Affenberg Salem also known as Monkey Hill is located in Salem, Germany has free range monkeys in 20 acre sanctuary. People enjoy visiting here because you can walk freely among them and feed them popcorn. They also have these amazing storks that have large nests along the tops of the buildings. This is a great place to visit for some family fun, it’s also open on Sundays so that can be helpful as well.
There is a large parking lot in front of the buildings, parking is free and was easy to find around 11 am, although it was packed by 1 pm on Sunday so keep that in mind.
You first walk into a courtyard area and see the cafe, which is cafeteria style, and tables in the courtyard. Restrooms are to the left. If you look at the tops of the buildings you’ll see huge storks standing near their nests. These were neat to see.
If you walk past the cafe and turn left you’ll see the Kasse to buy your tickets for the park. Tickets were €8,50 adults, €5.50 for kids ages 6-15, or €22 for a family pass. After you’ve purchased your ticket you can enter the park.
There is a gift store to the right, you can go in here and buy fish food for €0.50 if you’d like to feed the fish. You’ll get the popcorn later in the walk, for free, for the monkeys. There are some Affenberg souvenirs and postcards as well.
You walk on a nice little nature path up to the monkey area, you can stop at the wooden docks along the way and see fish and ducks.
The fish are huge and were looking for food, but we didn’t get any at the gift shop.
At the monkey area they will be giving directions in German before they let several people in at a time. Don’t be hesitant to go up and ask them if they speak English, they will gladly help you and explain the rules. Strollers can go in the area but you must remove everything from the bottom of the stroller first. Rules are simple: Don’t pet the monkeys, feed them with an outstretched hand, don’t feed the mamas & babies, etc. Also note NO outside food is allowed, you can only feed them the popcorn that is provided.
After you enter you’ll still have to walk a bit before you get to the area where they hand out popcorn. You’ll only get 1 handful per person so it goes pretty fast. This guy knew exactly where to wait and was right across from the gal giving out popcorn.
This guy sitting like a human cracked us up!
If you didn’t know better you’d think that the monkey is posing like Mr. B 😉
If your there at certain times you can see the feedings and hear a little talk but it’s all in German. We did however enjoy watching the babies chase each other during this time. We also got to see this mama with her baby hanging on for a ride, too cute!
This guy was just hanging around, he wasn’t even interested in the popcorn, must’ve had his fill already.
Here’s some short video clips of our visit:
After you exit the Monkey area you can continue your stroll through the park which will loop around to the entrance. You’ll see a few deer on the way out as well but they weren’t very close.
After that walk Bub wanted to get a snack from the cafe. The prices were reasonable. Pommes frites (fries) were 2,80, scalloped potatoes were €3, and frozen yogurt was €3. Mr. B also got a souvenir glass for €2,50.
We sat at the tables in the courtyard and watched the storks while we ate. It was starting to get crowded around 1 pm when we were leaving.
There is also a playground in this area if you have kids that would enjoy that.
This was a fun little stop that everyone enjoyed, probably not worth the drive if your just going to see it because it’s a good distance but it can be combined with a few other places. We visited Rhine Falls in Switzerland after Affenberg.
Have you been to Affenberg Salem? What did you think?!
Know Before You Go:
What: Affenberg Salem in Salem, Germany also known as Monkey Hill
How To Get There: It’s about 5 hours from Spangdahlem, 3.5 hours from Ramstein, and 1.5 from hours Kelley Barracks in Stuttgart. GPS address: Mendlishausen, 88682 Salem, Germany
When: Always check the website for accurate info as well! For 2014: March to October 26 open daily from 9 am to 6 pm, last admittance at 5:30 pm. October 27 to November 2 open daily from 9 am to 5 pm, last admittance at 4:30 pm.
Parking: Was free & easy to find around 11 am, however when we left around 1 pm it was packed.
Cost: €8,50 adults, €5,50 for kids ages 6-15, and they also have family passes. We paid €22 for the 2 adults and 2 kids for the family pass.
Dogs: Dogs are not allowed into the park.
Traveling with little kids: You are able to use strollers here. You can use your stroller in the monkey area BUT you will need to have nothing on the the bottom so remove all jackets, bags, etc. You also have the option to park the stroller outside the area but it’s a good walk through the area.
How long: Plan on at least 2 hours if your eating lunch there, you could easily spend longer in animals areas as well.
Where to find info: Above links
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