During a recent zoo visit to Ticino’s Zoo al Maglio, we decided to dedicate time to the lemurs with the special lemur experience to get up close and personal with these beautiful Madagascan animals. This was very well (and with lots of love) organized by the keepers, who also dedicated our moment with the lemurs in English.
Read on to hear our experience and see how fluffy the lemurs are in the photos!
Zoo al Maglio
Since 1974, the Zoo al Maglio has managed many animals with a clear mission: conservation, animal welfare, research, and education. They are open 365 days a year, including holidays. So it’s a great place to visit when you’re visiting the Ticino canton of Switzerland.
The Zoo al Maglio has many animal experiences throughout the year, even some daily. Some of these include the lemurs, snow leopards and raccoons!
One experience we first enjoyed was meeting one of their snow leopards for a playtime. This was well organized with the professional employee, with also clear explanation of how to play as well as a high level of information about the animal itself, and how it was rescued and now well looked after. They have two snow leopards at the zoo here.
Google Maps Location: Via ai Mulini 14, 6983 Magliaso
Lemur Experience
During our latest Zoo visit in August 2026, you could choose to meet the lemurs of the park. This was a daily experience throughout the summer that you could book in advance on their website or to book when you arrive at the entrance.
The price of this was only 10 CHF per person, which we think is well worth the money. We would have even paid more for such an experience!
They have three lemur residents, and we were excited to meet them up close and personal. The three Madagascan lemurs living here were born and raised in other zoos, and now happily living here. So this is a place they call home and it’s what they know best. Scientists have identified more than 100 lemur species, and so we were happy to meet three ring-tailed lemurs here in Ticino.
Introduction
As you are welcomed and enter the lemur enclosure, you are first standing in the educational building and outhouse where they cannot get into. This is a lovely little spot where you can read all the information boards about their size, weight, lifestyle, vegetarian diet and the whole lemur family.
Here the staff member also explained and answered also our questions that we already had about the lemurs, while we waited to enter their enclosure.
Feeding The Lemurs
Next we were allowed to enter the enclosure area. Another staff member was here waiting with 2 of the 3 lemurs, together with already some snacks!
We had to sit on the little bench area, and in no time the lemurs were right next to us and even climbing on top of us to say hi. It was absolutely adorable to experience the lemurs so close. They were very comfortable with climbing into your lap and leaning up against you. You could tell they were very comfortable with their keepers as well as meeting new people like us!
We were given little pieces of fruit (bananas!) to have on our hand, which the lemurs then came even closer for the food. They were very friendly, delicate with taking the food and very curious animals. They were comfortable climbing on our laps and leaning up to discover the food. One of them also liked being touched, whereas the other was still a little nervous. There was also a third one, but he was resting for the day!
While feeding and meeting them, we were allowed to take our photos and the staff member took some for us too. Very sweet!
Related Posts:
Our Snow Leopard Experience at the Zoo al Magio
Spend A Day At Tierpark Goldau
Admire The Baby Bears In Switzerland
Admiring Rescue Bears At The Arosa Bear Sanctuary
Ticino Ticket Guide: Discounts & Free Travel!
Swissminiatur Park: A Mini Version Of Switzerland
8 Tips For Your First Trip To Ticino
Summary
The Lemur experience at Zoo Al Magio is one of the most cutest experiences you can have in Ticino. It’s adorable to have the experience with your family and friends too.
You can feel how passionate the staff are at the zoo, all welcoming and happy to explain and answer all questions about the animals.
Of course during an experience like this with any wild animal, it’s possible that the animals are not interested in coming to say hi to you, which you have to respect. So you could pay for an experience at the zoo, but not get what you are expecting. What’s good to remember is that your money is going towards the support and healthy lifestyle of the animals at Zoo al Magio.
Our Italian is still a little basic, especially when listening about lemurs in Italian during this experience. But the staff did very well in English for us when we didn’t understand some bits, and we thanked them for that!
If you’re interested in a beautiful lemur experience too, we highly suggest that you discover Zoo al Magio for yourselves!
Leave a Reply