The Attica Zoological Park has been operating at Gialos in Spata since May 2000 and, as it states, is the only zoological park in the country. Every year it welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors, including over 75,000 schoolchildren from all over Greece. For the approximately 34,000 residents of the municipality where it is located, the benefit is much smaller than one might expect: an offer of an annual pass not listed in the current price list, preference given to locals for certain jobs, and no recorded agreement with the Municipality of Spata–Artemida.
This is evident from the park’s own publications and from the local authority’s documents on the ‘Diaugia’ transparency portal, which refer to the park from 2016 to the present day.
The annual card for residents
The only benefit specifically aimed at residents is a free annual family card. In June 2022, according to local media, a resident who went to the ticket office with a certificate of permanent residence paid only for the first entry, 50 euros for two adults and one child over the age of 3, and received a complimentary card valid for one year. In May 2025, the same offer was published again with a family ticket priced at 66 euros. An identity card or passport and proof of residence were required, such as a recent utility bill, a tax assessment notice or a certificate of permanent residence, and the purchase could only be made at the ticket office in person.
The offer does not appear in the park’s current price list. The tickets page lists reduced rates for students, the unemployed, large families, the over-65s, teachers, people with disabilities and Cosmote subscribers, but nothing for local residents. Nor is the family ticket for two adults and one child available any more: family tickets now cost 70 euros for two parents and two children, and 81 euros for two parents and three children. Anyone planning to apply for one should first enquire by calling 210 6634725.
If it is still valid, it is certainly worth something. At the park’s current prices, an annual pass costs 65 euros for an adult and 55 euros for a child aged 3–12, i.e. 185 euros for two parents and one child. It offers unlimited visits for one year, a dedicated entrance when the queue at the ticket office exceeds 10 minutes, and a 10 per cent discount on parties, summer camps, animal adoption packages and in the shop. By way of comparison, standard admission costs 25 euros for an adult and 19 euros for a child aged 3–12, whilst children under 3 enter free of charge. Parking is free for everyone.
No agreement on ‘Diafania’
The 2025 article stated that the card is issued as part of a special partnership with the local council. However, on the ‘Diafania’ transparency portal, we found no decision by the Mayor, the Municipal Committee or the Municipal Council approving a memorandum, contract or any agreement with the company ‘Attica Zoological Park S.A.’. Nor did we find any payment from the Municipality to the park, nor any donation or sponsorship from the park to the Municipality or its schools. In practice, the discount for residents is a commercial policy of the company, which may be changed or discontinued without anyone being informed.
The comparison with our other major neighbour is telling. The Municipal Committee regularly approves grants for Athens International Airport; the most recent, under Decision 622/2026 published on 16 October, concerns educational materials for the 4th Spata Nursery School.
How is the park mentioned in the council’s decisions?
Wherever the park is mentioned in the Council’s documents, it is primarily referred to as a source of traffic. In the opinion adopted by the Municipal Council on 30 June 2026 regarding the new Special Spatial Framework for Industry and the Supply Chain, the park is listed alongside the airport, the three Wastewater Treatment Centres, the data centres and the Outlet Village among the cumulative pressures faced by the municipality, ‘with the resulting significant increase in traffic congestion’. In 2020, the Spata–Loutsa Community Council warned of the risk of fire from dry grass in the Gialos Business Park, right next to the zoo and the Outlet Village, ‘which attracts thousands of visitors’.
The only proposal to benefit the local market came from the Community Council itself in June 2022: a leaflet to be distributed at the airport, the Outlet Village and the zoo, so that visitors would pop down to Artemida for a coffee or a meal. There is no follow-up on the ‘Diafania’ transparency portal, nor has a contract been awarded for its printing.
The most well-known dispute between the municipality and the park was a legal one. In 2013, the Mayor issued Decision 715/2013 to close the canteen and refreshment bar inside the park, and the company appealed to the Athens Administrative Court of First Instance. The case was scheduled to be heard on 11 April 2016, and the municipality appointed a lawyer with a fee of 479.09 euros. The outcome has not yet been published.
Work and schools
The park does not disclose how many staff it employs. On its careers page, it is seeking mammal keepers and permanent or seasonal cashiers; regarding the cashiers, it notes that ‘preference will be given to residents of the surrounding areas’. CVs should be sent to jobs@atticapark.gr.
There is no special fare for schools in the municipality. The same school fare applies as across the country, €11 for nursery schools and crèches and €12 for primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools, with compulsory booking on 210 6634725. The park offers 15 educational programmes for schools, including guided tours and the chance to interact with the farm animals.
Source: Attica Zoological Park, price list and pages on atticapark.com (17/10/2026); Municipality of Spata–Artemida on Diaugia: Finance Committee Decision 69/2016, Spata–Loutsa Community Council Decisions 6/2020 and 9/2022, Municipal Council Decision 78/2026, Municipal Committee Decision 622/2026.
