I will have a 12 hour stopover in Frankfurt on a Monday in January. How could I see the city in one day? I would like to see historic quarters, art and maybe get a decent dinner in a place where a single traveler wouldn't feel too out of place. Thanks.

Don´t bother with Frankfurt. Spend the day in Mainz, half an hour or so from the airport by S-Bahn (suburban train). You should also consider Heidelberg, an hour by fast train from the airport´s own station.

Fully agree. I was stuck in Frankfurt for a night last week as a single traveller and there's not much for a tourist except a smattering of porn shops and some street food across from Hbf. (central stn.). I can recommend Hotel Domicil, about one block from Central Stn. BW had an excellent rate online. I did manage an evening in Heidelburg while away and wish that I had spent more time there.

While Frankfurt may not be a &quot;don't miss&quot; for tourists, there are some things there worth seeing. Unfortunately, much of the city was destroyed during the war and was rebuilt using modern (for the time at least) architecture.<BR><BR>The main city square (Roemerplatz) has a nice historic feel to it and is a good place to start. Nearby is the cathedral (Dom) which is of some interest. Just in front there's the ruins of a small Roman bath. There's also the Schirn musuem there which is currently (through March 2) holding a Matisse exhibit. <BR><BR>Across the river is the &quot;Musuemsurfer&quot;, which hosts several musuems including the Staedel art musuem (currently hosting a Rembrandt exhibit), a design musuem, a (classical -- I think) scultpure museum among other. There is a &quot;Museusufer Ticket&quot; available from the TI which gives free entrance to many of the musuems -- last Sept it was EUR 8. For dinner, I've heard (though never been there) that the Sachenhausen district has many convivial apple wine bars. If you there overnight, I'm sure there's several cultural events and there is an English Theater.<BR><BR>Some useful links:<BR>Frankfurt Tourism: http://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/default.htm<BR>Rick Steves also has a blurb: http://www.ricksteves.com/news/0207/frankfurt.htm<BR><BR>Enjoy your trip wherever you end up going.<BR><BR>Paul

One thing I forgot to mention (and here I agree with Rick Steves), the city musuem isn't worth much of a visit &lt;i&gt;except&lt;/i&gt; to see the model of the models of the city pre-WWII and just after the war. (I found the latter somewhat shocking.)<BR><BR>Paul<BR>(expat 1 hour northeast of Frankfurt in Marburg -- another nice city to visit. Can give more info if you're interested).<BR>

One thing I forgot to mention (and here I agree with Rick Steves), the city musuem isn't worth much of a visit &lt;i&gt;except&lt;/i&gt; to see the model of the models of the city pre-WWII and just after the war. (I found the latter somewhat shocking.)<BR><BR>Paul<BR>(US expat 1 hour northeast of Frankfurt in Marburg -- another nice city to visit. Can give more info if you're interested).<BR>

Lisa - I agree with Frank and would head for Mainz - almost equidistant from the airport. Though I enjoy the cosmopolitan aspect of Frankfurt, it is not what Americans feel a European city SHOULD be. It is more like Chicago or Manhatten. &quot;Historic&quot; - Frankfurt is not, but Mainz is. Spend the day in the old town, visit the Cathedral and the Guttenburg Museum.

If you have extra time when heading back to the airport, the town of Walldorf bordering the airport has an interesting little Holocaust memorial woods. Jewish women forced laborers were kept there while working on the Frankfurt airport fixing the runways to handle jet fighter planes. It's an interesting and educational walk in a nice little wood only about 6 km from the airport. It's off Nordendstrasse near the Airport Hotel Albatros where we stayed our last night in Germany. There's also a nice Italian restaurant nearby I think on Aschaffenburger Str.<BR><BR>Some related websites--in German, but some have photos.<BR><BR>http://www.kz-walldorf.de/<BR><BR>http://www.moerfelden-walldorf.de/leben/geaussenlager.asp<BR><BR>http://www.stadtgeschichte-ffm.de/se...n/walldorf.htm