Frankfurt
 

I am asking another favor...I have decided to go Frankfurt September 29-October 6th...have the plane reservations...now to ask my Fodor's help line...Any suggestions on inexpensive hotels in Frankfurt...if I rent a car is it easy access to other areas within Germany using Frankfurt as my base...not an experienced European traveller so please bear with me...thanks so much

I landed in Frankfurt and took the train up the Rhine River. I stayed for 3 nights in St. Goar, and used it as a base to explore the area. Then I took the train up to Cologne and stayed there and used that as a base for awhile. I only stayed two nights in Frankfurt since the sights of the city can be seen in about a day and a half. I wasn't happy with the hotel I stayed in so I won't recommend it.

Thank you..I am going to try and figure out the train system and where to go...would like to see Cologne and the Black Forest or I think that it is called Fairy Tale Road...little scary when you are travelling to Europe for the first time, thank you for you feedback...Cyn

Intercity Hotel in Frankfurt is located right next to the main train station. It might be a good choice for one night, perhaps the day your arrive, and then you could easily catch a train onward the next day, after getting some rest. I agree that the isn't all that much to see in Frankfurt itself. The Intercity will give you (or they USED TO) a free pass to ride the trams for 24 hours. You can take a tram to the main shopping street and find food, a nice place to people watch if you enjoy that sort of thing.

I like to recommend the Hotel Monopol. It is reasonably priced and has lots of free amenities. Located near the south exit of the Hauptbahnhof, it is easy to reach and also near public transportation.
http://www.hotelmonopol-frankfurt.de/en/

What are your interests? Would be happy to point you in the direction of a multitude of things to see here in the city. It is untrue that there is little to see here. You can easily spend a week just visiting many of the 46 museums here for one thing. Many cultural activities going on. There is a Jazz Festival going on the city square, the Römerberg on the 3rd of Oct. There is a Cello festival in Kronberg, one of the suburbs of Frankfurt on the 4th.

You don't say why you are going to Frankfurt and seem to know little about it. I suggest that after you land at FRA you take a train directly to either Düsseldorf or München. These cities are much more interesting and far more fun. Köln is near Düsseldorf. München will be holding Oktoberfest at the time you are over there. That is certainly a great party and there are many wine festivals during the same period.

Frankfurt has its virtues but the central area is mostly canyons formed by concrete skyscrapers.

Driving in Germany is not for the faint hearted. If you do it get familiar with the signage before you venture out. If you have a heavy foot you are OK on the Autobahnen. Otherwise stay in the right lane.

Black Forest is mostly a lot of hills covered with trees. A waste of time IMO. Go direct to Baden Baden if you seek a casino and civilization.

Suggest you buy or borrow a copy of the Michelin Green Guide Germany. Check the maps in the front for 3* and 2* cities and then look them up in the book.

Spaarne - your comment about Frankfurt makes no sense. Would you say New York is not worth visiting cause it has a canyon of skyscrapers? Or Chicago? Actually, the skyscrapers in Frankfurt are quite spread out from each other, so not sure what you mean by canyons? I can think of only one street where a few of them are kind of next too each other.

Now, to say a city is not worthy of visiting is excessive. Wasn't this in the "pet peeves" thread? Which is worse, an OP asking if a place is worth seeing or when a poster says they are going to a city or place, and others telling them not to go that it isn't worth it?

Your answer shows you know little about Frankfurt and have spent little time here if any at all. Not what I would call a knowledgeable nor a helpful answer. But you have recommended the OP to go to Baden-Baden for casinos and civilizations and the Black Forest is just a bunch of trees on hills. Yep, sounds like you are Germany expert for sure.

Mainhattengirl,

I lived in Aschaffenburg, just down the A3 from Frankfurt, for two years. We went infrequently to Frankfurt. It just isn't interesting IMO. My suggested cities are as I said, "much more interesting and far more fun."

Baden-Baden is a pleasant and beautiful little city, somewhat like Aix-en-Provence. The Black Forest is similar to the Spessart between Aschaffenburg and Würzburg, hills and trees.

Expert or not, those are my observations.

You could easily get to Cologne or parts of the Black Forest (Freiburg)by train.
I think the Fairy Tale Road, which starts in Hanau, just east of Frankfurt and goes to Bremen, would be hard to do without a car. They are all in different directions from Frankfurt, so I would recommend picking one or two since you only have a week.

Here is the German Tourist Office's description of the Black Forest (not surprisingly they describe the area as having more than hills and trees)
http://www.cometogermany.com/ENU/abo...ack_forest.htm

You also might want to look into the Romantic Road, which starts in Würzburg east of Frankfurt and goes south to the Bavarian Alps
http://www.cometogermany.com/ENU/abo...rasse-id44.htm

The Sachsenhausen (sp?) district just south of the river is a very pleasant and easily accessible part of Frankfurt if you want to spend a night or two in the city. I agree with the previous posters that you would probably find train travel more enjoyable than driving for this trip. Instead of starting in Frankfurt, you may want to conclude your trip there to be close to the airport. I would recommend that you take a short train trip to the Rhine upon arrival and spend the first couple of days there while you recuperate from jet lag.

When we were in Frankfurt last month, a van picked us up at the airport and drove us in 10 minutes to a splendid, new hotel -- part of a chain -- caled Motel One. Spotless clean, excellent service, fine breakfast. Cost: 55 Euros per night for two. It was 40 Euros for a single. Breakfast ws 7.5 Euros. Although near a busy freeway, the hotel seemed soundproof. At least, our ultra-modern room was. Highly recommend.

Error: it is 49 Euros for a single.

hello everyone and thank you for your feedback..i am telling you people keep saying why are you going to frankfurt, everyone has comments right? How about that the airline tickets were complimentary...question and again please forgive my asking so many questions...if i use frankfurt as the home base ..again only six days..and rent a car...could i drive to rothenberg and heidelburg? where else would you suggest for day trips with a car...thanks so much for you help and understanding...cyn

Cyn, you have to make several decisions:

1) Do you want to stay the whole time at the same base and do daytrips from there or do you prefer a loop drive?

- The answer to this question is a matter of personal preference. A loop saves driving time but requires frequent changes of hotels.

2) If you opt for a constant base, where should it be?

- Frankfurt is an option, but there are other options close to Frankfurt airport which might be more charming, e.g. Mainz (a medium-sized town with an old town, lots of students, beergardens, nightlife etc.). Or, if you prefer, one of the picturesque wine villages on the Rhein. All these places are in easy reach of Frankfurt Airport and make good bases for daytrips. Have a look on the map.

3) What are the most interesting destinations?

- From Frankfurt, these destinations are in easy reach for a daytrip:

- The Rhein valley with Eberbach Monastery, Rüdesheim, Braubach (Marksburg), Oberwesel, Bingen..

- The immediate vicinity of Frankfurt, especially Königstein and Kronberg.

- Heidelberg.

- Mainz.

- Würzburg.

- Even Rothenburg ob der Tauber.

I would not recommend Black Forest (although I am fond of the region and even got married there).

Another tip:

In any case, once you have picked your base, use www.hrs.de for hotel search. You will be amazed!

For daytrips from Frankfurt, I forgot to mention Köln. From Frankfurt Airport, it is just one hour by train - and most rewarding.

Thank you all for all your help...i am using frankfurt as my base since I was able to get a great rate at a hotel....so I think my constant base will be frankfurt versus the loop and staying at other hotels...my plan is to do the day trips as the other posts have noted...think renting the car will be the way to go..will rent with a GPS unit so that I will not get totally lost...still have some time to do reserarch but again thank you all for your help...c

It is actually very easy to use the trains from Frankfurt. I recently took 3 people to Würuzburg from Frankfurt and using the Länder tickets, the whole trip only cost 51 € and this was round trip. We could have gotten off any where we wanted and then gotten back on the train the entire day. This is perfect for the Rhein river and exploring the towns along it.

Even though you can reach Köln in 55 min. from Frankfurt with the ICE, you don't get to see much. By taking the slow train, using a Länder ticket, takes just a bit over 2 hours, and you get the whole view of the Rhein. I am not a huge fan of Rüdesheim, but I know lots of people like it. The chairlift to the top of the vinyards that overlook the river is impressive though and worth doing.

Würzburg is really beautiful, so I do recommend that. Aschaffenburg, Seligenstadt, Büdingen, Bad Homburg, Krongurg, Königstein, and of course Heidelberg. The cathedral in Mainz is amazing so be sure to go see that. Mainz and Wiesbaden can be reached with the S-bahn.

Here is a website with palaces for Hessen if you are interested in seeing palaces.

http://www.schloesser-hessen.de/schloesser/schloss.htm

I agree with Mainhattengirl that you should explore Mainz which has one of three great Romanesque cathedrals along the Rhine. Speyer and Worms are the other two.

The sections of the Main River just west and east of Würzburg are two other interesting areas to explore. Wertheim, Miltenberg and Michelstadt are all picturesque towns and there are several abbeys in the area, too (Amorbach and Bronnbach). East of Würzburg is a wine route (Bochsbeutelsrasse) with charming small villages like Ochsenfurt and Dettelbach. I think trying to do either of these plus Würzburg in a day would be too much but if you were willing to spend a night in the area I am sure you could find a relatively inexpensive B & B which would give you a different experience than a Frankfurt hotel.

Similarly, the part of the Neckar valley beyond Heidelberg is very pleasant, and Bad Wimpfen is an especially interesting and beautiful old fortified town.

As your original question was for inexpensive hotels in Frankfurt and basically ntohing more, but still warranted a load of suggestions you did not even ask for, I'll try to keep it simple and jsut give you three suggestions for hotels that are worth looking into in my opinion:

1. The Pure. In the Bahnhofsviertel, exit to the left and you are in the redlight district, exit to the right and you are right among the big banks. I wasn't bothered by the location, which is central anyway. You can park in front of the hotel at no charge, if there is a space on the street. I found one during my stay. The hotel has a quite nice design, even a small fitness area in the basement and much better than average breakfast buffet, which is normally included in the room rate.
http://www.the-pure.de/

2. 25 hours hotel by Levi's. Same street as The Pure, a bit closer to the banks than the red lights. Slightly quirky design with a lot of references to the Jeans brand of the same name. Informal atmosphere, rather new.
http://www.25hours-hotels.com/frankf...ex.php?lang=en

3. Hotel Liebig. In the very nice (and slightly bland) Westend district, a couple of nice neighbourhood restaurants within walking distance (I like Restaurant Knoblauch on Staufenstr 39 with a mixture of local and French cuisine). I would recommend getting a renovated room, which may be small, but is quite well appointed.
http://www.hotelliebig.de/

I would recommend to stay away from Hotel Palmenhof, which apart from a very nice Westend location doesn't have much going for it in my experience.

We will have two nights in Frankfurt in August before we fly home to US. Is the Westend district a good one for finding a hotel/pension? We will probably do the museums and botanical garden.

Westend is very beautiful. Many turn of the century houses and villas. You might take a look at this hotel:
http://www.hotel-goelz.de/

Or this one:
http://www.arthotel-frankfurt.de/das_hotel.htm

The Palmengarten is always lovely, plus they are having open air concerts there all summer, Jazz, Blues, World Music. Nearby is also Grüneburg Park. Take a walk through there and you will discover not only a Korean Temple and garden but also a beautiful Greek Orthodox church set along the side of the park.

We are booked at Hotel Goelz and it looks great. Thanks so much.