Throughout our travels, we've found that a good barometer of a particular culture is how impressive their zoo is. In our estimation, the Lisbon Zoo ranks up near the top of European zoos. Founded in 1884 by Dr. Van Der Laan, who happened to own the largest private aviary in Portugal, the zoo moved to its present location in the Sete Rios section of Lisbon during 1905 (just a 15 minute subway ride from the center of the city). With more than 2000 animals spanning 300 different species, the zoo also includes a water park with a dolphin show. We happened to discover the zoo while scouting out the bus station for our trip to Fatima and spent a lovely afternoon exploring this attraction.
Looking like a pair of squat lighthouses, the main entrance to the Lisbon Zoo is just around the corner from the metro stop in the Sete Rios district of the city.
Dr. Van Der Laan created the zoo in 1884 using his impressive aviary collection as its foundation.
Of course, there are the requisite elephants...
...and tigers (including this rare white tiger)...
..but also alligators...
...Koalas...
...and hippos.
For a really good overview of the zoo, visitors can take this cable car ride around the park.
Most zoos we've visited don't include a dolphin show...but this one does.
There even is a maze-like garden (that usually grace the grounds of most European palaces) within the park.
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