With Frankfurt I marked my very first time in Germany. I felt really happy and excited, but when I was planning my days there I couldn’t find many guides that could help me. With this Frankfurt travel guide, I tried to give you the most important information that you need to know before you go there.
Frankfurt is not that cheap, so if you want to visit it, make sure to bring with you the right amount of money. But most importantly, make sure to book your accommodation right beforehand, so you will have plenty of options.
Table of Contents
How to get there
You can reach Frankfurt very easily, either you’re arriving by plane, train or even bus. The city of Frankfurt has two airports: Flughafen Frankfurt Main (FRA), Hesse and Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN). Flughafen Frankfurt is a major international airport, and it’s also the closest one to the city center with only 15km of distance.
To get to the city center you can take the bus, the train or take a taxi.
With the bus you’ll get to Frankfurt city center in 30 minutes and it costs €4.35. The buses that take you to the city center are N° 61, 77, 72, 58, 62 (daytime buses) and N81 and N7 (night buses).
With the train it will take you 40 minutes to reach the city center and 11 minutes to get to the Central Railway Station. The price is €4.65 and you can take either line S8 or S9.
How to go around
One thing that impressed me a lot about Frankfurt am Main is its size. When I was planning and searching for different attractions to see, I thought that I always needed public transportation to go around. But when I arrived there, and I started to go around, I realized that you can also visit the city by foot if you want.
Tip: if you don’t like to walk there is an interesting card that you can buy. This Frankfurt Card allows you to take any public transportations: tram, bus, subway, S-Bahn and regional trains. With this card you can also have up to 50% reduction in many Frankfurt museums and in the Palmengarten. 20% discount on the admission price in the Main Tower and many other benefits.
I want to make clear that this is not sponsored, I genuinely recommend this card because I found it very helpful when I was there.
There is the single card:
- 1 day ticket which is €11.50
- 2 days ticket which costs €17.00.
And there’s also group tickets (for max. 5 people):
- 1 day ticket for €24.00
- 2 days ticket for €34.00.
If you’d like to have more infos about the Frankfurt Card, click here.
What to visit
When I first arrived in Frankfurt I immediately noticed something really interesting about this city. What I love the most is the perfect combination between old and new. In just one city you can see traditional streets and houses combined with modern skyscrapers and buildings.
Frankfurt Römer
Römer is a place that you cannot skip while you’re in Frankfurt am Main, it’s a very unique place. This was the place where people did the coronation of the king and it’s the place for the Christmas market. In Römer you can find the Römerberg, which is the main square of Frankfurt. Everything here was rebuilt after the bombing of WWII.
Maintower
If you search Maintower online you will see a normal skyscraper, but what’s special about this building is the view that you can see from the top of it. The Maintower is a 200 meters building with two observation platforms open to the public.
The magic happens when you go there at night time, and that’s when you can see the breath-taking skyline of Frankfurt.
Palmengarten
It’s one of the three botanical gardens in Frankfurt, which covers 22 hectares. Inside you can find 13,000 different types of tropical and subtropical plants from all over the world.
This garden is really immense and it can take the whole day to really enjoy every bit of it. It’s a place where you can find peace in nature despite the many tourists and visitors.
Mind that this botanical garden has an entrance fee, and there’s also another botanical park right next to it that has a free entrance. But believe me that every cent that you pay will be worth it.
Kleinmarkthalle
Kleinmarkthalle is a very interesting market in the city of Frankfurt. It’s a place where the traditional market atmosphere meets the modern melting pot of international specialities. In the market you’ll find more than 60 retailers with foods from all over the world.
The Hauptwache
The Hauptwache is a central point of Frankfurt am Main and it’s one of the main plazas of the city. This plaza has different architectural styles – from the baroque to the modern surrounding buildings.
Eschenheim Tower
Eschenheimer Turm was a city gate, and it was erected at the beginning of the fifteenth century. This tower is one the of the oldest and most unaltered buildings in whole Frankfurt, since a major part of the city was destroyed.
Eiserner Steg
The Eiserner Steg is an iron footbridge that connects the old part of the city to the new one. This bridge was completely blown away after WWII and later renovated in 1993.
This footbridge is very famous for its love locks but also for the stunning view over the city, both during day and night time.
Mainkai
The Mainkai is a promenade on the right bank of the Mainin Frankfurt’s old town. It’s where you can have a peaceful walk, or where you can sit down and just relax along the river.
Old Sachsenhausen
Old Sachsenhausen is a very unique part of the city since this part survived the devastation of the second war. It’s one of few parts that can still give you a glimpse of the old Frankfurt.
Nowadays this part of the city comes alive during the night time, thanks to the many bars, clubs and apple wine taverns.
Grüneburg Park
It’s a public park in the Westend quarter and it was expanded to 29 hectares after the War.
Grüneburg is a popular place for recreation, and it has the botanical garden of the university and a Korean Garden.
Museum List
Frankfurt has a lot of museums that you can visit if you’re an artistry person. Despite not being a very big city, it still has a lot to offer and there’s also many different kinds of museums for different interests.
Unfortunately when I was there I didn’t have enough time to visit any of these listed below. If I’ll have an opportunity in the future, I’d like to visit some of these.
I’m also sure that these are just a few of many others. And a plus about this city, is that almost everything can be reached by foot.
- Städel Museum
- Museum District: Museumsufer
- Senckenberg Natural History Museum
- Goethe House and Museum
- Museum of Modern Art
- Jewish Museum Frankfurt
- Schirn Kunsthalle
- Museum Angewandte Kunst
List of other places
Frankfurt still has many other places that you can visit, it’s a destination where you’ll always have something to do.
- Frankfurt Cathedral
- St. Paul’s Church
- Liebieghaus
Where to stay
I have to say that Frankfurt is quite an expensive city, but you still can find good accommodations for a good price.
My suggestion is to choose to visit Frankfurt during low season, where even very beautiful hotels in the center city are very affordable.
Actually there are many options for where to stay in Frankfurt, there are also a lot of good Airbnb just outside the center city. If you’re a young traveler, there are also many good youth houses.
So, just make sure to book in advance and make sure to do your research well.
What to eat
To be completely honest, I don’t feel like I should give suggestions about this one. I stayed 3 full days in Frankfurt and I only had 3 full meals. I barely had a typical German or a local dish. If I’ll have another opportunity to go there again, there are a few things that I’d like to try, such as Grüne Soße and Apfelwein.
One thing that I tried right before going home was a bratwurst sandwich in the Römer zone.
In that area you will be able to find a lot of typical dining places, where you can enjoy typical German flavors.
Another thing that you cannot miss trying is their beer. I can confirm that for them it’s always the right time for a glass of beer. I remember the first day I arrived, it was already dinner time, we went around to find where to eat, but we only found places that sell beer.
These are the foods that I had in Frankfurt, and as you can tell I had dishes from different nationalities.
Conclusion
As I mentioned before, unfortunately I couldn’t visit every single place that I listed above due to the short time I spent there. But I can tell for sure that even if you don’t have much time to spend in Frankfurt, you still can enjoy this city in a couple of days.
If you’re planning to go to Frankfurt for a weekend, and you don’t know what to include in your itinerary, make sure to check 6 Things To Do In Frankfurt Germany.
While if you’re planning to visit cheap European cities, check 7 Affordable Travel Destinations in Europe. And if you’d like to spend your summer in Europe, check Cheap Summer Destinations in Europe out!
Have you ever visited Frankfurt before? And if yes, what did you like most about this city?
