Trip advisor has just named the UK's best zoo and it is not in London or Edinburgh but it holds 30,000 animals across 130 acres. Chester Zoo has been officially named the best zoo in the United Kingdom and the timing could not be better with summer holidays approaching and families across Britain starting to plan their days out. The zoo in Upton-by-Chester in Cheshire beat every other zoological park in the country to take the top spot and also earned a place in Europe's top 10 zoos and aquariums for 2026.
As reported by the Daily Mirror the ranking was determined by Tripadvisor based on genuine visitor reviews. Chester Zoo accumulated 11,666 excellent ratings on the platform making it the clear winner by the measure that matters most which is what people who actually visit think of the experience.
Chester Zoo spans 130 acres and houses around 30,000 animals across more than 500 threatened species, from Sumatran orangutans and tigers to jaguars, rhinos and okapi. Far from being just an attraction, it operates as a conservation-led charity focused on preventing extinction in the UK and globally. In the past year alone, it developed the world’s first vaccine for a deadly virus affecting Asian elephants, helped rescue a rare snail species from extinction, and planted thousands of trees to restore local habitats efforts its chief executive Jamie Christon said make its Tripadvisor recognition especially meaningful as it is based entirely on visitor reviews.
Beyond the animals there is considerable depth to what a visit offers. The site includes gardens, children's play areas, multiple places to eat including an on-site pub and restaurant and a virtual reality experience. Last year Chester Zoo opened Heart of Africa, described as the largest zoo habitat in the UK. That expansion spans the equivalent of more than 17 football pitches and is home to 57 African species.
The zoo also launched The Reserve last summer which is a hotel offering 51 luxury African-themed lodges on site. Families who want more than a day trip can now spend the night in a safari-style setting without leaving Cheshire. Every ticket purchased and every overnight stay directly funds the zoo's conservation work.
Visitor reviews on Tripadvisor reflect the loyalty Chester Zoo inspires. One reviewer told the platform they had been visiting since 1961 and after seeing zoos in multiple countries around the world Chester still stood apart. Others praised the conservation focus, the quality of the food and the staff's willingness to educate visitors about the animals in their care.
