24 hours in FRANKFURT

Germany’s busiest international airport is located just minutes from the city of Frankfurt on the Main. This might give travellers the opportunity to explore this often underrated city on a layover. In this post, I’ve put together a perfect itinerary for up to 24 hours which will enable them to make the best of their stay in Frankfurt.

This special category on my blog is designated to transform any kind of a layover into a short extra vacation.

Frankfurt has 730,000 inhabitants and is Germany’s fifth-largest city. The financial center is located in the federal state of Hesse, and its Airport is Germany’s aviation hub. Many parks and the long promenades along the river Main as well as a large number of fantastic museums and galleries make it a pleasant destination to be explored on a day trip or for a couple of hours during a layover.

Local Currency

Local Currency:

Euro (EUR) / 1 EUR = 1.09 US$ (June 2023) / current rate

Emergency Contacts

Police 110
Fire Department 112

National Airline

Lufthansa

Airport

Frankfurt Airport / IATA-Code: FRA

Tourist Info Online and Onsite

Frankfurt Tourismus
Bahnhofshalle / Station Concourse
60329 Frankfurt am Main
Telephone  + 49 – 69 – 21 23 88 00

Getting Downtown and Back

Frankfurt is home to Germany’s largest commercial airport. A cab ride to the city center will set you back at least 35 €uros. However, since it’s located about ten kilometers southwest of the city center, it can easily be reached by public transport like local trains S8 and S9, as well as various regional trains. Tickets start at around 3 €uros.

If you have luggage, you can store it in the lockers at the main station.

There are two city passes that grant visitors great discounts. For the sunny day itinerary, you should opt for the one-day version of the so-called Frankfurt Card*. It is a ticket for unlimited local public transport including the airport. However, you get only discounts of up to 50 percent on admissions, city tours, and other attractions. It costs 11.50 €uros for one person and 24 €uros for a group of up to five people travelling together.

On a rainy day that you’ll spend mainly at some of Frankfurt’s amazing museums, the so-called Museumsuferticke is the better deal. I’m introducing it in the Morning Activities on a Rainy Day section below.

Morning Activities

The train station is just minutes away from the river Main. As the banks are lined with lush greeneries, a short walk to the historic center is far more pleasant than crossing the main station’s a bit sketchy vicinity

As you reach the historic bridge Eisener Steg, you’re just one block away Frankfurt’s most famous square, the Römerberg. In ye olden days, the Emperors of the so-called Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation used to walk the coronation trail between Römer Square and Frankfurt’s Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, and you can follow their steps to this day.

Historic Center

On the western side of the Römerberg is the town hall, the so-called Römer that gave the square its name, obviously.

The Römer has been the town hall since the 15th century. With its characteristic stepped gable facade it is one of the city’s most famous landmarks. However, only the central part of the initially three independent buildings is the actual Römer house. Legend has it that the Römer – which translates to Roman – got its name because of the Italian merchants who sold their goods on the building’s ground floor in medieval times.

If you are a big history buff, I recommend visiting the history museum which is located on the southern side of the Römerberg. It is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 11 a. m. and 6 p. m. The ticket costs 12 €uros*, but you get a discount with the Frankfurt Card*, and with the Museumsuferticket, it’s even free.

However, on a sunny day, you might prefer just strolling around Frankfurt’s beautifully reconstructed inner city. There are for instance the cathedral, there is the Golden Scale House with its beautiful half-timber facade, and there is the alluring Hühnermarkt, a lovely square surrounded by eight reconstructed baroque and classicistic houses.

Morning Activities

It’s raining? Good for you, since Frankfurt has an incredibly high number of world-renowned museums. In one day, you can only see the most important ones, but actually, you could spend days just walking from exhibition to exhibition.

If you intend to visit the four suggested museums – or even more, the so-called MuseumsuferTicket* is a perfect choice: For just 21 €uros, you have free entrance to 39 museums on two consecutive days. Nevertheless, the ticket pays off quickly even if you use it only for one day. You can buy the ticket at the tourist information office located in the main station as well as at the participating museums but unfortunately not online.

Frankfurt’s Most Famous Gallery

There’s no doubt that Frankfurt’s most important art venue is the Städel Museum.

If the weather is not too bad, you can walk to the museum less than a mile from the main station. This way you get a glimpse at the river Main and the lovely greeneries alongside the banks. If it’s raining too hard, take bus No. 46 towards Mühlberg and get off at the Städel stop.

The Städel hosts a superb collection from every epoch from the Gothic to the contemporary and also organizes outstanding temporary exhibitions.

The Städel Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. An individual ticket** costs 16 €uros, however, like all the other galleries in this post, it is included in the MuseumsuferTicket*.

So Many Venues, So Little Time

To both sides of the Städel are a couple of museums focusing on various topics. Right next door is the Museum for Communication followed by the German Architecture Museum and the German Film Museum. The MuseumsuferTicket*, it’s totally up to you if you pay them an extended visit or just pop in for a couple of minutes.

About 600 meters east is the Museum Angewandte Kunst, hence, the Museum of Applied Arts.

The museum is dedicated to handicrafts, design, fashion, book craftwork, graphics, architecture, and other applied arts in all their shapes and forms. In changing special exhibitions, the museum perceives and showcases artistic trends as well as social developments. The adjacent Villa Metzler is a classicist country house built by pharmacist Peter Salzwedel in 1803. While the salons on the ground floor are used for cultural events, the rooms on the two upper floors are open to visitors and show furnishing and decoration from Baroque to Art Nouveau in nine themed rooms.

The Museum of Applied Arts And the Villa Metzler are open from Friday to Sunday and on Tuesdays from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. and Wednesdays to 8 p. m.

All these museums are – like most museums in Europe – closed on Mondays.

To get from the Museum of Applied Arts to the Römerberg for lunch, just cross the alluring bridge Eiserner Steg to the northern bank of the river Main – it’s only about 5 minutes.

Lunch

When travelling, I love to sample local food, even when it’s rather interesting.

The most famous of Frankfurt’s traditional dishes is not very exotic, yet truly delicious: Frankfurter Grüne Soße, which translates to green sauce, is a fine composition of seven herbs. The sauce is traditionally eaten cold over hard-boiled eggs and boiled potatoes. It can also be served with meat or fish.

A cozy restaurant serving local delicacies is the Schwarzer Stern located at the Römerberg. It is open Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 10 p. m.

Afternoon Activities

How about enjoying the city on a cruise on the River Main?

There are various companies offering trips up and down the river starting at the iron footbridge Eiserner Steg. Normally, in the afternoon, they start their 100-minute trip at 2 p.m., 3 p. m., and 4 p. m., the trip costs around 14 €uros, and you can book your ticket on this page*.

As soon as you are back on land, you can stroll along the Main to the so-called Alte Brücke, the old bridge.

After you got to know Frankfurt’s more touristy side in the morning, you now have the opportunity to explore an absolutely authentic part of the city. On the other side of the Main is the district of Sachsenhausen, a trendy and serene neighborhood. Small boutiques, cool cafes, and boisterous apple-wine pubs line the cobbled streets. The most alluring one is Brückenstraße.

At the southern end of Brückenstraße is the local S-Bahn train station Frankfurt Süd. Once you’re ready for dinner, you can take either S3, S4, S5, or S6 towards Konstablerwache.

Afternoon Activities

Even if it’s raining hard: The next venue is just a few steps from the restaurant.

The Schirn Kunsthalle is one of the best-known exhibition venues in Europe. They don’t have their own collection. Yet, they hosted over 200 exhibitions since their opening in 1986. Some of their outstanding shows were organized in cooperation with galleries like the Centre National d’Art et de Culture Georges-Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Gallery in London, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum as well as the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

The most striking feature is the rotunda crowned by a glass dome. With a diameter of around 20 meters, it forms the monumental main entrance. Even if you don’t visit one of the exhibitions at the Schirn, you can still walk through the rotunda free of charge.

The Schirn is open from Tuesday to Sunday between 10 a. m. and 7 p. m., on Wednesdays and Thursdays, they are closing only at 10 p. m. Without a MuseumsuferTicket*, the entrance fee is 10 €uros.

More Modern Art

The next gallery – the Museum of Modern Art – is less than a five minutes walk from the Schirn. With the venue on the Domstraße, the branch in the so-called Zollamt just across the street, and finally the galleries in the Taunus Tower, the Museum of Modern Art has a total of three locations.

Since the outside of the building looks like a dull ministry from the 1970s, nobody would expect something appealing inside.

Yet, the museum – abbreviated to MMK – houses more than 5,000 works of art by around 440 artists. The works represent a wide selection of all genres of modern and contemporary art from painting, sculpture, video, photography, and installations.

The way from the MMK to the dinner place is about ten minutes whether you get there walking or prefer to take the tram. Hence, it’s totally up to you what you prefer.

Dinner

You had a typical regional lunch, so you might want to experience Frankfurt’s multicultural side at night and enjoy an exotic dinner.

Obviously, Frankfurt is a very multicultural city with migrants from all over the world. Therefore, you’ll find any cuisine imaginable there in case you’re not fond of Germany’s traditionals.

A wonderful example is the Eritrean restaurant Savanna. It’s open from Tuesday to Friday from 5 p.m. to 10 p. m. On Saturdays, they open already at 2 p.m.

Nightcap

Since you shouldn’t miss out on a visit to Frankfurt’s iconic financial district, you should enjoy a drink and some amazing views from the Main Tower. It has a publicly accessible viewing platform at a height of 198 meters and a restaurant with a cool bar on the 53rd floor.

The viewing platform is open every day from 10 a. m. to 7 p. m., on Fridays and Saturdays until 9 p. m. The admission is 9 €uros and you get a discount with the Frankfurt Card**.

The lounge, however, is open Tuesday to Thursday from 6 p. m. to midnight, and on Fridays and Saturdays, they are closing only at 1 a. m.

Accommodation

Especially if you are on a layover and need to get back to the airport in the early morning, staying close to the main station is obviously crucial. Unfortunately, the area is a bit sketchy – I wouldn’t say dangerous, but rather very depressing.

One of these innovative lodging options is the hotel chain Flemings. The mix of very spacious rooms, cozy sitting areas, and lovely outdoor seating in a lush courtyard make the Flemings Flemings Express Hotel Frankfurt* the perfect place to spend the night before heading to the airport the next morning. It is located just across the street from the main station.

However, if they should be booked out, you’ll find some suitable alternatives on this map*:

Booking.com

Map – Sunny Day Itinerary

Map – Rainy Day Itinerary

If you have more time to spare in Frankfurt, make sure to check out my post on the 25 Best Things to Do there. Also, you’ll get extended information on Germany in my post All you need to know before going to GERMANY

Pinnable Pictures

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Note: I’m completing, editing, and updating this post regularly – last in July 2023.

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Disclaimer: * :

* I’m very appreciative that Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main supplied me with a 48-hour Frankfurt Card. Also, I got a complimentary MuseumsuferTicket from the Kulturamt Frankfurt am Main However, all opinions expressed in this post are mine and were in no way influenced by my cooperation partners.

**This article contains affiliate links. By purchasing items or making a reservation through those links on my site, not only do you get the best rate. I will receive a small commission that helps to run this site.  

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