Pairi Daiza once again awarded "Europe's Best Zoo", as well as "Europe's Best Holiday Park", for the first time.

Double recognition for “The Garden of the 5 Wonders, where beauty awakens love”

27 October 2025

A jury of German tourism professionals has elected Pairi Daiza, as was the case previous years, for the award "Europe's Best Zoo" presented by Parkscout.de, Germany's most important website about themeparks, zoos and water parks. Parkscout was founded in the year 2001 and is going to celebrate its 25th anniversary next year.

This title, awarded by experts in the sector, highlights Pairi Daiza's ability to reinvent itself while maintaining a high level of quality and innovation for the benefit of both animals and visitors.

For the ninth time, Parkscout.de is recognizing the achievements and innovations of Europe’s leisure industry. As in 2023 and 2024, Pairi Daiza has been named once more the best European Zoo for 2025.

Pairi Daiza, “The Garden of the 5 Wonders, where beauty awakens love” wins for the first time the title of "Europe's Best Holiday Park", putting Belgium's most visited tourist attraction internationally firmer on the map as a Must Do trip for international visitors.

Since their opening in June 2019, the 121 accommodations of the Pairi Daiza Resort, offered on a half-board basis, have shown an exceptional occupancy rate of over 95%. For the first time, hotel guests could stay overnight with a direct view of Steller sea lions, fallow deer, European wolves, and brown and black bears.

In 2020, guests experienced for the first time the immersion of luxurious hotel rooms in The Land of the Cold, located next to polar bears, walruses, penguins, and Siberian tigers. Humans and animals admire each other directly, sometimes separated only by a sturdy glass wall. This was a rapid and revolutionary development for the park and an added value for Belgium’s hotel industry, which resonated far beyond its borders.

Spring 2024, the Pairi Daiza Resort expanded with the opening of 21 Farmhouse Lodges, located in the renovated historical abbey farm. Inspired by the rural architecture of Hainaut, these accommodations combine authenticity, heritage and modernity. Visitors can enjoy unique interactions with farm animals such as goats, wallabies, chickens, and rheas, helped by a special treat: a portion of animal food for those who stay in the Farmhouse.

The Pairi Daiza experience is fully reflected in these unique accommodations: fostering a love for nature through a premium hotel concept that showcases, 24/7, how magnificent wild and farm animals live.

Key points

"Best Zoo in Europe" for three consequent years, for "the highest level of theming and modern animal welfare."
"Best Holiday Park in Europe" for the original way of combining nature, animals and plants with culture and historic buildings.
Pairi Daiza has also received the Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice Award 2025.
Pairi Daiza is currently celebrating Halloween until November 2nd.

From the Jury

Mike Vester, the editor-in-chief of Parkscout plus, the German print magazine about themeparks, zoos and water parks recently visited Pairi Daiza to discover the Garden celebrating Halloween. He shared with us the importance and reason of this recognition:

“One of the most important categories of our annual Parkscout plus awards is the award for Europe's Best Zoos. And Pairi Daiza again made it as the best zoo of Europe. The reason is the absolutely stunning theming, the combination of keeping animals on the one hand and presenting culture on the other hand. And, of course, the outstanding grade of immersion which enables the guests to consider themselves in foreign countries and landscape. So we think that Pairi Daiza is by far the most modern zoo in Europe.

Additionally Pairi Daiza has won the award for the Best Holiday Park in Europe, and in this case Immersion is also the reason for the decision. You can stay overnight right next to bears, penguins or even tigers. You simply can't get more immersive – and this is an absolutely unique selling point.” – Mike Vester, the editor-in-chief of Parkscout plus.

For families, adventurers, and conservation enthusiasts, Pairi Daiza remains a unique destination where humans and animals connect in a breathtaking setting.

Pairi Daiza defies the conventional zoo-concepts; offering unforgettable experiences like overnight stays in accommodations that allow guests to sleep within eyesight of polar bears, tigers, walruses, wolves and other majestic creatures.

Since opening in 1994, Pairi Daiza has gone from strength to strength, becoming Belgium’s most visited attraction with 2,65 million visitors annually. Interest in Pairi Daiza continues to grow, and the park is expected to attract large numbers of visitors in the coming years, while continuing its efforts to protect and preserve endangered species.

The Pairi Daiza Foundation undertakes concrete actions to preserve endangered species through more than 30 conservation projects worldwide. Recent successes include the reintroduction of Spix's macaws in Brazil, participation in the search for a vaccine to protect baby elephants from the deadly herpesvirus and a vaccine to protect birds from aviary flu, and reforestation efforts benefiting Bornean orangutans. The Garden is thus not only a place of entertainment but also a committed player in the preservation of global biodiversity.

Pairi Daiza is very happy to receive both awards and how the jury underlines the power of combining fauna, flora and culture.

"It is a living work of art, a transformative space where nature, culture, and humanity converge. Each year, millions of visitors step through its gates, leaving not only enchanted but also inspired, their hearts stirred with a renewed commitment to protect life in all its forms. I want to thank the Jury, our visitors and employees who are bringing magic to Pairi Daiza every day." - Eric Domb, founder and president of Pairi Daiza.

During his Halloween visit we did ask Mike Vester about his personal favourite spots in Pairi Daiza.

"The Bali temples and the Chinese pagoda are truly amazing, the toilets in the aquarium are stunning, and I am a big fan of your train ride, but I simply LOVE the bats in the crypt. It was such a great idea to take this ancient abbey and combine it with bats, naked mole rats and a creepy exhibition with shrunken heads and other cultural samples." – Mike Vester, the editor-in-chief of Parkscout plus.

Video footage

Mike Vester was so kind to coorporate in filming his quotes in front of the Crypt and Abbey tower:

Powered by the Dedication of 900 Employees

Behind each distinction are up to 900 employees seasonally: animal caretakers, veterinarians, gardeners, architects, engineers, security staff, reception teams, hotel and restaurant staff, maintenance and cleaning crews, energy and waste managers, shop staff, and administrative services. All of them contribute every day to the excellence and magic of Pairi Daiza.