20 hours in London or 20 hours in Frankfurt?
 

Greetings Everyone

I'm travelling to Asia and have two options for a 20 hour layover.
20 hours in London or 20 hours in Frankfurt.
HELP? Which is the better city to see for 20 hours?

Details...
Travelling in November 2014.
Travelling with my boys ages 11 and 10 (I'm the dad)
We are US Citizens and want to go and venture out of the airport.
Arrive around noon and 20 hours later we depart (so basically we have the afternoon/evening to do things...NOT late night).

Additional....
I've been to London before (three times but never with my kids...and never for just one day). I know the TUBE makes it really easy to get around London and I can "quickly" show them the highlights of the city. I never get tired of London and its one of the most famous cities in the world.

Never been to Frankfurt (or any city in Germany). Cant speak German (hopefully that's not an issue). And when I mention Frankfurt...my kids have a puzzled look like...where?
But the idea of visiting Germany fascinates me. Yes it's not Berlin or Munich...but hey it's new to me and it's still in Germany!

I'm torn...London for the 4th time (first with kids)...or Frankfurt (first time for all of us).
Only have 20 hours...
Let me know if you have a "slam dunk" answer so I can break the tie.

Thanks for your help,

Absolutely London.

While Frankfurt is not awful - it was pretty well destroyed in WWII and doesn't have a lot for kids that age. Yes, Germany is wonderful - but a lot of that is the small towns - and by boat or car - or a city like Berlin that has incredible world class museums.

London...no contest.

Your kids deserve London.

London.

London...not a lot of time, but...

Starting that late in the day for kids that age I suggest:

Tower (the no. 1 can't miss sight in London IMHO)
Cruise back to Westminster...(Eye if time)
Walk to Trafalgar...see horse guards.
Dinner.

SS

London

My first reaction was London also.

But then the medieval castles along the Rhine came to mind. I would think boys that age would enjoy them. Take the train from Frankfurt airport to Rudesheim or St. Goar or some other town along the Rhine. Train is about 1:15 hr from Frankfurt airport to Rudesheim. Take a boat from Rudesheim or Bingen down the river, see all the great castles, get off the boat and visit a couple (Markstrum and Rhinefels maybe, both can be reached by the little tourist trains in both towns or a longer walk).

And, depending on when in November, the famous Christmas markets may be open.

Just a different perspective.

Weather is not likely to be wonderful in either location but you never know!

London. As you are familiar with the tube and layout of the city it will easy for you to plan.

just be sure you have enough time to go through security on the return to the airport. Assuming that you have checked luggage that will be checked through to your destination in Asia, if you are each taking a carry on, you may want to use small backpacks (day packs) that you can take with you into London.

Should have added, you take the boat down the river then take the train back along the river to whatever town you stay in.

London. With so little time, you will only be able to scratch the surface of London, but if your kids have never been there, it is important that they be introduced to one of the great cities of the world. Since you are familiar with it, you can be their guide. We were in Frankfort because we flew in to their airport. It was enjoyable hanging around Romerberg Square for a few hours, but as a destination city, Frankfort cannot compare to London in my opinion. The aforementioned Rhine cruise does sound interesting, but I'll vote for London.

Which is the better city to see, London hands down!

Which is the better city to see in 20 hours is an entirely different question. You can't see London in 20 hours! You can make a mad dash to some of the famous sighs but you'd need to be selective, pick and choose and plan your time wisely.

Legoland is NOT London in all it's grandeur, but for kids it might be fun way to spend the stopover if you're flying to Heathrow it's closeby.

Frankfurt has limited sights that would be of interest to tourists. You'll have plenty of time to see the sights on your stopover.

Is there a significant difference in the cost of the airline tickets? That might influence your decission too.

Frankfurt!

With just an afternoon, you have basically two options. Which one you choose will also depend on weather which can be nasty both in London and in Frankfurt.

First, Frankfurt downtown. The train from the airport to downtown takes 11 minutes. Can't be easier.

For a rainy day, the Senckenberg Museum might be a good choice to go the boys. It is a natural history museum and strong in dinosaurs. Be aware that it closes at 5 p.m. on most days (except Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays when it is open longer).

http://www.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=14746

There is also a botanical garden (Palmengarten) and a museum where kids can make experiments (EXPERIMINTA - ScienceCenter) which might be interesting.

http://www.palmengarten.de/#/en_GB/index/index
http://www.experiminta.de/homepage.html

After the museum tour, you may stroll through downtown. It will get dark early (both in Frankfurt and in London), so the illuminated historical buildings will have a special charme. The historical center of Frankfurt around the Römerberg is rather compact and walkable. Besides the medieval facades, you will see quite a few impressive buildings from the 19th century. The Christmas Market will start on November 26. Also, the riverfront is quite attractive.

Or maybe you want to do something completely different with the boys between two long flights:

http://www.dastollhaus.de/en/homepage

The second option is visiting a medieval castle (you do not have the time for more than one) at the Rhein. You can visit castle Rheinstein.

http://www.burg-rheinstein.de/en/index.php

You take the train from the airport to Bingen (about one hour), from there you take a taxi for a few Euros up to the castle.

After the castle tour take the boat to Rüdesheim on the other side of the Rhein. This will be a typical German small town (however touristy).

Or you have a third option:

Before travelling (or during the flight) you watch "The Name of the Rose" with the boys. After landing in Frankfurt, you take the train (one hour) to Eberbach Monastery where the movie was filmed.

http://kloster-eberbach.de/

London. There's much more to see and do if the weather is nasty--not just drizzly, but cold, windy, with driving rain. Also, you are familiar with getting around there.

The trip along the Rhine wouldn't be doable with your noon arrival in Frankfurt--KD is on their winter schedule and there is just one boat that leaves Rudesheim at 10 a.m. and ends the cruise at St. Goarshausen at 11:40 a.m.

I like Frankfurt. However, for this layover and with the age your boys are, I <i>strongly</i> recommend London, they'll enjoy it so much more.

London. Hands down. Especially with kids. There's just more "magic" there.