How many days in Frankfurt?

The headline things to do in Frankfurt

From the Frankfurt guide — these are the items that anchor a 1-day visit. For the full breakdown, read the Frankfurt travel guide.

1. Römerberg — Altstadt

   The medieval heart of Frankfurt — a small triangular square flanked by the Römer city hall (used for German imperial coronation feasts from 1356 to 1792) and the row of reconstructed half-timbered Ostzeile houses on the east side. The original buildings burned in March 1944; the current Ostzeile was rebuilt in the 1980s using original techniques. Always animated, especially during the Christmas market.

2. Mainhattan Skyline & Main Tower — Bankenviertel

   Germany's only true skyline. The Main Tower (200m) holds the city's only public observation deck — €9, accessible by a single high-speed lift to the 56th floor with panoramic views over the financial district, the Main River, and the Taunus hills on a clear day. The Commerzbank Tower (259m), the Messeturm (257m), and the European Central Bank (185m) anchor the cluster. Best photographed from the Eiserner Steg footbridge at dusk.

3. Sachsenhausen Apfelwein Taverns — Sachsenhausen

   The Apfelwein (Ebbelwoi) tavern district on the south bank of the Main, especially around Klappergasse and Kleine Rittergasse. Order Apfelwein in the ribbed Geripptes glass (which prevents your fingers slipping when wet) from a Bembel pitcher; pair with Handkäs mit Musik (a sour cheese in vinegar and onions) or Frankfurt's seven-herb Grüne Soße. Atschel, Wagner, and Zur Sonne are the three classic taverns.

4. Städel Museum — Sachsenhausen / Museumsufer

   Germany's oldest privately founded museum (1815) and one of Europe's premier art collections — 700 years of art across Cranach, Vermeer, Rembrandt, Monet, Picasso, and a stellar German modernist holding (Beckmann, Dix, Kirchner, Macke). The 2012 underground extension by Schneider+Schumacher added 3,000 square metres of contemporary galleries beneath a green meadow with skylights. €18 entry; allow a half day.

5. Goethe House — Altstadt

   The reconstructed birthplace and family home of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, painstakingly rebuilt from photographs, plans, and surviving original furniture after the 1944 air raid destroyed the original. Recreates his childhood bedroom, his father's library, and the room where 24-year-old Goethe wrote The Sorrows of Young Werther in 1774. €10 entry.

6. Kaiserdom (Frankfurt Cathedral) — Altstadt

   A red sandstone Gothic church where ten Holy Roman Emperors were crowned between 1562 and 1792. Climb the 95-metre central tower (€3, 328 steps) for a closer look at the financial district skyline. Despite being called a cathedral, it has never been a bishop's seat — the title is honorary. The interior is more austere than the exterior suggests.

7. Eiserner Steg Footbridge — Altstadt / Sachsenhausen

   The 19th-century iron footbridge linking the Altstadt to Sachsenhausen, with thousands of love locks attached to its railings. The downstream side gives you the postcard skyline shot — Mainhattan looming over the Main, with the cathedral spire on the right and the Sachsenhausen embankment on the left. Best at sunset and during the August Mainfest fireworks.

8. Palmengarten — Westend

   A 22-hectare botanical garden founded in 1868 — Germany's second-largest after Berlin's. Twenty greenhouses host tropical, subtropical, and desert plants, the centrepiece being the Tropicarium with its giant Victoria water lilies and a 700-plant orchid collection. The lakes, formal gardens, and rock garden are particularly lovely on summer afternoons. €10 entry.

Frequently asked