I will be flying to Frankfurt on March 15, landing at 10.20 in the morning (at Terminal T1), and my connecting flight will leave Frankfurt at 3.30 in the afternoon from Terminal T1, directed to Rome. Basically I'll have a 5 hour layover(considering that the flight will arrive in time).
Do you think it's feasible to take the S-Bahn + U-Bahn and spend a couple of hours in the old town for a walk, a beer and some bratwurst and then come back, allowing 3 hours to commute from and to the airport and go through security back at the airport?

Thanks for your help.

topping

Hi Batuffolina,

I had posted a similar question a while back. Here were my reponses.

Author: Franto
Date: 01/29/2005, 05:53 pm
Based on the last time I had a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt, I'd say you really don't have much time to sightsee. I had a 5 hour layover in Frankfurt and 5 hours was just enough to go to the other side of the airport, to Rhein Main Air Base to get a hair cut, all with the hook up of getting an Army duty van to take me there and resourcefully find my way back to the terminal and check-in. I recommend getting a good book and reading.
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Author: chtiet
Date: 01/31/2005, 12:25 pm
Very easy to go into town and have a walk or a bite. Trains leave every 15 minutes or so, and take 15-20 mins into downtown. Local train station is in the "basement" of terminal 1. Take any train towards Frankfurt, get off at "Hauptwache" (the 5th stop I think), and walk along the main pedestrian street called "Zeil". At some point (obvious where), turn right, and you'll end up on the main square that has city hall, cathedral, etc. Easily doable in a couple of hours.

Batuffolina - where have you been???

Just to avoid any confusion if you are trying to find the Regional Bahnhof at Frankfurt airport, it is NOT in the basement of terminal 1. It IS under the building just across the street from terminal 1. You get to it by going down the stair/escalators just inside the streetside wall of terminal 1. There is kind of a shopping mezzanine under the street, with ticket machines and a Reisezentrum (travel center). A little farther on, under the building across the street, you go down stairs or escalators to the actual train platforms.

The S-bahns, leave from the station every 15 minutes at 2, 17, 32, & 47 minutes after the hour. They will show a destination of Hanau, Offenbach, or Hauptbahnhof. Those showing Hauptbahnhof will go into the main station at the ground level. The others will pass underground through the Tief (deep) station, and go on to stations such as Hauptwache. There are other regional trains which leave the Regional Bahnhof for Frankfurt Hbf, but their schedule is not as regular as the S-bahn.

Five hours would be enough time to get into downtown Frankfurt for a quick bite or a lookaround, but if your flight is late, or you take too much time getting through passport control or customs, you might be cutting it too close.

Thanks Sassy and Larry for the precious tips. I was looking at the rmv.de website today and I got confused by the different kinds of ticket prices depending on the area, but I remember Larry mentioned in a past post to get either a group ticket or a daily ticket. Is there a tourist info booth where I can ask what's the best ticket I can get?


To Holly,
Wow, you still remember me! I am sorry I disappeared from this forum, but my life got SO busy: I moved, I got married, I got a new job, had family problems for a while (my mom passed away) and so many other things. I visit Fodors from time to time, but I don't have much time to help other travelers. And this time I am visiting it as asker not as helper!

We have to fly from Frankfurt to Rome next October and because it is an International flight you are expected to check in two hours prior to departure. Do allow for this.Check online a detail plan of Frankfurt Airport and what is available there.

>>I got confused by the different kinds of ticket prices depending on the area

Batuffolina,

the best way to determine the various ticket categories (Preisstufe) and prices is to do a query for the trip (eg, Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Regionalbf to Frankfurt(M) Hbf. When you get routes, check the box to the left under "details", then click "Show results for selection". Under the details for your selection, it will say Fares information and it will give the fares (adults, children). At the end of that line is a link for "fare details".

If you click on "fare details", the next screen shows the Einzelfahrkarte (single trip ticket) prices for adults and children, as well as the supplement to travel 1st class. Note that this is Preisstufe (price category) 4. The radio button for "Einzelfahrkarte ohne Umweg" is checked. This means single trip ticket without "detour", i.e., direct to your destination. If you check one of the Zeitkarte buttons, it will show you the adult, child, and group day ticket prices, also for Preisstufe 4.

I can't find a table of Gültigkeitdauer (validity time), so I assume with an Einzelfahrkarte you have to go directly to your destination without making a significant stopover. With a Tageskarte, you could travel all over the downtown Frankfurt area by S-bahn, U-bahn, etc all day, making as many stops as you wanted for as long as you wanted.

If you go to the RMV homepage and click on the British flag, it will give you a page that says "Multilingual pages". One of the links will be "Welcome to Frankfurt". It brings up a pdf file in many languages. The last page is a map of zone 50 (downtown Frankfurt). With a day ticket from the airport to downtown, you can travel freely amongst all of the stations shown in the zone.

Does that help with the confusion?

Sorry to hear you've had problems, but congratulations on all the good stuff! If you were passing through Frankfurt one day earlier, we could meet for lunch. Oh, well! Glad to see you posting.

I just heard back from RMV.

Unlike some Verkehrverbünde, which give you a certain amount of time to complete a single trip, a time that allows for stops along the way, RMV requires that you progress continuously towards your destination. Unlimited transfers are possible, as long as they are in the direction of you destination and you take the next possible connection. Trip interruptions, back-tracking, and round-about travel are not permitted.

On the other hand, with a day ticket (adult, child, or group), an unlimited number of trips in the designated zones, with stopovers, backtracking and round-about travel, are permitted.

Thanks everyone especially Larry for the great explanation, now it makes sense. I will go back to the rmv.de website to take a look at the schedules and fares with a new perspective.

I take advantage of your kindness to ask you another thing. We'll just have time to walk around the Roemer but we would like to sit down in one of the outdoor cafes or a Kneipe of the main square (if the weather is nice) and just have a beer and some bratwurst. Can you recommend a place between the Station and the Roemer where to get goooood bratwurst and a beer and enjoy the view for 1 hour?

Thanks again.