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Getting Here & Around

Frankfurt Features

Getting Here & Around

By Air

There are two airports with the name "Frankfurt": Flughafen Frankfurt Main (FRA), which receives direct flights from many U.S. cities and from all major European cities, and Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN), which is a former U.S. air base 70 mi west of Frankfurt and handles some super-cheap flights, mainly to and from secondary European airports.

Airport Transfers

Flughafen Frankfurt Main is 10 km (6 mi) southwest of the downtown area by the A-5 autobahn and has its own railway station for the high-speed InterCity (IC) and InterCity Express (ICE) trains. Getting into Frankfurt from the airport is easy. S-bahn lines 8 and 9 run from the airport to downtown. Most travelers get off at the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) or at Hauptwache, in the heart of Frankfurt. Trains run at least every 15 minutes, and the trip takes about 15 minutes. The one-way fare is EUR 3.60. A taxi from the airport into the city center normally takes around 20 minutes; allow double that during rush hours. The fare is around EUR 25. If driving a rental car from the airport, take the main road out of the airport and follow the signs reading stadtmitte (downtown).

Bohr Busreisen offers a regular bus service to and from Frankfurt-Hahn Airport. It leaves hourly, 3 AM to 10 PM, from the south side of the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof, with a stop 15 minutes later at the Terminal 1 bus station at Flughafen Frankfurt Main. The trip to Flughafen Frankfurt-Hahn takes an hour and 45 minutes, and costs EUR 12.

By Bus & Subway

Frankfurt's smooth-running, well-integrated public transportation system (called RMV) consists of the U-bahn (subway), S-bahn (suburban railway), Strassenbahn (streetcars), and buses. Fares for the entire system, which includes a very extensive surrounding area, are uniform, though they are based on a complex zone system. Within the time that your ticket is valid (one hour for most inner-city destinations), you can transfer from one part of the system to another.

Tickets may be purchased from automatic vending machines, which are at all U-bahn and S-bahn stations. Weekly and monthly tickets are sold at central ticket offices and newsstands. A basic one-way ticket for a ride in the inner zone costs EUR 2.20 during the peak hours of 6 AM-9 AM and 4 PM-6:30 PM weekdays (EUR 2.10 the rest of the time). There's also a reduced Kurzstrecke ("short stretch") fare of EUR 1.50 the whole day. A day ticket for unlimited travel in the inner zones costs EUR 5.60. If you're caught without a ticket, there's a fine of EUR 40.

Some 100 European cities have bus links with Frankfurt, largely through Deutsche Touring GmbH. Buses arrive at and depart from the south side of the Hauptbahnhof.

By Car

Frankfurt is the meeting point of a number of major autobahns. The most important are A-3, running south from Köln and then on east to Würzburg and Nürnberg, and A-5, running south from Giessen and then on toward Heidelberg and Basel.

In Frankfurt speeders are caught with hidden cameras, and tow trucks cruise the streets in search of illegal parkers. There are many reasonably priced parking garages around the downtown area and a well-developed "park and ride" system with the suburban train lines. The transit map shows nearly a hundred outlying stations with a "P" symbol beside them, meaning there is convenient parking there.

By Taxi

Cabs are not always easy to hail from the sidewalk; some stop, whereas others will pick up only from the city's numerous taxi stands or outside hotels or the train station. You can always order a cab. Fares start at EUR 2 (EUR 2.50 in the evening) and increase by a per-kilometer (½ mi) charge of EUR 1.60 for the first 3, EUR 1.38 thereafter.

Frankfurt also has Velotaxis, covered tricycles seating two passengers and a driver for sightseeing or getting to places on the traffic-free downtown streets. The basic charge is EUR 1.50, plus EUR 1.50 per kilometer.

By Train

EuroCity, InterCity, and InterCity Express trains connect Frankfurt with all German cities and many major European ones. The InterCity Express line links Frankfurt with Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, and a number of other major hubs. All long-distance trains arrive at and depart from the Hauptbahnhof, and many also stop at the long-distance train station at the airport.

Visitor Information

For advance information, write to the Tourismus und Congress GmbH Frankfurt-Main. The main tourist office is at Römerberg 27 in the heart of the Old Town. It's open weekdays 9:30-5:30 and weekends 10-4.

The airport's information office is on the first floor of Arrivals Hall B and open daily 6 AM-10 PM. Another information office in the main hall of the railroad station is open weekdays 8 AM-9 PM, weekends 9-6. Both can help you find accommodations.

Essentials

Airport Contacts

Flughafen Frankfurt (01805/372-4636. www.airportcity-frankfurt.de) Flughafen Hahn (06543/509-113. www.hahn-airport.de).

Bus Contacts

Bohr Busreisen (06543/50-190. www.bohr-omnibusse.de). Deutsche Touring (Mannheimerstr. 15, City Center, D-60329. 069/230-735. www.touring.de). Verkehrsgesellschaft Frankfurt am Main (City Transit Authority. 069/2132-2425. www.vgf-ffm.de).