Places to Visit in Frankfurt

Travel notes

Römer, the square by Frankfurt's town hall

I am writing again after a long break: English studies, a trip to Turkey, then Germany and Italy. The Italy post will follow soon 😉 We were in Frankfurt am Main, meaning Frankfurt on the Main. With over 690,000 people in my notes, it was Hesse's largest city and Germany's fifth largest after Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne. Frankfurt is an important European centre for finance, trade fairs and services, home to the European Central Bank, Germany's central bank, the stock exchange and the Frankfurt trade fair. Its central location, airport, main station, road junctions and dense motorway network make it a major European transport hub.

Römer, the square containing Frankfurt's town hall

The tall bank towers make Frankfurt's financial character obvious immediately. We flew Ryanair from London Stansted, near our home in Cambridge, to Frankfurt Hahn. Yes, that low-cost airborne bus 🙂 Flights could be €20, €30 or €40, though comfort and quality were debatable. For short European journeys, I thought it practical. Hahn was around an hour and a half from central Frankfurt. We took a Bohr bus from outside the airport, which I think cost €15. Römer Square is in the old town. Its buildings were reconstructed after destruction in the Second World War. There are historic buildings, the town hall and St Bartholomew's Cathedral, plus cafés, restaurants and souvenir shops. But if you expect the city's most famous square to be lively in the evening, you may find it so empty that it feels abandoned and want to leave quickly.

I had heard Frankfurt had Germany's largest Turkish population. It certainly felt familiar: everywhere we turned, we met Turkish people 🙂 The centre is small but full, with shops, restaurants, the river, skyscrapers and offices. I liked much of it, but didn't always feel welcomed as a visitor. In several shops, people seemed reluctant to speak English and rather cold. At a checkout, saying 'thanks' sometimes met silence, whereas trying 'danke schön' brought a smile and 'bitte schön'. Please forgive my German—I originally wrote it phonetically because I knew none 😀

The city was attractive but didn't quite capture me, and it didn't seem primarily tourist-oriented. We sat in a pleasant restaurant for a German beer and wanted fries alongside it, but they didn't have any, which surprised me. We stayed with relatives, so I can't advise on hotels. Unfortunately, our suitcase was stolen on the return journey. We had put it in the Bohr bus luggage compartment at the station for the trip to Hahn. It was late and dark, nobody was supervising the bags, and it disappeared. I suspected people around the station, though we didn't see who took it. Other airport-bus drivers we had used watched the luggage; this one didn't. Be careful around the station and keep an eye on your belongings. We only discovered the loss at Hahn and wanted to report it, but couldn't find a police officer. The information-desk attendant was initially unhelpful. When we persisted, two officers eventually came. They didn't speak English, so she translated and we were finally able to make a report.

Luckily, we had happened to take photographs around us. As you can see, nobody was watching the luggage.

Hauptbahnhof station

Getting around

You will mostly use rail transport: S-Bahn, U-Bahn or trams. The network is extensive; my first reaction to the map was 'Wow!' Here it is so you can have the same reaction:

There is almost a Metro or tram stop on every corner. With so many lines, getting confused or lost is understandable. Use the main station, Hauptbahnhof—also abbreviated HBF—as a reference point.

The U symbol marks the U-Bahn; my original note glossed it as 'Urban'.

The fares and choices seemed reasonable. If you plan several journeys in a day, get a day pass. The options I recorded were weekly, daily and single tickets:

Weekly ticket: approximately €22.

Day ticket: approximately €6. A group day ticket at €9.50 allowed up to five people unlimited travel for the day.

Single ticket: around €1.50–€3, depending on distance and stops.

The Frankfurt Card was another option, combining unlimited transport with discounts at some museums and attractions.

Individual Frankfurt Card: one day €9.90; two days €14.50.

Group Frankfurt Card, up to five people: one day €20; two days €29.50.

Where to go

For sightseeing, I found Frankfurt fairly compact, with relatively few essential stops, so thought one or two days enough. There are different places to explore on both sides of the Main.

Eiserner Steg bridge

A few minutes' walk from Römer towards the river brings you to this famous bridge, a good spot for photographs of the river and skyline. Cross it to the south bank and lively Sachsenhausen.

People hoping for luck in love made wishes and attached padlocks here.

We stopped at a café made from a boat. Again there was a language difficulty, and we waited what felt like two hours for an English menu 🙂

Sachsenhausen

This is one of Frankfurt's most populated districts, with plenty to do. Walk by the river, eat or drink at a café, visit the Museumsufer museums, or try Frankfurt's Apfelwein—apple wine—in old pubs along Schweizer Straße. There is a flea market too, if you are interested. Many of the city's activities seemed concentrated here.

Alte Oper

The historic opera house was destroyed in the Second World War and rebuilt. Though no longer mainly an opera venue, it hosts concerts, musicals and shows.

Main Tower

My notes called this Frankfurt's tallest building. For €5 at the time, you could go up for a city view. There was also a restaurant and bar. I couldn't comment on the food, but it seemed worth considering for a drink with a view.

Willy-Brandt-Platz

I didn't find it especially noteworthy, but if you are interested in Frankfurt's business district, this was associated with the European Central Bank and its giant euro sculpture.