One Day in Frankfurt - What to See and Do

If you only have one day to spend in Frankfurt, here are a few suggested options that should satisfy various interests and age groups. We hope that you will come on our Frankfurt on Foot Walking Tour, as this is the easiest way to cover many of the highlights of the city listed below, but if the times don't match your schedule, please consider booking one of our Private or Layover tours, as this is the very best way to see many of these sites. Our website, www.frankfurtonfoot.com has information on how to reserve a tour.

Option A. - Römerberg, Alte Nikolai, Book Burning Memorial, Jörge Ratgeb wall paintings in the Karmeliter Cloister, Paul's Kirche, the Kaiserdom, the Jewish Holocaust Memorial Wall, the Klein Markt Halle, Eschenheimer Turm, Alte Oper, and then go up on the Main Tower for sunset, have dinner at one of the guard towers built in the 1500's, either the Friedberger Warte or the Sachsenhausen Warte. Visit one of the Farmers Markets (see our post about Farmers Markets for locations and days of the week).

Option B. - Visit the Deutsche Ordens Church (Tuetonic Order of Knights) built in 1309, stroll through the Palmengarten, take tram #12 to Bornheim on Wed. or Sat. for the Farmers Market and a walk down the Bergerstrasse with a stop in Bethmann Park, on Fri. visit the market on Schiller Strasse, or at the Konstablerwache on Thurs.and Sat. When evening comes, take a walk through Alt Sachsenhausen with dinner in one of the old applewine pubs, like Dauth-Schneiders or Atschel. If you prefer staying in Bornheim, have dinner at Apfelwein Solzer, abeautiful, old, half-timbered Applewine Pub on the upper Berger Strasse.

Option C (with kids under 12) - Visit the Senckenburg Museum of Natural History, the Bible Museum, Experimenta, the Communication Museum, the Film Museum, climb to the top of the Kaiserdom, spend a few hours at the Palmengarten, go to the top of the Main Tower (especially cool at sunset and after dark), go swimming at Rebstock Bad with its' wave pool and slides, on Sundays you can visit the Antique Tram Museum and check out all the old trams. Have dinner at one of the cafes that surround the Römer (Alte Limburg or Wein Stubbe), so the kids can run around and you can watch the buskers perform that are often there.

Option D - If you haven't been able to get to any old towns while here in Germany, then make plans to visit the Frankfurt neighborhood of Hoechst. There, you can walk through a dry moat next to the old city wall, see lots of original half-timbered houses lining narrow cobble-stoned streets, the Bolongaro palace and a schloss, as well as St.Justinus, one of the oldest churches in Germany built in 850. Have dinner up on the wall at the Alte Zoll Wache or Zum Baeren. Tram #11 goes there and lets you see lots of Frankfurt as the ride takes about 45 min. or you can cut the time to 10 min. using the S-bahn 1 or 2 from the Hauptbahnhof.

Museum recommendations if you only have one day (and it isn't a Monday) and depending on your interests:  the Judengasse Museum, the Städel, Liebieg Haus for sculpture, the Archeology Museum, the Schirn, Museum of Modern Art, or the Film Museum. Many of the museums stay open late on Wed. and Thurs. but are closed on Mondays. If you are here on Mondays, the Palmengarten, the Zoo, the Senckenburg Museum, and the Goethe Haus are open. If you want to visit several museums, we recommend getting a 2 day ticket for 18€ that gets you into all of the museums. A family ticket is 28€. You can get these at any museum or at the Tourist Info.
Museum Ticket