mdtravel

Living in Charlotte, I have direct flights to Frankfurt on USAir. I don't know much about Frankfurt, but if you were to go to Frankfurt, what would you do? Are there other cities close to Frankfurt that would be a better use of time?

logos999

Rent a car and go whereever you like.

richardsonsnm

go to lhw.com and check out the Kronberg castle, it's just outside of town and a very nice place to stay.

TexasAggie

Take the train directly from the Frankfurt Airport (station is called Frankfurt Flughafen) and take the 1.25 hour ride to Wurzburg. Wurzburg has a fabulous Residenz, the beautiful and moving Kapelle, and Fortress Marienberg of course. The Julisspital winery and wine estate is also first rate

mdtravel

"Rent a car and go whereever you like"

You should open a travel agency.

logos999

Thanks, how can I be of service?

mr_compass

Frankfurt was leveled from the WWII, the city was rebuilt in the modern style so it is not a popular tourist destination. How much time will you have and do you have a car? You could head to the Rhine / Mosel river areas or to the Black forest or down to Baveria. If you can tell us more, you will get more ideas.

someotherguy

Mainz is a short and simple train ride from the airport. It has an interesting and pleasant historic town center. Gutenburg did his work there.

annetti

Hi! We just spent 5 wks in Germany using Frankfurt as a base, so we spent a lot of time there just wandering around seeing the sights. There's a nice art museum, Stadelsches, which Michelin gives 2 ** out of 3. There's a pretty Botanical garden called the Palmengarten which is a nice place to while away a Sunday and see the locals relaxing. There was a nice exhibit on the history of bananas two weeks ago, that was surprisingly fascinating. The Zeil (the most popular shopping street in Germany is crowded and great for people watching. And of course, as suggested above it's centrally locate for seeing the Rhine Valley or the Mosel, etc.

RufusTFirefly

mdt--how much time do you think you would have, and what time of year?

mdtravel

I am very early in planning here. I've just got the itch to head out again after two weeks in Italy and the direct flights on the A330 make this a tempting destination.

My thought would be late fall or early winter for a week. I haven't done much research at all aside from searching for threads here, and finding scant information. Based on that, I assumed it wasn't a mecca for tourism but was hoping it could serve as a base for easy access to places more interesting.

MelissaHI

I didn't expect much from Frankfurt because of the bad rap it gets from a lot of people, but was pleasantly surprised. Unlike the more "popular" tourist destinations like Munich, I found the people in Frankfurt to be much more relaxed--maybe because they are not mobbed by throngs of tourists nonstop!

The first time I went there, I took a 1/2 day bus tour to kill time on my way to Heidelberg. It was actually very interesting and very charming, and it made me want to stay a little longer!

The second time I went there, I went to the main part of town and shopped, then walked across the bridge (built by the same guy who did the Eiffel Tower) to wander and check out one of the museums. Another way to unwind is to sit in an outdoor cafe enjoying sausages and apfelwein while people watching (if the cafes along the river are closed).

nancy

Years ago I flew into Frankfurt and rented a car for a tour of southern Gemany for a month. We headed from Frankfurt (about a 45 min. drive) to Rudesheim am Rhine. Very fun town and from there we took a Rhine cruise hopping off along the way and back again.

A week in so short a time to see much but, in hindsight, I would definitely see the Rhine River towns again.

Perhaps you could leave Frankfurt immediately, see the Rhine towns and come back to Frankfurt for a stay and sightseeing from there to other towns.

bettyk

I don't know that I would use Frankfurt as a base, but you can certainly pick up a car at the airport and start with the Rhine and/or Mosel River areas. I would then head over to the Neckar River and, using the lovely town of Bad Wimpfen as a base, explore Schwaebisch Hall and Dinkelsbuhl on the Romantic Road. From there you could stay in Wurzburg and take day trips to some of many fabulous little towns nearby (some that we have visited are Iphofen, Dettelbach and Karlstadt am Main) or base yourself in one of these smaller towns and do your daytripping from there. We stayed in Iphofen at a wonderful little 3* hotel called the zum Hirschen for around 60 Euro per night. Next year, we plan to stay in Wertheim, northwest of Wurzburg, on the Main River.

There are many fabulous little towns to explore and great countryside in that area of Germany.

RufusTFirefly

mdt--Frankfurt does have enough going on to be interesting for a day or two, but I wouldn't make it my base.

Travel by car or train is very easy. Note that some tourist sights start closing in late fall or early winter; e.g., the wonderful Burg Eltz on the Mosel.

That time of the year, I'd recommend towns and cities as opposed to the outdoors. People have already listed several: also Bamberg and Nuernberg are great places to visit. And in November and December you can enjoy the Christmas Markets.

annetti

Frankfurt inadvertently became our base for Germany. We did a home exchange there for 5 weeks. We were only minutes from the main train station, the central point to start a trip anywhere in Germany. Frankurt was our starting point for Marlberg, Baden Baden, Heidelberg, Nurnburg, Berlin, Mosel, Rhine, Berlin, Dresden etc. We found it convenient and had we been based in a smaller town, it is most likely we would have had to return to Frankfurt to begin our trips. It might not have the charm of a small city, but we did find it attractive for a large city and enjoyed it as our base. We used both a car and a Eurail pass for our 5 wks in Germany. Train travel is very pleasant in Germany. The trains are clean, run generally on time, and are convenient. In ten plus trips to Europe, this was our first trip in over 20 years where we relied heavily on the train. We were not certain it would work; we hated the idea of rolling suitcases to a train and being dependent on waiting for a train to leave. However, we were pleasantly surprised at what a pleasure it was to travel by German trains. We avoided parking problems, getting lost, and fatigued from driving. In fact, we turned our car in early, and took the train. Germany is one country where you can comfortably travel by train and this is coming from someone who hated the idea of waiting at a train station and never ever takes public transportation at home. From Frankfurt, the hub, we took one hour or so trips to Marberg, Heidelberg, Koln, Baden Baden, etc. almost everyday. Of course, not everyone has a home exchange in Frankfurt and would have it as a base, but it should not be discounted as a convenient starting point.

picapica

I lived in Frankfurt for about 9 months in 2001/2002 and loved every day of it. There is no reason to have a car - you can get anywhere by train and nice day/several day trips from Frankfurt include Heidelberg, Rhine River valley, and much more. Public transportation in Frankfurt is very easy to navigate and can get you anywhere in the city. Along the Rhine's south bank is the museum cooridor - within walking distance of these museums are several Restaurants worth a visit especially the Adolf Wagner - which has Applewine - this is not wine or hard cider but sort of in between - Frankfrut is known for it and people either love it or hate it - I miss it. The food there is more stereotypical German - the jagerschnitzle is excellent and for vegetarians the potato cakes with green sauce is a very Frankfurt dish that is delicious. Other favorites are shopping along Zeil, if you there between Thanksgiving and Christmas there is a lovely Christmas Market from Zeil up to the riverfront - lots of crafts, gluwein (yummmy!) and be sure to check out the window displays in all of the department stores, and checking out some of the neighborhood markets and eating patries - the Laumer has excellent cakes, tortes, and coffee (as well as breakfast) it is stop west of the Alter Oper stop. Just off Zeil, near the Alter Oper is a great winebar and restaurant, Vinum. next door is the Cafe Voltaire, known for intelletual and leftist happenings as well as a nice place to get a drink or have a light dinner. And across from both of these is a wonderful Italian restaurant.

If you are there in the fall, I also recommend checking out an opera (at the new opera house, not the Alter Oper whch has pop acts) even if you are not a serious fan, it is an terrific company and a nice way to soak up some local culture.

I lived in Bockenheim near the afore mentioned Palmengarten (right across the street) and it is a nice place to visit. Frankfurt has a huge amount of green space inside the city, making for nice places to stroll, bike ride, etc. near the Bockenheim subway station is Das Tat which used to have a fabulous dance company, I'm not sure if they are still there. Very modern. There is usually a market here on Thrusdays (I think) and if you are there in the fall, be sure to get some fresh cider and potato cakes from the street vendors (the sausages are great too).

Enjoy Frankfurt, it's well worth a visit.

RufusTFirefly

Well, you can get most places in Germany by train, but not everywhere. Some places you'd have to combine train/bus or train/taxi or train/car. It just depends on whether or not you want to visit some more remote sights or smaller villages.