Centre zoològic

The gate into the lemur enclosure is the part people talk about afterwards. You walk in among them, and one may well climb up you. The bird section works the same way — birds fly around visitors and settle on them — and the goats will mob anyone holding feed. Most of the animals came here as rescues, the enclosures are fairly roomy, and narrow paths run through the larger ones, so you end up inside the space with the animals. Bird feeding and a reptile display are run at points during the day, which gives a long visit some shape.

• The animals get close. Lemurs climb visitors inside their enclosure, birds land on people in the bird section, and the goats crowd anyone with feed.
• Food and facilities on site. A café and snack bar, free toilets, and a soft play area with a trampoline and toddler slide next to the café.
• Cards are fine. Credit and debit cards and contactless are all accepted.
• Allow two to three hours for a full circuit of the enclosures.

The site sits beside the main road at L'Argentina, and the car park is all but at the door — about 14 m from the site point, on compacted ground — so nothing of the visit is spent walking in. A second car park lies about 1.2 km away. Buses stop at L'Argentina, roughly 100 m off in a straight line, which makes this one of the easier zoo visits to reach without a car. Everything after the entrance is on foot, a loop round the enclosures at whatever pace the animals hold you at.

Best: a morning, or the first part of the afternoon.

Avoid: turning up late in the day.

A full round runs two to three hours, and the gate shuts in the early evening, so a late arrival means choosing what to miss. The site opens every day of the week, so there is no closed day to plan around, and the displays are spread through the day.