Barcelona Zoo

For nearly four decades, Barcelona Zoo was home to Snowflake, or Floquet de Neu in Catalan, the only albino gorilla ever documented. He arrived as a young animal captured in Equatorial Guinea and lived here until his death in 2003, becoming one of the city's best-known residents and an international celebrity.

The zoo, signed as Zoo de Barcelona, occupies part of the Parc de la Ciutadella, the green space laid out on the site of a former citadel and later used for the 1888 Universal Exhibition. It opened in 1892, which makes it one of the older zoos in Europe, and its grounds sit within easy walking distance of the park's lake, fountain and the Arc de Triomf.

Visitors walk among enclosures housing a wide range of mammals, birds and reptiles from around the world. Drawing more than a million visitors a year, it is a popular outing for families with children.