Pilsen Zoological and Botanical Garden

Take a break from all the museums and history to check out the second oldest zoo in the Czech Republic. With over 1,300 species and 6,500 individuals, this large zoo claims the largest collection of animals in the country, with all the favourites present, including giant tortoises, penguins, Komodo dragons, rhinos, cheetahs, Siberian tigers, giraffes, and chimpanzees. The animals are cordoned off into dozens of well-planned exhibitions, such as the ‘Madagascar Pavilion’, ‘Desert Nights’, or the more local ‘Czech River Life’.

For children, there’s a ‘Farm’ area with cute animals like goats the children can touch and play with, as well as a ‘Dino park’, a fairly typical dinosaur museum collection. There’s also a separate tropical wetland exhibition downtown away from the Zoo, which requires separate admission and has frogs, insects, snakes, fish, and lizards on display. However, what really sets this zoo apart from other zoos across the world is Pilsen’s one of a kind falconry demonstrations, a medieval Czech tradition, which happens twice daily except Mondays April through October. To top things off, there’s an authentic old-school Bohemian pub with fresh Pilsner beer on tap―an absolute necessity in a city obsessed with beer. Na zdraví!