France

La Flèche Zoo, France

Last updated 3rd January 2017

Why go?

La Flèche Zoo in France’s Loire Valley may already be famous for its sustainability, lushly planted enclosures and 120 species of animal from all five continents. But now it has four new safari lodges, which offer visitors the opportunity to spend a night in the zoo. And when we say ‘in the zoo’, we really mean it.

Accommodation

Each beautifully designed wooden lodge (which cost from £92 per night for adults and from £50 per night for children, including a two-day zoo pass) represents a different exotic clime, from Sumatra to Alaska.

And they’re built right next to the animal enclosures – so, over croissants and coffee, you can watch Arctic wolves or Sumatran tigers frolic behind a reinforced glass wall. Each lodge sleeps six in two bedrooms, and comes with a bathroom and outdoor shower, a small garden with dining terrace, widescreen TV and WiFi.

Activities: Days can be spent exploring the 34-acre zoo; home to polar and grizzly bears, elephants, giraffes and sea lions.

Food: You’ll get a breakfast basket delivered each morning and can request dinners from a local restaurant.

The lowdown

Price: £92 per night for adults and from £50 per night for children, including a two-day zoo pass.

How to get there: If packing up the kids in the car and driving to France is more appealing than catching a flight, drive to Folkestone and take the Channel Tunnel train to Fréthun. This will take you around 7 hours and 45 minutes.

Alternatively, easJet and Air France fly to Nantes, France which is 1.5 hours drive away from La Flèche Zoo.