6hr Layover in Frankfurt
 

I have a 6 hr layover in Frankfurt (9:00 am to 4:00 pm). I will like to see a little bit of the city with our risking missing mu connection flight to Vienna. Please send suggestions... with exact instructions please...

dabreu, I just did this last week, on a flight to Rome.

We were coming from the US, and it looked like all of the international flights were not using gates, rather the passengers were bussed directly to a customs area. Either way, once you get into the unsecured area of the airport, you just follow the signs to the trains. The S-bahn will take you into the center of Frankfurt - S-9 on track 1, I think - and it's only about 4 stops to the hauptbahnhof. Total train time is only about 10-15 minutes. We continued another couple of stops to the Hauptwasse, which puts you adjacent to a couple of interesting streets, including the Fessgasse (lots of bakeries, delis, butchers, restaurants, etc.), and the main pedestrian shopping district, called the Zeil I believe. From there you can easily walk to Romer, which is the rathaus I think, and has a very nice square with fountains, restaurants, etc. We also walked across the Main on a pedestrian bridge, and were able to find Sachsenhausen, which is supposed to be a quaint district of apple wine pubs. It's not - it is quaint looking, but all of the buildings appear to be bars and nightclubs, and none were open during the day. It was really a waste of time.

I've been to many different places in Germany, and I'd have to say Frankfurt was the least interesting. We didn't go into any museums, and there are supposed to be some very interesting ones there, so that may be a better alternative than the walking tour that we did. Another possibility would be to take the S-bahn to somewhere like Mainz or Wiesbaden, which are about 30 minutes away.

If you arrive at Terminal 1, the Regional train station is right below. The luggage storage is next to Arrival Gate B-1 and the escalator to the S-bahn station is there too. Tickets are 3.80 one way or a day pass is 9.35 or a group ticket valid for up to 5 people and good all day is 14.35.

Go to track 1 and get on any of the S-bahns that come through, these will be the S-8 or S-9. Ride 3 stops or 11 min. to the main train station, Hauptbahnhof. Or stay on and ride a total of 5 stops and 15 min. to the Hauptwache. This puts you directly on the Zeil. The Römer area is a 5 min. walk away.

I never recommend going to Sachsenhausen during the day unless you want to eat cheaply and well at one of the Applewine pubs, like Dauth-Schneider.

My recommendations are to visit the Judengasse and the Jewish Holocaust Memorial, the Kaiserdom, St. Leonhards, Alte Nikolai, and the Deutsche Ordens churches. All built between 1219-1309 and in original condition. Also a visit to the Karmeliter Cloister to see the largest wall paintings N. of the Alps, painted by Jörge Ratgeb 1513-1519. The Alte Opera is gorgeous and is easy to find if you walk down the Zeil, and then down the Fressgasse. On any day but Sunday, go to the Klein Markt Halle, the indoor produce market. On Fri. you can visit the largest open air produce market by the Stock Exchange, on Thurs. and Sat. it is on the Konstablerwache, a 5 min. walk from the Hauptwache.

Museums to recommend would be the Judengasse Museum with the foundations from the Jewish Ghetto dating back to the early 1500's, the Archeological Museum, the Jewish Museum, Modern Art Museum, Liebieg Haus Sculptur Museum and the Applied Arts Museum (Kunsthandwerk)

Have you considered just booking a Layover Tour that would help you find all these places in the short amount of time you have?

As Mainhattengirl has written, public transportation into the city center is very easy and reliable. The trains are running frequently.

She has given you excellent advice how to expore the city center.

To get acquainted with the city, check this site:

www.frankfurt.de

Click on the British flag and browse the categories "tourism", then "sightseeing". Also check out "Museum riverbank" and click on the links to the museums which are displayed on the right side of the screen. Frankfurt has excellent museums and, depending on your interests, it may be worth visiting one.

I wish I had checked with Mainhattengirl before going last week!

I have never used them, but I know a company called "Frankfurt on Foot" does layover tours of the city.