IllustrationZoo Frankfurt rewards a slow look, with unusual nocturnal mammals, great apes and underwater viewing packed into a manageable city visit.
Zoo Frankfurt rewards a slow look, with unusual nocturnal mammals, great apes and underwater viewing packed into a manageable city visit. Start at the main entrance on Alfred-Brehm-Platz, where a newly opened indoor enclosure offers a first look at giant anteaters and a toco toucan. Beyond it, choose a few animals you really want to watch and let the rest of the day grow around them.
Make the Grzimekhaus a priority. Its lighting reverses day and night for nocturnal animals, so daytime visitors can experience their active hours. Give your eyes time to adjust before deciding an enclosure is empty. Aardvarks and the Chinese pangolin, which arrived in 2026, make this a particularly rewarding place to think about different ways of finding food in darkness. Put bright phone screens away and resist the urge to hurry from window to window.
At Borgori-Wald, settle in to watch bonobos, western lowland gorillas and Sumatran orangutans. Pick one individual and quietly follow what it does: feeding, climbing, resting or interacting. The group arrangements change as animals move between zoos, so treat an encounter as a chance to observe rather than a checklist of named personalities. Outside, seek out the okapis. Their striped legs invite a lovely family guessing game about animal relatives; they belong to the giraffe family.
The Exotarium changes the scale of your attention. Its mangrove exhibit, opened in 2026, brings land and brackish water together with mudskippers and banded archerfish. Look at the waterline, then at the branches above it. Nearby, the Robbenklippen give another underwater perspective on swimming seals. Between houses, the Großer Weiher offers a quieter pause: wild grey herons also visit this pond, alongside birds belonging to the zoo. Planning to visit? Download the Snappit app to identify the wildlife you spot in real-time.
The zoo opened in 1858 in Frankfurt’s west and moved to its present eastern site in 1874. After severe wartime destruction, Bernhard Grzimek led its rebuilding from 1945, helping establish its enduring connection with conservation. Frankfurt achieved the first zoo breeding of bonobos in 1962. Today’s visit spans several generations of animal housing, while a long-term masterplan sets out further redevelopment.
For a first visit, follow an easy sequence from the entrance through Ukumari-Land and the big-cat area to the Grzimekhaus and Exotarium. Pause at the playground, then choose Borgori-Wald and the okapis or continue towards the Faust-Vogelhallen. The zoo has no prescribed circuit; use its map and signs, and leave room to double back to an animal that was resting earlier.
Give children one small observation challenge at each stop: find a bear’s pale facial pattern, watch how a gorilla uses its hands, or sketch the shape of an okapi’s ears. A short sketch usually encourages more attention than another quick photograph. Add a keeper feeding from the day’s published programme if it fits your route, without building the whole visit around a single session.
For a movement break, use the main playground opposite the Exotarium or the inclusive toddler play area at Grzimekcamp. The dwarf-goat petting enclosure normally opens daily; follow the instructions there and never feed the goats. In wet weather, spend longer in the Exotarium, Grzimekhaus and Borgori-Wald, allowing for outdoor walks between them.
Warm days suit longer outdoor pauses; in cold or wet weather, alternate sheltered houses with shorter outdoor stretches. Restaurant construction is under way beside the main playground, the former hedge maze has gone and the keas are currently off show. The larger Serengeti redevelopment is a future project. Check current construction and animal-house notices before setting your must-see list.
Much of the zoo is accessible with a wheelchair or pushchair, but some natural-surfaced paths are uneven, especially when wet. Borgori-Wald has a lift; ramps serve the rhino house and upper big-cat area. The Exotarium’s upper floor is reached only by stairs. Accessible toilets and baby-changing facilities are at the Zoogesellschaftshaus near the entrance and in Borgori-Wald. Wheelchairs can be borrowed at the entrance against a deposit.
slow down for nocturnal mammals, including aardvarks and a Chinese pangolin.
compare the movements and social lives of three kinds of great ape.
striped forest relatives of giraffes with a long Frankfurt history.
The Exotarium’s mangrove habitat and underwater views at the Robbenklippen.
From the main entrance, pause at Ukumari-Land, then choose the Grzimekhaus and Exotarium before returning past the pond. Add the playground if energy allows. This is a suggested selection of stops; follow current signs around building work.
The Exotarium upper floor has stairs only; natural-surfaced paths can be uneven.
Combine the Grzimekhaus and Exotarium with a play break, Borgori-Wald, the okapis and the Robbenklippen. If birds are your priority, substitute the Faust-Vogelhallen for one longer stop. Keep the final half-hour before closing free of indoor plans.
Use the lift in Borgori-Wald; omit the stair-only upper Exotarium if you need step-free access.
Look for the striped hindquarters, then watch the ears and long tongue as an okapi browses. Choose a quiet viewing spot and wait rather than following it along the barrier.
Watch for grooming or food-sharing between bonobos. Their slim bodies and dark faces help you distinguish them from the gorillas nearby. Keep your attention on what the animals actually do, without trying to attract a response.
Frankfurt keeps western lowland gorillas. Watch a hand grasp food or a foot hold a climbing support; both reveal how dexterous these large apes are. Resting animals deserve an undisturbed visit too.
Look low in the enclosure for the aardvark’s long snout and large upright ears. It can retreat into earth burrows, so give it time and return later if needed. Frankfurt first bred the species in 1962.
A Chinese pangolin joined the Grzimekhaus in June 2026. Watch quietly for overlapping scales and strong front claws; an animal curled up or out of view may require a patient second look. Never add light to improve a photograph.
Scan the climbing structures as well as the ground for a spectacled bear. Its cream-coloured facial markings vary between individuals, making a sketch of the face an enjoyable alternative to trying to name the animal.
Pause at the mangrove pool and look just below the surface for banded archerfish. The exhibit has a branch-shaped feeding device demonstrating how they knock insects down with water jets; seeing this depends on when feeding takes place.
The large-billed bird in the new entrance enclosure is a toco toucan. Look among the branches above the anteater area. A good observation can start before you have even passed the ticket check.
These common seals can be watched from the pool edge and underwater in the grotto. Compare the same animal’s movement in water and on land, and let it come into view without knocking on the window.
Grey herons visiting the central pond are wild birds. Watch from the public path and enjoy any patient, motionless fishing stance you happen to see. Their freedom to arrive and leave makes each encounter different from an enclosure visit.
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Arrive by rail
U6/U7 and tram 14 serve Zoo; check RMV for your day’s connection. Street parking is limited; nearby garages include Zoopassage.
Use the main entrance
Head to Alfred-Brehm-Platz, at Bernhard-Grzimek-Allee 1. The Rhönstraße entrance remains closed until further notice.
Tickets on your phone
Online tickets can be shown on a smartphone and have a separate entry lane. Day tickets allow one visit, so plan food breaks inside.
Keep lights low
Flash photography is prohibited throughout the zoo. In the Grzimekhaus, let your eyes adjust and keep screens dim.
Feed only yourselves
Bring a picnic for the playground picnic area, or use the Zooterrasse and other snack outlets. Some stands operate only at weekends.
Borrow a wagon
Pull-along wagons are hired at the ticket office; bring cash for the deposit and check the hire hours.
Leave pets at home
Dogs and other pets are not admitted; guide and assistance dogs are allowed with the required proof.
Give animals space
Keep to public paths, respect barriers and avoid tapping on glass. Feeding is forbidden everywhere, including the petting enclosure.
Recent snaps will appear here as new observations are added.
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Take the discovery with you
Identify the wildlife you spot, learn as you go, and keep a collection of the adventure.
