8 hour Layover at Frankfurt Airport
Feb 12, 2011, 2:26 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Pacific Northwest, SEA
Programs: Alaska Airlines
Posts: 1
8 hour Layover at Frankfurt Airport
My Lufthansa flight has an 8 hour layover at Frankfurt, for a SEA-FRA and FRA-BLL connection. Have never flown to FRA and would like any ideas on what to do while at FRA. Wondering if there is any sort of airport tour and are there any lounges where one can purchase a day pass? Any thoughts you'd like to share will be much appreciated.
Despite the fact that Frankfurt city is a short, safe, easy train ride away, I’d rather not leave FRA or Terminal 1. I will be travelling alone at this point, with everything in my carry-on which I will keep next to me until I arrive in Denmark. (This is the first part of a trip to the Arabian Peninsula, where I can’t easily replace the items in my carry-on.)
Despite the fact that Frankfurt city is a short, safe, easy train ride away, I’d rather not leave FRA or Terminal 1. I will be travelling alone at this point, with everything in my carry-on which I will keep next to me until I arrive in Denmark. (This is the first part of a trip to the Arabian Peninsula, where I can’t easily replace the items in my carry-on.)
Feb 12, 2011, 2:35 pm
#2
Senior Moderator, Moderator: Community Buzz and Ambassador: Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners)
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 150km from MAN
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Welcome to FT, hadsten!
You will find some suggestions if you do a search in the Germany forum for "FRA layover", for example:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...hours-fra.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...hours-fra.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...a-what-do.html
If you don't want to leave the airport, Frankfurt Airport's website also provides some suggestions.
You will find some suggestions if you do a search in the Germany forum for "FRA layover", for example:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...hours-fra.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...hours-fra.html
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/germa...a-what-do.html
If you don't want to leave the airport, Frankfurt Airport's website also provides some suggestions.
Feb 13, 2011, 8:53 am
#3
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Singapore, Warsaw, Surfers Paradise
Programs: KrisFlyer Gold>>>Silver>>>Blue, Finnair Silver, Royal Caribbean Diamond
Posts: 5,174
Oh my, not a good airport to be stuck in for 8 hrs. 
I believe you can pay for lounge access, so you should be ok with that. Get some drinks, bring out the sudoku book, read the daily press, etc. If you have a laptop then remember: no free wifi available, no power adapters if you have a different plug.
For food I'd locate a place that serves Weisswurst and other local specialities as lounge food is never going to be a substitute for a proper meal.
I believe you can pay for lounge access, so you should be ok with that. Get some drinks, bring out the sudoku book, read the daily press, etc. If you have a laptop then remember: no free wifi available, no power adapters if you have a different plug.
For food I'd locate a place that serves Weisswurst and other local specialities as lounge food is never going to be a substitute for a proper meal.
Feb 14, 2011, 7:13 pm
#6
Join Date: Jun 2004
Programs: aa co
Posts: 209
Thanks. I am facing the same issue: 4-5 hour layover and carry-on luggage. I don't qualify for those first-class lounges and they don't sound like anything that great anyway. So if I can store my luggage, get into town, have an inexpensive German meal and a beer(a litre of course) and not miss my connection, why wouldn't I?
I presume getting to the luggage storage and clearing customs would take some time. Any estimates on the cost and time of a cab ride? Any suggestions for an easy to get to (and easy on the wallet) authentic place for a late lunch (think 2pm local)?
Or if I am taking too big a risk, stop me now! ;^D
Thanks.
I presume getting to the luggage storage and clearing customs would take some time. Any estimates on the cost and time of a cab ride? Any suggestions for an easy to get to (and easy on the wallet) authentic place for a late lunch (think 2pm local)?
Or if I am taking too big a risk, stop me now! ;^D
Thanks.
Last edited by DennyO; Feb 14, 2011 at 7:30 pm
Feb 15, 2011, 5:32 am
#7
Moderator: InterContinental Hotels and Germany
Join Date: Oct 2002
Posts: 6,552
I let the suggestion for places to eat to the other locals, but I would take the S-Bahn, which is running from the airport to the main station in around 12 minutes and are much cheaper than a cab. Have a look at www.rmv.de (or http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generato...__ART__en.html). A map of the S-Bahn service could be found here http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generato...erty=image.gif and all trains passing main station and also Hauptwache and Konstablerwache, which are right in the city centre of Frankfurt with the main pedestrian zone with shops, restaurants and also some place of interest are easy to reach.
A day ticket covering the airport is 9.50 EUR iirc.
A day ticket covering the airport is 9.50 EUR iirc.
Feb 22, 2011, 4:28 am
#8
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Oh my, not a good airport to be stuck in for 8 hrs.
I believe you can pay for lounge access, so you should be ok with that. Get some drinks, bring out the sudoku book, read the daily press, etc. If you have a laptop then remember: no free wifi available, no power adapters if you have a different plug.
For food I'd locate a place that serves Weisswurst and other local specialities as lounge food is never going to be a substitute for a proper meal.
I believe you can pay for lounge access, so you should be ok with that. Get some drinks, bring out the sudoku book, read the daily press, etc. If you have a laptop then remember: no free wifi available, no power adapters if you have a different plug.
For food I'd locate a place that serves Weisswurst and other local specialities as lounge food is never going to be a substitute for a proper meal.
For 8 hours, I would definitely not stick to FRA airport -- too boring. So I just would buy the day travelcard and hop on the S9 or S8.