Frankfurt's main zoo is of a world class standard, and is a great place for all-round zoo favourites like lions, tigers, and bears (oh my!), as well as non-standard rarities like elephant shrews and quolls. Animals are well cared for, in clean and tidy exhibits, and breed well, which is the best sign that animals are happy and healthy.

I visited on a cold Monday, when museums are closed, on a day after some snowfall, so it was quiet. Some animals were not on show, with many others in their indoor quarters. With this in mind, it was inevitable that I wouldn't see everything that the zoo has to offer, even spending all day there.

Still, I saw the vast majority of what I wanted to see. Highlights include:

• the two-storey Exotarium, encompassing fish, invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians from leaf-cutter ants to freshwater crocodiles, as well as the zoo's gentoo penguins (the Humboldt penguins are currently offshow, due to the renovation of their enclosure);

• the cat house, featuring the Asiatic lion, Sumatran tiger, rusty-spotted cat, and fossa;

• Grzimekhaus, featuring day and night-active small mammals, including aardvarks, aye-ayes, sloths, fruit bats, and tamandua anteaters;

• the Cape fur seal and harbour seal;

• and primate houses, featuring baboons, bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees), orangutans, gorillas, and lemurs.

Food choices were limited on this cold day, but a menu of animal themed warm waffles was a welcome snack.

The zoo's convenient location adjacent to the U-Bahn station (called "Zoo") makes it an easy visit from any part of the city (less than 10 minutes from Hauptbahnhof, including transfer time), and its relatively small size for a zoo means you can visit for a half day.

I got a reduced price entry using the Frankfurt Pass, which was a very reasonable €8.