Best Tickets for the Bioparco di Roma
Benefits
Tickets & Prices
Take the Open Ticket. It is the venue’s most-reviewed option by far, and the open date lets a family itinerary shuffle around weather and tired legs without losing the booking.
- Open Ticket – valid any day for six months, last admission an hour before closing. Weekend extras are booked at the entrance on the day, including the Sunday elephant feeding at 12:00. Non-refundable.
- Entry ticket + tramezzino – the sandwich redeems between 11:00 and 17:00 at four spots inside the park, including the kiosk by the lake.
- Bioparco + 1-day bus tour – a hop-on hop-off day around the landmarks with an onboard assistant, plus the open-date zoo ticket.
Important notes:
- Official fixed-date tickets from the park run cheaper than the flexible open ticket. You trade the saving for the flexibility.
- A last-minute ticket appears at the ticket office two hours before closing. Box office only, no online version.
- Children under a metre tall go free. Under-10s and over-65s pay reduced rates.
- There is rarely a queue at the ticket office midweek. Weekends are the busy days.
Plan Your Visit
- Open every day of the year except Christmas Day
- Doors open at 09:30 year-round. Closing times vary by season, and the last entry is 1 hour before closing.
| Period | Closing Time |
|---|---|
| Winter | 17:00 |
| Late March – Late October | 18:00 |
| Spring & summer weekends and public holidays | 19:00 |
The entrance is at Viale del Giardino Zoologico 1, inside Villa Borghese. Flaminio and Spagna on metro line A are the closest stations, then about a 20-minute walk through the park. Buses 3, 52, 53, 217, 360 and 926 stop at the zoo, and tram 19 runs there from the St Peter’s side of the river.
Every ticket comes with a free colour map at the entrance. It is easier to follow than the signs
Bioparco di Roma
Bioparco di Roma, Piazzale del Giardino Zoologico, 1, 00197 Roma RM, Italy · Google Maps
Two playgrounds and two picnic areas break up the walking. The petting farm has donkeys and sheep, and the bathroom in front of it is the one with the baby-changing table. Strollers are fine on the paths.
What to See & Do
Give it two hours at a brisk pace, three if you want all 222 species. The Bioparco is the family day rather than a Rome must-see, and that is its charm. Walk through the gates and the city disappears into parkland, and you almost forget you are in Rome at all.
The animals
trotalo/DepositphotosThe giraffes meet you first, in their enclosure right by the entrance. From there the route runs past rhinos, zebras, flamingos, hippos, brown bears, wolves, a Komodo dragon, camels and Asian elephants, with the macaque pit and the big cats drawing the longest stops. The tigers come right up to the viewing glass, and the closeness is genuinely intimidating. The gorilla comes to the glass too, sometimes when called. And then there are the penguins, which nobody expects to find in the middle of Rome.
The seal tanks are the honest low point. Two small pools sit side by side, and the seals trace the same tight circuit all day.
Feeding times and animal encounters
On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays the animals get their meals at set times, printed on the brochure that comes with the map. The elephants eat on Sundays at 12:00, and animal encounters run on Sundays too.
All of it is included in the ticket. Sign up at the entrance when you arrive.
The park in Villa Borghese
Baloncici/DepositphotosThe zoo opened in 1911 to a design by Carl Hagenbeck, the man behind the Hamburg Zoo, and grew to its current 17 hectares under Raffaele De Vico in 1935. His geodesic aviary still stands. The grounds carry hundreds of plant species, exotic ones among century-old trees, and the whole thing sits inside Villa Borghese, the historic centre’s most important park, a short way from Piazza di Spagna.
Read the stories posted by the enclosures. The animals here were born on site or rescued from poaching and illegal keeping, never bought, and the 1994 relaunch as a Bioparco built the place around that principle.
Insider Tips
- Go midweek. Weekends belong to local families, and on a quiet weekday it is just you and a few others.
- The paths are unshaded. Spring and autumn days are the good days. July and August afternoons are a slog.
- Arrive at least 90 minutes before closing. The reptile house empties an hour before close. Rhinos, giraffes, bears and elephants head for their night quarters half an hour out.
- The little train by the entrance costs extra and often runs empty. The park walks comfortably on foot.
- With younger kids, pair the morning here with the Explora children’s museum nearby in Flaminio.
FAQs
What is the Bioparco di Roma ticket price?
Prices show live on the ticket cards above. Kids under a metre go free, under-10s and over-65s get reduced rates, and a cheaper last-minute ticket appears at the box office two hours before closing.
What are the Bioparco di Roma opening hours?
From 9:30 daily, year-round bar one day at Christmas. Closing depends on the season, up to 19:00 on summer weekend evenings.
Where is the Bioparco di Roma entrance?
Inside Villa Borghese, at Viale del Giardino Zoologico 1. The giraffes are right by the gate, so the visit starts before you have put the map away.
Is Bioparco the zoo in Villa Borghese?
Same place. The zoo took the name Bioparco in the 1994 relaunch built around conservation. The animals are born on site or rescued, never bought.