Info on How to Spend Layover in Frankfurt
Sep 18th, 2013, 09:26 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,226
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Info on How to Spend Layover in Frankfurt
If you have a layover at the Frankfurt airport, it is easy to come into the city for a bit of sightseeing or a meal. Your layover should be about 5 hours or more, just to be safe. One could try it at 4 hours, but you have no cushion of time for delays.
It is quite fast, with a train only taking 11 min. (3 stops from the airport) to the Main Train Station - Hauptbahnhof, or a few minutes more (5 stops from the airport) if you would like to get off at the Hauptwache or the next stop Konstablerwache (6 stops from the airport). There is usually a train every 15 min. and they run from very early in the morning (04:15) til quite late at night.
How to find the train station in this huge airport? To start with, there are two train stations. If you are just coming into Frankfurt or going to Mainz or Wiesbaden, you should follow the signs for Regional Trains or S-Bahn. (look for the big green S) This station is under Terminal 1 by Arrival Hall B-1, and the signs will be in English. Just take the escalator downstairs and for Frankfurt, go to track #1. For Mainz or Wiesbaden, you would go to track #3. This is where the S-bahns 8 and 9 normally stop. There is also an RMV ticket machine here. Regional trains may also stop here and the ones that are on track #2 are usually going to stop at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. You can ride these too with your ticket.
If you are catching a long distance train - like the ICE, it will most likely arrive at the Fernbahnhof - or Long Distance Train station. Again, follow the signs, though this is located sort of across from Terminal 1. If you land at Terminal 2, simply take the Sky Train, a fun little monorail over to Terminal 1. If you have kids, they will love this monorail. It should only take about 5-6 minutes to go from Terminal 2 down to the Regional Train station.
Cost - a single ticket, one way (einzel fahrt) costs 4.25 euro.This ticket will take you into Frankfurt city center by train, and is also valid to get to your final destination by tram, bus, S-bahn or U-bahn, as long as you keep traveling without a break. An all day ticket (Ganz Tag) for one person that includes travel to and from the airport as well as all public transportation in the city, is 8.30 euro. Going to Mainz or Wiesbaden will cost the same amount. This is a better deal than buying 2 one-way tickets. These are 2013 prices, they will change in 2014.
A group day ticket, called an "All Day Collective Ticket" on the ticket machine (gruppen karte) costs 15.00 euro. This ticket is good for up to 5 people and is valid all day long, getting to and from the airport and on all forms of transportation in Frankfurt. A good choice for 2 or more people. These are NOT 24 hour tickets, they are only good for the day of purchase until the trains, etc. stop running for the day, usually around 1 a.m. Going to Mainz or Wiesbaden from the airport costs the same amount as going to Frankfurt.
The RMV and DB share ticket machines and they are all touch screens. They switch into English and are fairly user friendly. The machines take coins, 5 and 10 euro bills for single tickets and if you are getting a group ticket it will take a 20 euro bill. It will NOT take a 50 euro bill. Change will be in coins.
RMV machines do not take American credit cards for local travel, but the DB does.
In Frankfurt you do not need to validate your ticket unlike some other cities in Germany. It is all on the honor system. If you do not have a ticket though, you will be fined 40 euro immediately.
There is a DB Travel Center located right next to the escalators for the Regional Train Station. They can print your tickets for you (this will cost you 2 euro), take credit cards for payments and give you information about schedules and so on.
If you need to store your luggage at the airport, cost per bag will be 4.50 euro for 2 hours or less, or 7 euro for 3-24 hours. The better deal is to bring your carry-on into the city and store it in the lockers located along track 23 in the main train station. Cost is between 3-5 euro and the 5 euro lockers are big enough for about 4 carry-on back-packs or bags.
Now, what to see in Frankfurt:
- The Roemer and the Roemerplatz, City Hall since 1405 and old town square
- Book Burning Memorial, site of the Nazi book burning
- Alte Nikolai Church, Gothic church built in 1290
- House Wertheim, the inner city's only original half-timbered house left at the end of WWII, we tell you how it was saved and why
- Eisener Steg, pedestrian bridge of the Main River, offering a great view of the skyline and the many museums lining the riverbanks, covered with "locks of love".
- St Bartholomew, better known as the Kaiserdom, Imperial Church, site for 30 elections and 10 coronations of the Holy Roman Emperor since 1152.
- Joerg Ratgeb's wall paintings in the Karmeliter Kloster (Carmelite Cloister), the largest religious wall paintings north of the Alps, painted in the early 1500's
-Stumble Stones (Stolper Steine), a unique way of commemorating the many victims who lost their lives under the Nazi regime
- Jewish Holocaust Memorial Wall, a very personal memorial that the city of Frankfurt has created, to honor the memory of the 12,000 Frankfurt Jewish Citizens who lost their lives during the Holocaust, including Anne, Margot and Edith Frank
- Medieval Jewish Cemetery, one of the oldest and largest Jewish cemeteries in Germany
- Jewish Ghetto Wall, (Staufen Mauer) once part of the city's defensive walls built in 1180, it later became one of the walls that surrounded the Jewish Ghetto
- Klein Markt Halle (little market hall), this is a wonderful produce hall filled with fruits, vegetables, chocolates, pastries, cheeses, breads, meats, fish, and delicacies from around the world (closed on Sundays and holidays)
- Hauptwache, historic Frankfurt landmark
- The Bull and the Bear at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- The Thurn and Taxis Palace, newly reconstructed and a lovely example of 18th Century Baroque architecture
- Eschenheimer Turm, an original guard tower from the city's outer defensive wall, built in 1425
- Alte Oper, one of Europe's classic opera houses, once known as the most beautiful ruin in Germany
- The Goethe House, where Frankfurt's' favorite son was born
- Deutsche Ordens Church (Teutonic Order of Knights) built in 1309
- Paulskirche, the location of Germany's very first democratically elected parliament in 1848
- Farmers Markets, Thurs. & Sat. at the Konstablerwache, Fri. by the Stock Exchange, Wed. & Sat. in Bornheim on the Berger Str., Tues. & Thur. small market on the Kaiser Str., Tues, Fri. & Sat. in Höchst, Tues. & Fri. Sachsenhausen Sudbahnhof, Fri. Nordend Friedberger Platz.
- Zeil, pedestrian shopping zone
- Fressgasse, pedestrian shopping and dining zone.
It is quite fast, with a train only taking 11 min. (3 stops from the airport) to the Main Train Station - Hauptbahnhof, or a few minutes more (5 stops from the airport) if you would like to get off at the Hauptwache or the next stop Konstablerwache (6 stops from the airport). There is usually a train every 15 min. and they run from very early in the morning (04:15) til quite late at night.
How to find the train station in this huge airport? To start with, there are two train stations. If you are just coming into Frankfurt or going to Mainz or Wiesbaden, you should follow the signs for Regional Trains or S-Bahn. (look for the big green S) This station is under Terminal 1 by Arrival Hall B-1, and the signs will be in English. Just take the escalator downstairs and for Frankfurt, go to track #1. For Mainz or Wiesbaden, you would go to track #3. This is where the S-bahns 8 and 9 normally stop. There is also an RMV ticket machine here. Regional trains may also stop here and the ones that are on track #2 are usually going to stop at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof. You can ride these too with your ticket.
If you are catching a long distance train - like the ICE, it will most likely arrive at the Fernbahnhof - or Long Distance Train station. Again, follow the signs, though this is located sort of across from Terminal 1. If you land at Terminal 2, simply take the Sky Train, a fun little monorail over to Terminal 1. If you have kids, they will love this monorail. It should only take about 5-6 minutes to go from Terminal 2 down to the Regional Train station.
Cost - a single ticket, one way (einzel fahrt) costs 4.25 euro.This ticket will take you into Frankfurt city center by train, and is also valid to get to your final destination by tram, bus, S-bahn or U-bahn, as long as you keep traveling without a break. An all day ticket (Ganz Tag) for one person that includes travel to and from the airport as well as all public transportation in the city, is 8.30 euro. Going to Mainz or Wiesbaden will cost the same amount. This is a better deal than buying 2 one-way tickets. These are 2013 prices, they will change in 2014.
A group day ticket, called an "All Day Collective Ticket" on the ticket machine (gruppen karte) costs 15.00 euro. This ticket is good for up to 5 people and is valid all day long, getting to and from the airport and on all forms of transportation in Frankfurt. A good choice for 2 or more people. These are NOT 24 hour tickets, they are only good for the day of purchase until the trains, etc. stop running for the day, usually around 1 a.m. Going to Mainz or Wiesbaden from the airport costs the same amount as going to Frankfurt.
The RMV and DB share ticket machines and they are all touch screens. They switch into English and are fairly user friendly. The machines take coins, 5 and 10 euro bills for single tickets and if you are getting a group ticket it will take a 20 euro bill. It will NOT take a 50 euro bill. Change will be in coins.
RMV machines do not take American credit cards for local travel, but the DB does.
In Frankfurt you do not need to validate your ticket unlike some other cities in Germany. It is all on the honor system. If you do not have a ticket though, you will be fined 40 euro immediately.
There is a DB Travel Center located right next to the escalators for the Regional Train Station. They can print your tickets for you (this will cost you 2 euro), take credit cards for payments and give you information about schedules and so on.
If you need to store your luggage at the airport, cost per bag will be 4.50 euro for 2 hours or less, or 7 euro for 3-24 hours. The better deal is to bring your carry-on into the city and store it in the lockers located along track 23 in the main train station. Cost is between 3-5 euro and the 5 euro lockers are big enough for about 4 carry-on back-packs or bags.
Now, what to see in Frankfurt:
- The Roemer and the Roemerplatz, City Hall since 1405 and old town square
- Book Burning Memorial, site of the Nazi book burning
- Alte Nikolai Church, Gothic church built in 1290
- House Wertheim, the inner city's only original half-timbered house left at the end of WWII, we tell you how it was saved and why
- Eisener Steg, pedestrian bridge of the Main River, offering a great view of the skyline and the many museums lining the riverbanks, covered with "locks of love".
- St Bartholomew, better known as the Kaiserdom, Imperial Church, site for 30 elections and 10 coronations of the Holy Roman Emperor since 1152.
- Joerg Ratgeb's wall paintings in the Karmeliter Kloster (Carmelite Cloister), the largest religious wall paintings north of the Alps, painted in the early 1500's
-Stumble Stones (Stolper Steine), a unique way of commemorating the many victims who lost their lives under the Nazi regime
- Jewish Holocaust Memorial Wall, a very personal memorial that the city of Frankfurt has created, to honor the memory of the 12,000 Frankfurt Jewish Citizens who lost their lives during the Holocaust, including Anne, Margot and Edith Frank
- Medieval Jewish Cemetery, one of the oldest and largest Jewish cemeteries in Germany
- Jewish Ghetto Wall, (Staufen Mauer) once part of the city's defensive walls built in 1180, it later became one of the walls that surrounded the Jewish Ghetto
- Klein Markt Halle (little market hall), this is a wonderful produce hall filled with fruits, vegetables, chocolates, pastries, cheeses, breads, meats, fish, and delicacies from around the world (closed on Sundays and holidays)
- Hauptwache, historic Frankfurt landmark
- The Bull and the Bear at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
- The Thurn and Taxis Palace, newly reconstructed and a lovely example of 18th Century Baroque architecture
- Eschenheimer Turm, an original guard tower from the city's outer defensive wall, built in 1425
- Alte Oper, one of Europe's classic opera houses, once known as the most beautiful ruin in Germany
- The Goethe House, where Frankfurt's' favorite son was born
- Deutsche Ordens Church (Teutonic Order of Knights) built in 1309
- Paulskirche, the location of Germany's very first democratically elected parliament in 1848
- Farmers Markets, Thurs. & Sat. at the Konstablerwache, Fri. by the Stock Exchange, Wed. & Sat. in Bornheim on the Berger Str., Tues. & Thur. small market on the Kaiser Str., Tues, Fri. & Sat. in Höchst, Tues. & Fri. Sachsenhausen Sudbahnhof, Fri. Nordend Friedberger Platz.
- Zeil, pedestrian shopping zone
- Fressgasse, pedestrian shopping and dining zone.
Sep 19th, 2013, 05:47 AM
#3
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 2,911
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
<i> Info on How to Spend Layover in Frankfurt
Posted by: Mainhattengirl on Sep 19, 13 at 1:26am</i>
Great post MHG. Thank you.
Q's.
What about the Sachsenhausen bar district? Is it still going strong since most of the US military has left?
Do you have a link to a map for the U and S Bahnen? Getting anywhere from the Frankfurt Bahnhof was always confusing for me. I lived in Aschaffenburg for a couple of years but tended to avoid Frankfurt except when necessary.
Posted by: Mainhattengirl on Sep 19, 13 at 1:26am</i>
Great post MHG. Thank you.
Q's.
What about the Sachsenhausen bar district? Is it still going strong since most of the US military has left?
Do you have a link to a map for the U and S Bahnen? Getting anywhere from the Frankfurt Bahnhof was always confusing for me. I lived in Aschaffenburg for a couple of years but tended to avoid Frankfurt except when necessary.
Sep 19th, 2013, 08:08 AM
#4
Join Date: Jan 2003
Posts: 11,212
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
The tourist office at the main Frankfurt train station is wonderfully helpful. They have some preprinted directions to give out to help you navigate the trains. I've stopped in there several times and was always greeted with a warm smile and good advice.
Sep 19th, 2013, 08:22 AM
#6
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 4,287
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks, these are all great ideas. I have to admit, however, that when I have some hours to kill at Frankfurt airport, I head into the city to satisfy my bagel cravings at Bagel Brothers, about two blocks from the hauptbahnhof.
We can't get decent bagels at home except by special order.
I know my choice isn't as edifying as your excellent selections above, but just in case...
http://www.bagelbrothers.de/
We can't get decent bagels at home except by special order.
I know my choice isn't as edifying as your excellent selections above, but just in case...
http://www.bagelbrothers.de/
