London Zoo from Camden: the canal walk, tickets and what to see first

The short version: the zoo opens at 10:00, last entry is 15:00 and it closes at 16:00 through the winter schedule that runs from 24 October. An adult ticket booked online is £37.00 with donation if your day is priced as Standard Weekend, or £33.60 without. Allow two to three hours. Book before 10:00 on the day to get the online price.

Which price applies

The zoo charges by day type: Off Peak Weekday, Standard, Standard Weekend and Peak. Check the calendar on the ZSL tickets page for the day you are going, because the tier is what sets the price. Online with donation, an adult (16 to 64) pays £30.50, £35.00, £37.00 or £38.00 across those four tiers. A child (3 to 15) pays £21.35, £24.50, £25.90 or £26.60. A concession is £28.50, £33.00, £35.00 or £36.00.

Skip the donation and the adult prices fall to £27.70, £31.80, £33.60 and £34.50. Children are £19.40, £22.20, £23.50 and £24.10. The zoo is a ZSL conservation charity and says that as a charity it can offer daytime admission without VAT. Paid tickets let you in at any time after the time printed on them. Ignore the resellers, who price in dollars or add a markup. Buy from the ZSL tickets page.

Walking from Camden Town

The zoo gives Camden Town station on the Northern line as its nearest Underground stop: 16 minutes, 0.8 miles on foot. Camden Road on the Overground is 21 minutes and a mile. The London Waterbus Company puts Camden Market a 15 minute walk from the zoo, so if you start at the lock you are in the same ballpark. The address is Outer Circle, Regent’s Park, NW1 4RY. Full details are on the zoo’s getting there page.

The 274 bus when it is wet

The zoo recommends the 274 from Camden Town. Board on Bayham Street, where a Tripadvisor forum reply gives stops R and T, and get off at Albert Terrace, the zoo side stop. Rome2rio puts the ride at about 10 minutes, 18 with the wait. The zoo says the 274 leaves Baker Street every 12 minutes, and the forum reply says every 10 to 15. Check the current fare on the TfL site before you go.

The canal route

The Regent’s Canal runs from Little Venice to Limehouse Basin and goes through the zoo. Camden Lock is the natural place to start walking west towards Regent’s Park. The Canal & River Trust notes that Camden Lock is technically Hampstead Road Lock, which is a decent fact to hold over anyone who thinks they know the towpath.

Here is the catch: the zoo section has no public towpath beside the animals. A 10adventures route walking the canal says to leave the towpath onto the Outer Circle and follow it for 500m past the zoo. Look at a map and the Canal & River Trust notices before you set off, and do not trust any turn by turn from someone who has not checked the towpath that morning. The Nudge describes hearing African hunting dogs crying through the trees on this stretch, which tells you you are close.

By boat: read this first

The London Waterbus Company runs from West Yard, Camden Lock Place, NW1 8AF, and the trip to Little Venice takes about 45 minutes and passes the zoo. Its own help page is blunt: it does not stop at London Zoo. It stops at Camden Market, 15 minutes on foot from the zoo. Older write ups mention a zoo landing, but ignore them. The landing is only for zoo visitors anyway. Fares on the help page are £14 for children (4 to 16), seniors, and students with ID, and under-4s go free. Check the winter timetable on londonwaterbus.com.

Jason’s Trip, the boat of more than 100 years old, runs Little Venice to Camden Lock, but its listed 2026 season is 6 April to 29 October. On that basis it is off the water for the first of November.

Treat the boat as a trip in its own right, not a way to get to the gate. Go there and back on the water, or walk one way.

What to see first on a short day

With last entry at 15:00 and closing at 16:00, you do not have the luxury of wandering. Head for the big habitats first: Gorilla Kingdom (western lowland gorillas), Land of the Lions (Asiatic lions, with an Indian village feel), Tiger Territory and Penguin Beach. A reseller planner estimates about 3km and two and a half to three hours for that highlights loop, so take it as a guide, not gospel.

If it is cold or raining, shift to the indoor options: Blackburn Pavilion, Rainforest Life, the In With the Lemurs walkthrough, The Secret Life of Reptiles and Amphibians, Tiny Giants and African Bird Safari. Check the zoo’s site for keeper talk times, because winter schedules are shorter.

Timing the walk back

The zoo closes at 16:00 and the light goes soon after. Leave yourself time to get back to Camden Town by the road, the Outer Circle and the streets, not by guessing at the towpath in the dusk. Zoo opening times are on the zoo’s opening times page, which also covers relaxed early opening for visitors with autism and other neurodiversity conditions.

Other things to know

• The zoo is open every day except Christmas Day.
• Under-3s have been listed as free, and one essential carer per paying disabled visitor, though that comes from an older guide, so confirm before you go.
• The zoo car park opens at 09:00 and shuts about an hour after the zoo, which is irrelevant if you walk from Camden.