Skip to main content
WWorld Passport
Back to Germany

Germany · Mainhattan on the Main

🏦Frankfurt

Germany's financial capital and its most skyscraper-dense city — home of the ECB, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the reconstructed Altstadt (DomRömer, 2018), all threaded by the Main and its Museumsufer.

Best season
May–September; Buchmesse (Book Fair) mid-October and Christmas market in December
Mid-range
€110–€180 / day
Backpacker
€55–€85 / day
Country
Germany

Safety

Safe overall. The Bahnhofsviertel opposite Hauptbahnhof has open drug scene — walk-through fine by day, gritty at night.

Best travel season

May–September; Buchmesse (Book Fair) mid-October and Christmas market in December.

Daily budget

Mid-range

€110–€180 / day (business city — hotels spike Mon–Thu)

Backpacker

€55–€85 / day

Where to stay

  • Altstadt/Römer — reconstructed old town, walkable
  • Sachsenhausen — south of Main, Apfelwein bars, museums
  • Bornheim — hip, cheaper, indie cafés
  • Nordend — leafy, family, near the Palmengarten

Hostels

  • Five Elements Hostel Frankfurt — near Hauptbahnhof
  • Frankfurt Hostel — social, close to the station
  • MEININGER Frankfurt Airport — modern, useful for early flights

Transportation

  • U-Bahn

    9 lines run mostly underground in the center, above ground outside. Single €3.65, day €6.30 (RMV zone 50).

  • S-Bahn

    9 lines through the shared tunnel; direct to airport.

  • Tram

    10 lines linking the outer districts.

  • Bus

    Same RMV ticket. Night N-buses on weekends.

  • Bicycle

    Nextbike and Call-a-Bike; Main river cycle path in both directions.

Airport — FRA

Frankfurt Airport

12 km southwest; Germany's largest hub with two passenger terminals and a Lufthansa long-haul base.

Airport to city center

  • S-Bahn S8/S9

    Every 15 min to Hauptbahnhof in 12 min, €5.85.

  • ICE / IC Fernbahnhof

    Long-distance trains to all of Germany from the Fernbahnhof under T1.

  • Regionalbahn

    Same S-Bahn tariff.

  • Taxi

    €30–35 to city center.

Attractions

Must-see

Römerberg & Altstadt

Reconstructed medieval heart with 15th-c step-gabled Römer city hall and the 2018 DomRömer quarter.

Museum

Städel Museum

700 years of European art — Vermeer, Botticelli, Rembrandt — plus a 2012 underground extension on the Museumsufer.

Museum

Museumsufer

13 museums along both banks of the Main; Museumsuferfest last weekend of August.

Sunset

Main Tower

200 m tower with the only public viewing platform among the skyscrapers, €9.

Monument

Frankfurter Dom (Kaiserdom)

Coronation cathedral of 10 Holy Roman Emperors between 1562 and 1792. Climb the 328 steps.

Park

Palmengarten

22-hectare botanical garden with 1868 palm house — largest in Germany.

Hidden gem

Sachsenhausen Apfelwein taverns

Old-town district of half-timbered taverns serving Frankfurt's cider (Ebbelwei) from the Bembel jug.

Food & drink

Local dish

Frankfurter Grüne Soße

Seven-herb cold sauce with boiled potatoes and eggs — Goethe's mother's recipe. Adolf Wagner in Sachsenhausen is a classic.

Local dish

Handkäse mit Musik

Sour milk cheese marinated in onions and vinegar — the 'music' is what comes later.

Local dish

Frankfurter Würstchen

The original hot dog — thin smoked pork sausages boiled and served with mustard and bread.

Restaurant

Villa Merton

Michelin-starred fine dining in an Art Nouveau villa in Nordend.

Restaurant

Kleinmarkthalle

1954 indoor market — Metzgerei Schreiber's grilled Bratwurst is the essential lunch.

Café

Zeit für Brot

Cinnamon-bun mothership — the branch on Oeder Weg is the original.

Café

Cafe Siesmayer

Belle-Époque café at the Palmengarten with the city's best cakes.