• Arrive before 2pm to fit in both circuits: the safari loop takes about an hour and the walking zoo about three.
• Bush truck for car-free families, which follows the safari loop and adds the lion area; book online or on arrival, and allow a 20-minute walk from the zoo entrance to the departure point.
• Picnics are allowed, with picnic areas and drinking-water taps around the park; strollers are for rent at the shop, and pets are not allowed.

Thoiry has two parts. First, an 8 km safari loop that families drive in their own car, windows closed, past zebras, giraffes, rhinos, elephants and bears.

Then a 90-hectare walking zoo with more than 750 animals, a lemur island and a gorilla area, plus play areas: the Safari Air Park, a giant maze and the Île Mystérieuse. No car? Bush trucks run the safari loop, lions included.