccessible.
Use the main gate. Rosensteinpark’s entrance and Damaszenerhalle remain closed. The aviary’s North Sea section is blocked, with southern access to other aviaries. Terra Australis reopened fully on 11 May 2026. Check current notices before travel.
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Choose the main gate
Use the Neckartalstraße entrance. Rosensteinpark’s gate is closed for construction; Pragstraße opens only when needed and can close at short notice.
Take the Stadtbahn
U13, U14 and U16 serve Wilhelma stop beside the main entrance. Bad Cannstatt S-Bahn station is about a 1 km walk away. Check VVS for your journey.
If you drive
The garage beside the main gate has a 2 m vehicle-height limit and can fill early. Check Stuttgart’s vehicle-access rules before driving into the city.
Check current works
Damaszenerhalle is closed. The North Sea part of the free-flight aviary is blocked; the other aviaries have access from the south. Follow diversions around terrace works.
Choose tickets carefully
Compare family and individual options on the official ticket page. Children under six enter free. Some concessions must be handled at the staffed ticket desk.
Pack for play
Bring layers for warm indoor houses and outdoor paths, plus a change of clothes if water play is on the agenda. You may bring a pull-along wagon, but cannot hire one here.
Give animals space
Feeding is prohibited, including free-living birds and squirrels. Stay behind barriers, keep to visitor paths and leave plants intact.
Plan indoor time
In rain, prioritise the aquarium, Terra Australis or Amazonienhaus. You still walk outdoors between buildings; keep phone lights and flash off in the dim nocturnal area.
Recent snaps will appear here as new observations are added.
North Carolina, US
You might spot American Robin and Eastern Gray Squirrel.
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Florida, US
You might spot Anhinga, American Alligator, and Wood Duck.
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New Mexico, US
You might spot Wood Duck, Duck, and Canada Goose.
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Michigan, US
You might spot African Lion, Komodo Dragon, and Brown Bear.
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Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
