A day in Frankfurt, any ideas?
 

Hi all, looking for some ideas on things to do in/around Frankfurt.

We get into the city at about 1:30pm on Saturday, leave about 2pm on Sunday. Our hotel is right across from the train station.

Never been to Frankfurt or Germany, but love different ideas.

Thanks in advance

dave

It should be easy to get transport to the quaint little village of Rudesheim. Your hotel should have loads of other ideas as well.
We loved Rudesheim and travelling by car visited for a few hours en-route to Frankfurt.

There are lots of threads on this topic because so many people fly in and out of Frankfurt
Frankfurt itself is mostly very modern. It has some great museums along the south bank of the Main. The fine arts museum has an impressive collection of Flemish and German masters (my personal taste) and some good modern art. There are also museums of sculpture, architecture, cinema.
The Sachsenhausen neighborhood has taverns which specialize in Ebbelwei (apple wine)

It is also possible to visit other nearby cities on the S-bahn from Frankfurt. I prefer staying in Mainz with its impressive Romanesque cathedral, Gutenberg museum, Stephanskirche (stained glass windows by Chagall) and pleasant Altstadt.

An option is the Kaiser-Friedrich baths in Wiesbaden. It's quite easily accessible from Frankfurt and within walking distance of the Wiesbaden train station. I went there in April. I can't say that it's that exciting. But if this is not something you normally do, it could be worthwhile.

The Würzburg Residenz is another option outside of town, but it will take longer.

Cologne is not as far as it seems because there's a fast train, if I remember right. It should take an hour or so.

Ruedesheim sometimes gets a bad rap here, but I actually enjoyed it.

Are you coming before Christmas? Taking a trip down to the Roemer to see the Weihnachsmarkts and the roemer itself shouldn't be missed. Dinner at any one of the German restaurants lining the square is nice, too. Not too overpriced given the location.

- Pam

Thanks to all for your input.

To Pam, we don't get to Frankfurt until the 5th of Jan. Next year we plan to spend Christmas in Germany, probably in the Munich area. This year we are back in Rome, and this time we are bringing the entire family. 9 of us including grandkids.

Was just browsing the forum -- and noticed Heidelberg. Obviously that's an option too. Could be interesting for everyone since it has a very large ruined castle.

To add to this -- the castle is pretty far from the station, but within walking distance. I think it took me at least 20 or 30 minutes to get there. Then there's a climb up, but I think that there's also some sort of tram? I'm not positive.

Dave, I would have been first to reply, but my password got messed up. Anyhow...Frankfurt is a much nicer city to visit than it was years ago, and Germans are friendlier than they used to be (global warming?). First, go to the train station and take the U-Bahn (subway) to the Hauptwache stop. Don't walk -- nothing to see. When you get off you will be downtown, with lots of shopping. Two big department stores open Saturday are the Kaufhof and Karstadt. Nearby is the Fressgasse (ask), with many nice restaurants. Close by also is the beautiful Roemer town hall "square," with the real feel of old Germany, as well as the 13th-century chapel of the Holy Roman Emperors. The great cathedral is nearby, as is the Main River. And that's about it for one afternoon and morning! In the evening, as one suggested, you could take in the apple wine district in old Sachsenhausen across the river. IMHO, Rudesheim. Cologne, Heidelberg, etc. are stretches for the time you have. Why rush?