I will be arriving in Frankfurt on 20 Jan and there until 26 Jan. Wondering what would be recomended for the weekend as I will be on my own. Thinking about the opera on Sat night but am open to any suggestions. Have not been in Frankfurt before but would consider day trip for Sunday.

Also suggestions for restaurants etc would be welcome. Will be there for a trade fair and conference so some nights will be spoken for but not all. Interested in some good regional food (not too touristy).

Thanks in advance for your help - seems like lots of requests for info on Germany lately but I am not seeing much on Frankfurt, appreciate any guidance.

Have not been in Frankfurt before but would consider day trip for Sunday.



A simple, relaxing day trip is a short hop over to Mainz to see the Gutenberg Museum, the Chagall Windows at St. Stephans.. and just stroll through the town and the waterfront park. ( unless it is pouring, which it probably will be? )

Or over to Heidelberg.

There's always a Rhein River cruise, if it is running and the weather is nice.

A more exhausting day trip could be made down to Neuschwanstein Castle... or down to Baden-Baden.

I second kirkksea's advice. Heidelberg is a special treat, just to walk down the Hauptstrasse and see the castle that Louis XIV destroyed because it's splendor threatened to equal Versailles

I will be arriving in Frankfurt on 20 Jan and there until 26 Jan. Wondering what would be recomended for the weekend as I will be on my own. Thinking about the opera on Sat night but am open to any suggestions. Have not been in Frankfurt before but would consider day trip for Sunday.

Also suggestions for restaurants etc would be welcome. Will be there for a trade fair and conference so some nights will be spoken for but not all. Interested in some good regional food (not too touristy).

Thanks in advance for your help - seems like lots of requests for info on Germany lately but I am not seeing much on Frankfurt, appreciate any guidance.

I'm repeating myself but the pictoresque spa town of Bad Homburg at the Taunus Mountain range might make for an interesting excursion. Including having at least a few hours spa experience, of course.

Is this your first trip to Germany? If so, I'd certainly through in either a Rhein cruise or slow train ride up to Koblenz or Koln.

You will be in Hessen, which is a very interesting state with quite a few castles and quaint towns (outside of the Frankfurt - Weisbaden area, of course).

Another option would be a drive through the wine regions in Rheinland-Pfalz and Baden Wuttemburg. This is southwest of Frankfurt and the regions are very easily reachable by car. The only downside to this would be it is winter and there won't be as much to see.

Heidelberg is a good option, and the castle is beautiful. Also, if you wanted to do a little country hopping, you will be about 2 hours away from the French, Luxembourg and Belgian borders.

I'm repeating myself but the pictoresque spa town of Bad Homburg at the Taunus Mountain range might make for an interesting excursion. Including having at least a few hours spa experience, of course.

If you go to Bad Homburg, you might also want to visit the "Saalburg (http://www.saalburgmuseum.de/english/home_engl.htm)", a rebuild roman fort just outside Bad Homburg (easily reachable by Bus) if the weather is okay.

Mainz is really nice (I'm biased, since it's my hometown ;) - let me know if you want more information) and I'd definetly think about visiting the Rhine valley (the most interesting part is between Mainz and Koblenz) if you haven't been there before.

You could also think about visiting Cologne (just 1hr by train)...

As for food, I'm not a Frankfurt specialist, but I think you should find some good local restaurants in Sachsenhausen, just accross the Main from the city.

David

If you are using a rental car and decide on Heidelburg, on the way is the castle used for inspiration for Mary Shelley (http://travelingwithtrz.homestead.com/FrankensteinCastle.html).
Also, I would recommend the many local breweries/restaurants. I liked the Darmstadter Brewery, right near the train station. The sampler had the appropriate miniature beer glass for each type of brew. Not used to that in the US.

It is really easy to get around on the trains from Frankfurt. Be aware that everything closes on Sunday except Konditori (pastry bakeries) and restaurants so you have to plan carefully. A day trip to Heidelberg on the train would be a good choice if the weather is good on Sunday. I agree with the suggestion of Mainz -- take the train on Saturday morning. The old town area near the Sud-Bahnhof (south station closest to FRA) is very walkable and the town will be buzzing with shopping in the morning. It will completely die off in the afternoon. Stop into the Grube pub on the way back to the sud-train station. Mainz has a lively white wine scene if you are not into bier (its apple wine in FRA). You could probably find a (long) one-day tour to Rothenberg if you are interested in a touristy but remarkable medieval walled town.

thanks for the information - I will look into these suggestions - great to have such help and resources from a great group of FTers.

dont leave until next Fri so any other inspirations or recommendations are welcome.

Thanks again

Spent a great week around Frankfurt awhile back. all posts are good. Heidelberg is eaily reached and a lot of fun. Up the Rhein to Mainz or even to Koblenz...and stopping at the small villages along the way...is great regardless of the weather. Also enjoyed road trips to Miltenberg on the Main (southeast of Frankfurt...and part of the Romantic Road) and Bergstrasse area (between Frankfurt and Heidelberg...and a good, scenic wine area). Makes me want to go back...

Great suggestions, thanks very much - also delving into other older germany postings - great stuff - nice to know i will not be all work and no play while in Frankfurt

As German who studys in Heidelberg, I only can recommend: visit it! It's the most beautyful city in Germany.
After visiting Heidelberg in the morning (if you are there very early, watch the sunrise from the Königsstuhl) I would go to Deidesheim or Bad Dürkheim in Pfalz to taste some wines and for having dinner I would prefer Maingau Stuben in Sachsenhausen (near Frankfurt) or Schwarzer Hahn in Deidesheim.

My wife, daughter and I are taking a mileage run from LAX-FRA and are going to stay two nights before returning home. We land on Saturday morning and return Monday morning. We're going in a couple of weeks so it will be Winter. Sounds like Saturday should be a good day but sounds like on a Sunday in winter, there may not be much to do. We're staying at the Hilton Frankfurt. Any recommendations for some family-friendly fun (my daughter is 10) on a Sunday? We definitely don't want to stay holed-up in the hotel for our very short duration in Frankfurt.

Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions.

Mileage Lover

My wife, daughter and I are taking a mileage run from LAX-FRA and are going to stay two nights before returning home. We land on Saturday morning and return Monday morning. We're going in a couple of weeks so it will be Winter. Sounds like Saturday should be a good day but sounds like on a Sunday in winter, there may not be much to do. We're staying at the Hilton Frankfurt. Any recommendations for some family-friendly fun (my daughter is 10) on a Sunday? We definitely don't want to stay holed-up in the hotel for our very short duration in Frankfurt.

Thanks, in advance, for any suggestions.

Mileage Lover

Walking is always good. Even if the stores are closed, I like to walk anyways.

For Sunday, I'd buy the Good Weekend train ticket (up to five people can ride on one ticket, 35 euros, travel anywhere on the regional trains (stay off the IR, IC, ICEs or ECs), good until the next morning at 6 AM, I think). If it isn't too cold, I'd ride up the Rhein river line towards Köln and just off at any little town that intrigues you. Some of the little tourist towns (St. Goar, Boppard, Bingen for example) have their tourist shops and restaurants open on Sunday, and I always liked a river walk. St. Goar has a fairly good castle with magnificent views.

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/germany/rheinfels.htm

Even on Sundays, if you need to buy basic food supplies, although all the markets are closed, there are stores in the train stations that are always open where you can buy packaged foods, like a convenience store on steroids.

thanks all for the suggestions for my recent week in FRA -

Saturday got checked into hotel and then headed out and about - walked from train station to Dom and along the Zeil just sightseeing and people watching.

At the far end of the ziel I found a great farmers market with produce, meats and cheese - great stands set up in the market as well for some great sausages, potato pancakes & appelwine - nice break there. Walked back the other way to the old opera house - great cafes along that end for an espresso. Also seemed to be a number of nice looking restaurants.

Sat night I got opera tickets at the opera house (new - at Willi Brandt Platz) - seemed like there were fair choices for seats with wine and snack before the show in the lobby

Sunday - no shopping but still lots to do in town if you have not been there before.

First was a visit to the zoo - even tho was winter was still a fair amount to see and nice size -

then back on the subway to the Dom and a walk across the river and along the musuem row - I headed to the Stadl Musuem which has a great collection and a nice show on the art of gardens.

Later in the week headed to Marianplatz subway stop and walked along looking for a restaurant - we ended up at a small one called Ginko that we can recommend highly.

thanks for the suggestions from everyone and hope this give some ideas for a layover in FRA - I was there for business but found that for a weekend there was enough in town to keep me busy for 2 days of sightseeing.

Thanks for the feedback, sounds like you had a good time and a great week ^

Always nice to receive trip reports. Thanks for thaking the time to let us know what you did and what you enjoyed.\

Is not FT great?

I just found this thread and got to see the run up to it and the trip and it sounds like a job well done by Ft'ers and a fun trip.