It's definitely closer (and downhill, on the way there!!!) to get off at Cleveland Park, LJ! On the way back to the metro, though, the downhillness of the street to the Zoo stop might trump the distance thing though.

I always take the Cleveland Park stop to ge to the zoo, and the zoo stop to go home again. That way, I don't have to walk uphill in the sweaty fug that is summer in D.C.

This is kind of spectaculartly off-topic, though, isn't it?

So, how do people get to the zoo in London? Or, um, I don't know, Barcelona? Kiev? Sydney?

On edit: Hell of an xpost, huh?

Our train has a zoo stop and on certain days you get a little knocked off admission with your train pass. I love our light rail, and it really seems that they are finding ways to integrate it into the city. I will however, hate them if they fill in the Deep Ellum Graffiti tunnel at Good Latimer to put the line over it.

drive-by...

In DC, they keep talking about a theoretical "purple line" (all our lines are by color), that would connect the outer edges of the other lines together. But I think it'll never get built.

I don't think it will either, mostly because I'm not sure how they can get from Bethesda to College Park to New Carrolton without running straight through the University. The campus is freakishly huge. Not to mention the world's oldest airport, which is right next to the College Park station. (The Wright Brothers showed their newfangled contraption to the Army, there. Also the site of the first fatal airplane crash.)

Considering I grew up in a rural area with no public transport at all, I appreciate the Metro quite a bit. Traffic in DC can be pretty stunningly bad, so I was commuting by train for a couple years solid. I kind of miss the reading/thinking/peoplewatching time.

So, how do people get to the zoo in London? Or, um, I don't know, Barcelona? Kiev? Sydney?

Sydney's is pretty cool. Aside from just driving there, or taking the bus (I assume this works well enough - never actually tried it), you can also take a ferry from Circular Quay across the harbour, with views of the Bridge and Opera House, that deposits you directly at the Taronga Park Zoo entrance. There are joint ferry-zoo tickets available. Quite possibly the best zooward journey in the world. (Melbourne Zoo is a better zoo, they have more space an' all, but Taronga's done a decent job of renovating. Still a few concrete-and-straw enclosures left, though, which is distressing.)

The Adelaide Zoo is on the edge of the city and getting there is dead easy. Buses stop right outside, or if you catch the train into Adelaide, it's a pleasant walk along the banks of the River Torrens, or you can grab a ride on one of the "Popeye" ferries.

London Zoo is in Regent's Park. You can walk there, or take the tube.

Sounds like a song lyric.

I read a Heinlein book once where the entire human race faced annihilation because aliens found Zoos offensive - I tend to agree.

Well, not all zoos. Some preserve species that no longer have a "natural" habitat, and do so in very good conditions. Others are hideous.

Which is good, but can only be an intermin measure while restoring the natural habitat. I like the thought parks and reserves better.