On our return trip from Italy in March, we will have a longer layover in Frankfurt than we will going to Italy. Is anyone familiar with the airport, location to the city itself, and any ideas on what to do with ourselves? I understand it is a large commercial, banking city and don't know much else as far as sites to see.
Thanks all.

How long is your layover?

How long is a "longer layover"?

We were just in the Frankfurt airport this weekend - the most annoying (and amusing) thing I noticed was that there are signs *everywhere* saying it's a non-smoking airport, but "smoking areas" (just labeled tables) set up about every 200 feet. You can smell the smoke everywhere. Ah, well....

You can reach downtown Frankfurt pretty quickly by the S or U-bahn, but it depends on if you really want to go downtown or not (and of course, how much time you have).

Might be easier to just to bring a great book.... ?

We have four hours on our return flight. Is that not enough time to see some of the city? Who knows, I might just want to decompress.

Frankfurt is a huge...really huge airport. You need to leave 1/2 hour to get to the train. The train ride to the city is about 1/2 hour. If you go (I don't remember which line takes you) it will drop you off in the shopping district. Then there's a short walk to the Romer (historic buildings) and the cathedral. You have to allow at least an hour and a half to two hours to get back and to get to your gate in time to check in. That would leave you about an hour of walking around. It's too bad you didn't plan on an over-night there. There isn't a whole lot to see, but if you've never been to Germany before it would give you a nice taste of Germany.

pheasant,

With such a short layover, I would definitely stay at the airport - there's lots of shopping, restaurants, even a casino and you really aren't missing much as far as Frankfurt is concerned.

Here's the airport's website for further info:

http://www.frankfurt-airport.de/b2c/...rarea=homepage

Hope this helps,
Andre

Thanks for the tips. Now I know what to expect when I arrive. You guys are great!