About 8 km north of Wels, Zoo Schmiding is one of the bigger zoos in Austria and the obvious family outing from town. It started as a bird park — the aviaries are still the highlight, with parrots, hornbills and crowned cranes moving freely overhead — and has since expanded into a full zoo with around 4,000 animals.
The indoor "Aquazoo" is a tropical hall of reef tanks and Amazon biotopes, and the great-ape building houses chimpanzees and orang-utans. Two to three hours is enough for a focused visit; a half day if you bring children. Open year-round, with much lower crowds outside school holidays.