Frankfurt Travel Guide

Frankfurt, officially known as Frankfurt am Main, is the largest city of the German federal state of Hesse, and the fifth most populous city in Germany. The city is built upon the River Main, a tributary of the River Rhine. Name of the city, when translated, means the Frank fort at the Main, referring to a crossing of the River Main around which the city took shape. Frank, of course, refers to the Frankish people who inhabited the region. Frankfurt has been a free city in the Holy Roman Empire for about five hundred years until the dissolution of the Empire in 1806. It was one of the most important cities in the Empire, culturally, economically and religiously. Today, Frankfurt is one of the leading financial centers of the world, and it looks the part, with its skyscrapers rising from the banks of the Main. Around Frankfurt are the cities Mainz, Darmstadt, Koblenz, Wiesbaden and Mannheim.

General Information About Frankfurt

How to Get to Frankfurt?

Pegasus Airlines offers direct flights to Frankfurt from Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kayseri.

The flight duration from Istanbul is 3 hours and 15 minutes. You can buy your direct flight tickets to Frankfurt from here.

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Transportation from Frankfurt International Airport to the City Center

Frankfurt International Airport is located about 13 kilometres away from the city center. You can get there by airport taxi, bus, train or rent-a-car.

The train, called the S-Bahn, is a 15 minute journey and two lines of the S-Bahn make the round: S8 and S9. The Frankfurt Airport bus makes the same trip in 30 minutes. The airport taxi will cost somewhere between 50 and 70 euros and take 20 minutes to get you to the city centre.

You can also enjoy the city with a rental car. Pegasus Airlines car rental service has great offers for you here.

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Public Transport in Frankfurt

Frankfurt has an advanced network of transportation with linked lines of the U-Bahn, S-Bahn and busses. You can buy single-use, 24-hour or one-week tickets from the machines at the stations. Unique to Frankfurt is the “Frankfurt Karte”, which gets you discounts at most landmarks and museums and also allows unlimited use of the public transportation services. More information can be found here. 

Best Time to Visit Frankfurt

Late spring and early autumn are the best time to visit Frankfurt as the winters are cold and the summers can feel too hot. Of course, you may wish to plan your trip around local festivals as well, more information about which is available in the next section. Two days should be enough for sightseeing inside Frankfurt city, but you may wish to extend your stay up to 5 days depending on how much of the neighbouring landmarks, like castles and palaces, you wish to visit.

Festivals in Frankfurt

• Main Festival (August)
• Spring Dippemess (April)
• Autumn Dippemess (September)
• Wäldchestag (June)
• Museum Embankment Festival (August) 

Places to Visit in Frankfurt

Frankfurt, is in many ways a global financial capital. Its historical face still endures, however, many old and small buildings stand across the giant skyscrapers. 

Römer

The Römer is probably the most important landmark in Frankfurt. Located in the heart of Altstadt, Oldtown, the Römer has been the rathaus, city hall, of Frankfurt for over 6 centuries. Named after the Römer family, a family of powerful merchants who sold the building to the city council in 1405, the Römer still serves as an administrative building.

Palmengarten

The Palmengarten is a huge botanic garden owned and maintained by the local Johann Wolfgang Goethe University. It has a very extensive collection of flora from all around the world and is very popular with the tourists.

Main Tower

Main Tower is the only skyscraper in the city to have a public viewing observatory. The building is actually two adjacent connected towers: The smaller one has a rectangular shape and was designed in the 1970s architectural style; the taller tower is circular in shape and its exterior is entirely blue glass. This is a much-recommended site to visit, because the view from the building is simply breathtaking. 

Goethe House

This is the Goethe family estate, and the house where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born, spent his early life and it’s also where he penned The Sorrows of Young Werther and where he started writing Faust. This house and the building next door make up the Goethe Museum, where visitors can see Goethe’s study room and desk as well as the rest of the house.

Frankfurt Cathedral

Frankfurt Cathedral, the official name of which is the Imperial Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew (Kaiserdom Sankt Bartholomäus), is a Gothic Catholic church. Despite being called a cathedral, it was never truly a cathedral because it never served as a bishop’s seat. Despite this technicality, it is still as glorious as any cathedral, its spire, 95 meters tall, is an especially wondrous work of art. This is also where the Holy Roman Empire’s Prince-Electors met and voted on the new Holy Roman Emperor. In addition to this, the Frankfurt Cathedral was also the place where the newly elected Holy Roman Emperors were crowned for over three hundred years.

Where to Stay in Frankfurt?

The most luxurious hotels are found in the Innenstadt (Inner city), at the heart of Frankfurt. The outer districts of Bahnhofsviertel, Gallusviertel, Gutleutviertel, Bockenheim, Sachsenhausen and Nordens, all within 15 to 25 minute walking distance to the centre, are where more modestly priced hotels are found.

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What to Eat in Frankfurt?

A major cosmopolitan metropolis, you can find restaurants of many cuisines from around the world in Frankfurt. That being said, the sausages known worldwide as “Frankfurter” as well as a unique type of sour milk cheese called the Handkäs mit Musik (literally “hand cheese with music”) and “Frankfurter Grüne Soße” (Frankfurter Green Sauce) which is a local condiment served alongside many dishes are among the highlights of Frankfurt’s local cuisine.

Shopping in Frankfurt: Best Souvenirs to Buy

As a major financial and commercial capital, Frankfurt offers shopping opportunities from the most lavish to the quite affordable. Zeil Street is known for hosting the stores of dozens of worldwide brands, several shopping malls, and the biggest and oldest Christmas Market in Germany. Goethestraße is another such street and is famous for housing the much more luxurious brands. Finally, Braubachstraße is where you’ll find the antique shops, book stores and souvenir shops.

Nightlife in Frankfurt

The wild and vibrant nightlife in Frankfurt, in the form of nightclubs, will be best enjoyed in Innenstadt and Sachsenhausen. For a slower, more relaxed or intimate night the rooftop terrace bars of Alt-Sachsenhausen are perfect. 

Essential Numbers

Country Code: +49

City Code: 69

Frankfurt International Airport: +49 69 6900

Ambulance: 112

Police: 110