Downtown & ArtsZooAdmission
El Paso Zoo
Central, near Washington Park
A mid-size city zoo with an Asian grasslands section, a Chihuahuan Desert area, and enough shade to survive a summer morning.
Why go
- The reliable answer to a weekend with kids.
Planning notes
- Arrive at opening in summer. The animals and your family will both be happier.
More downtown & arts
The Plaza Theatre
A 1930 Spanish Colonial movie palace with a ceiling full of stars, saved from demolition and now the city’s marquee venue.
San Jacinto Plaza
The heart of downtown, with Luis Jiménez’s fiberglass alligator sculpture standing in for the live ones that really lived here until 1965.
Downtown Arts District & Murals
Galleries, studios, and an open-air mural scene that runs from Union Plaza into Segundo Barrio and out to the Lincoln Park underpasses.