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Buy Tickets Cincinnati Zoo’s PNC Festival of Lights Voted #1 in the Nation 8 Years in a Row!
Winner of Best Zoo Lights in USA Today’s 2025 10Best poll
CINCINNATI (December 10, 2025) – USA TODAY’s 10Best editors announced this morning that Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden’s PNC Festival of Lights took the top spot in the Best Zoo Lights category in its 2025 Readers’ Choice poll! It is the eighth consecutive year that the readers have voted Cincinnati Zoo #1 in this category.
“Eight years in a row is a big deal!,” said Cincinnati Zoo director Thane Maynard. “People really love our holiday events, especially PNC Festival of Lights. We continue to make improvements each year, including adding more lights in more areas of the Zoo. This year we hung more than five million LED lights!”
New habitats, like Elephant Trek and Bear Ridge, are now lit, so visitors can spread out and have plenty of room even on busy nights. In addition to having more room to roam, the Zoo has added 26 more lifelike animal lanterns including a giant peacock, black bear, poison dart frogs, cheetahs, snow leopard, and more! There are more photo ops and a longer-than-ever light tunnel to chug through when you ride the North Polar Express.
The lights are the main attraction during PNC Festival of Lights. Zoo animals usually head indoors around 5pm, so visitors coming to see animals should arrive earlier in the day or visit indoor habitats such as World of the Insect, Night Hunters, Manatee Springs, Reptile House, Gorilla World, Dragons, Jungle Trails West, and Discovery Forest.
Santa will be available for visits and photos in the spectacular Santa’s Village, starting at 4 p.m. daily. As part of the Zoo’s Access for All program, Sensory-Friendly Santa visits, sponsored by Macy’s, are being offered and social narratives are available.
Come see why we’re number 1! Save time and money by purchasing tickets online before you visit. Prices for traditionally lower traffic nights, such as Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, will be as much as half less than those purchased for the most popular nights. Prices will go up based on demand for certain nights, so buy early to get the best rate. Memberships are on sale now and are a great value if you want to enjoy the Zoo year-round or visit PNC Festival of Lights more than once.
PNC Festival of Lights is included in Zoo admission. For more event information, visit CincinnatiZoo.org. Download the Zoo’s mobile app to plan your visit and navigate the park. December 23 is the last night to visit Santa. The Zoo is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas.