How about a trip from the urban jungle to the tropics? In the Palmengarten, you can travel to different climate zones, explore different plant worlds and observe butterflies. But the Westend and Bockenheim districts also have a lot to offer in addition to the popular Palmengarten. Here, architectural history and botany meet student flair! Both districts are directly adjacent to the city centre and can be reached in just a few minutes by bus and train. Or take a long walk on foot.

On a walk, you will discover the unique cityscape with all its facets: On the one hand, it is characterised by the noble, upper-class Wilhelminian architecture, but also by residential complexes and office buildings from the 1950s to 1970s and by buildings that tell Frankfurt's history back to the Middle Ages. Such as the "Bockenheimer Warte" tower, a remnant of the city wall around Frankfurt that gives the surrounding square its name.

You can take cool photos at the entrance to the "Bockenheimer Warte" underground station, which looks as if an underground railway carriage is breaking through the earth's surface to travel underground, or with the Tyrannosaurus rex in front of the Senckenberg Nature Museum. With life-size dinosaur skeletons, mummies, minerals and many other exciting exhibits, the Senckenberg Nature Museum is one of the largest and most important natural history museums in Europe and regularly amazes children and adults alike.

The former campus of Goethe University, which has characterised the district for over 100 years and filled it with student flair, also borders the Bockenheimer Warte. Opposite is the Bockenheimer Depot, which makes the hearts of dance and theatre fans beat faster. The large hall, where trams were once repaired, now serves as an impressive backdrop for the Frankfurt Theatre, the Opera and the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company.

A stone's throw away is Leipziger Strasse with its colourful, multicultural mix of small shops and restaurants. Here, extravagant shops such as small designer jewellery shops and esoteric bookshops meet Turkish vegetable markets and charming courtyards in which, for example, an old traditional coffee roastery and a wine shop are hidden.

Not far from the former site of Goethe University is the new Westend campus. The monumental ensemble of buildings around the Poelzig Building - with its chequered history - is the centre of much of student life today. Other university campuses are located in Bockenheim (University Library), Ginnheim, Niederrad and Riedberg. The parks bordering the green university campus merge into one another and form a green oasis in the centre of the city. From here you can stroll through the Korean Garden, have a picnic in Grüneburgpark and explore the neighbouring Botanical Garden.

Hardly any other district is undergoing as much change as Frankfurt's Ostend: this is where industrial charm meets chic residential neighbourhoods, hip nightlife options and the green banks of the Main. For decades, the Osthafen port meant that the Ostend was considered a working-class district, which has been significantly modernised and restructured, and not just since the construction of the new European Central Bank (ECB) on the site of the former wholesale market hall. The so-called "Skytower", which the ECB moved into in 2014, is not only a real eye-catcher on Frankfurt's east skyline, but can also be visited on guided tours.

The Hanauer Landstraße runs right through the Ostend and, as the centre of the business district, offers numerous shopping opportunities - car dealerships and furniture design shops in particular can be found here. The street is very popular as a trendy nightlife area with numerous clubs, restaurants and bars. If you are looking for a little more culture, the Literaturhaus Frankfurt or the Romanfabrik invite you to author readings, the Kunstverein der Familie Montez on Honsellbrücke hosts changing exhibitions of contemporary art and the International Theatre, stages in the Mousonturm, in the former Naxoshalle factory and the world-renowned "Ensemble Modern" orchestra attract visitors with numerous events. From the Honsell Bridge or the Deutschherren Bridge, you have a breathtaking view of the skyline and can take some particularly beautiful photos.

Numerous memorials commemorate Jewish life in Ostend, which had a decisive influence on the district until the Second World War. At Friedberger Anlage, for example, changing exhibitions in a high-rise bunker, which stood on the former site of the Orthodox synagogue that was destroyed during the Second World War, commemorate Jewish life in Frankfurt. A publicly accessible memorial at the former wholesale market hall also bears witness to the dark history of the site as a collection centre for deportations. The industrial history of the neighbourhood can still be experienced in many places today. For example, at the Wesel shipyard (east of the rafting bridge), where a listed harbour crane and the disused tracks of the harbour railway create a special atmosphere in the family-friendly park. On warm days, the Flößerbrücke bridge offers a special natural spectacle, as the protected biotope is home to numerous sand lizards and wall lizards, which can be observed sunbathing. Frankfurt Zoo is just a 15-minute walk away and is home to around 450 animal species from all over the world.

If you're looking for a nice place to sunbathe and relax, you'll also find it in the harbour park not far from the ECB, which has something to offer for all ages: Here you can take a wonderful stroll along the banks of the Main, do some sport or simply relax with a cool drink and a view of the river. A special feature is the large BMX and skate park, which is unique in Germany. There are also free fields for playing football, volleyball, basketball or badminton and two fitness trails with different levels of difficulty. The climbing balls, trampolines, mud area and playground are perfect for the youngest park visitors to let off steam. But water sports fans also get their money's worth at Ostend.