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Monkey Mountain and the Eagle Park

Two neighbouring wildlife parks on the same hill above Kintzheim, easily done in one day: a forest full of macaques on one side, birds of prey flying over a ruined castle on the other.

Kintzheim (45 min from Orbey)

Tour length

About 2 hours per park

Location

Kintzheim (45 min from Orbey)

From

€12 adult and €8 for ages 5 to 14, per park

The site

What to know

Both parks sit on the same hill above the village of Kintzheim, a few hundred metres apart. At La Montagne des Singes, more than 200 Barbary macaques live free across 24 hectares of woodland: you walk among them, with no fence and no glass, along a sandy path that takes a good hour and a half. At La Volerie des Aigles, set inside the ruins of Kintzheim castle, black kites, owls, vultures, falcons and eagles fly loose above the audience during a 40-minute show. Allow around two hours per park: one in the morning, the other in the afternoon, and the day is full.

History

The story of the place

The Volerie came first, in 1968, in the ruins of Kintzheim castle: it was the first park in France to fly birds of prey free in the open air. The castle itself dates from the early 13th century, built under Emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. Partly destroyed by Swedish troops in 1633 during the Thirty Years' War, it stood abandoned for a long time before being listed as a historic monument in 1964. A year after the Volerie opened, Gilbert de Turckheim and Jacques Renaud launched La Montagne des Singes next door. The park opened on 9 August 1969 with 150 Barbary macaques from the Moroccan Middle Atlas, chosen because the climate there is close to Alsace's. Their descendants still spend the winter outdoors.

The must-sees

What you really shouldn't miss during your visit.

The Entre ciel & terre show

Forty minutes of free flight in the castle courtyard, with birds that sometimes skim the audience. It runs at fixed times, so the timetable shapes your day rather than the other way round.

Twenty-four hectares with no barriers

At La Montagne des Singes nothing separates visitors from the macaques. The path crosses their territory, and it is up to them whether they come close.

The commented feedings

Roughly every 45 minutes a keeper hands out food and explains what is happening in front of you. It is the moment when the troop's hierarchy becomes readable.

The Entre Pierres & Plumes trail

At the Volerie, some fifteen illustrated panels tell the castle's story, and a hands-on sensory trail, including a short barefoot section, lets you feel the materials a nest is built from.

In the skin of a monkey

A play trail at ground level and up in the trees, secured with nets, where children try to move like primates. The elevated section is open from age 5 and a height of 1.15 m.

The view from the castle courtyard

From the Volerie's terraces the view reaches right across the Alsatian plain. On clear days you can pick out the spire of Strasbourg cathedral and the ridges of the Black Forest.

Opening hours

Open: Montagne des Singes: daily from 21 March to 1 November 2026 · 10am-5:30pm in March and April · 10am-6pm from May to August · 10am-5:30pm in September · 10am-5pm in October · last entry 45 min before closing. Volerie des Aigles: 25 March to 11 November 2026, opening hours and number of shows vary by period (9:30am-6pm in high season), day-by-day calendar at voleriedesaigles.com
Closed: Both parks close from mid-November to late March

Tickets

Adult
Same price at each of the two parks
€12.00
Child aged 5 to 14
€8.00
Under 5
Free
Reduced rate, adult
University students, Cezam card, Guide du Routard, Passeport Gîtes, Haut-Koenigsbourg shuttle ticket
€10.50
Reduced rate, child aged 5 to 14
€7.00
Visitors with a disability
On proof, at La Montagne des Singes
€6.00
Volerie annual pass
Adult and child, valid for the current season
€30 · €20

In pictures

The place from several angles, to prepare your visit.

Monkey Mountain and the Eagle Park, photo 1

Monkey Mountain and the Eagle Park, photo 2

Monkey Mountain and the Eagle Park, photo 3

Monkey Mountain and the Eagle Park, photo 4

Monkey Mountain and the Eagle Park, photo 5

Our tips before you go

1Check the show times before you set off. At the Volerie the number of flights ranges from one to four depending on the season, and the ticket desks close as the last show begins. Turning up between two performances means missing the point of the visit.
2Haut-Kœnigsbourg castle is 5 km away, about ten minutes by car, and it has its own page on this site. One park in the morning, the castle in the afternoon: same road, same day.
3Visitors no longer feed the monkeys themselves. The rules posted at the entrance ask you not to touch them, not to eat in front of them, to keep at least one metre away and not to run or shout. Bags go into the lockers at the entrance to the monkey enclosure.
4On weekdays outside school holidays, Sundays and public holidays, the monkey enclosure closes from midday to 1pm, with last entry at 11:30am. The restaurant, shop and the rest of the park stay open meanwhile.
5Strollers go everywhere at La Montagne des Singes, but the ground is sandy and sometimes sloping: an all-terrain stroller is more comfortable, and the park does not lend any. At the Volerie they stay outside and the castle is best visited with a baby carrier.
6The two parks are paid for separately, with no combined ticket: budget €40 per park for two adults and two children.
7The Haut-Koenigsbourg shuttle, line 500, leaves from Sélestat station and serves the Volerie, La Montagne des Singes and the castle. Show your ticket and La Montagne des Singes takes €2 off admission.
8Dogs are allowed inside La Montagne des Singes but not in the monkey enclosure, not even carried. Keep your tickets: they let you come and go all day, so you can take turns. At the Volerie, pets are not admitted.
9There is a picnic area at the entrance to La Montagne des Singes, plus a self-service restaurant and a snack bar. At the Volerie, allow ten minutes on foot between the car park and the castle entrance.
10Allow 45 minutes to an hour of driving from Orbey depending on your route, via Kaysersberg and Ribeauvillé. Parking is free at both parks.