ZooFrance · FR
Bird park Villars les Dombes
A half-hour from Lyon, tucked into the pond-studded Dombes plateau, Parc des Oiseaux is Europe's largest leisure site devoted entirely to birds. Across 35 hectares you follow a deliberate "tour of the world," passing recreated habitats from the African savanna to the Chilean coast and the tropical jungle, home to roughly 2,000 birds representing some 250 species. It is far more than an outdoor aviary. The park runs choreographed free-flight shows in an open-air amphitheatre, a cabin that lifts you 27 metres into the treetops, an interactive nursery where hundreds of chicks are raised each year, and a chance to feed rainbow lorikeets from your hand. Part zoo, part conservation centre and part wetland gateway, it is one of the signature attractions of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.