FRANKFURT 3-DAY ITINERARY
This is a 3 day-travel guide to a vibrant and interesting city in Germany: Frankfurt!
It is filled with art, culture and delicate cuisine. It is
not only suitable for couples, but also an ideal getaway for families and
friends. No matter where you’ll stay in Frankfurt, most neighborhoods have
their charm and will provide you with a unique experience. With that being
said, we wish you a wonderful stay and may your trip be filled with
unforgettable memories!
Day 1 in Frankfurt
7:00 am – Arrival at Frankfurt Airport
Public transportation info:
Frankfurt has a very easy network of trains, buses, subways and railways that will get you anywhere within and outside the city limits. A traveling day-pass will cost 7 Euro and individual rides are quite affordable as well, usually around 2 Euros for a one-way ticket. Except for buses, where you pay directly with the bus driver, you are expected to purchase your ticket ahead a time, most likely at a machine. The system is an honor-system, but you can be stopped and asked to present your ticket at any given time and should be prepared to do so. If not, you’ll be fined and that can range anywhere from 50-80 Euros. To get from the airport into the city is very easy and quick, but there are also lots of taxis parked out front and there’s no line to get in, as it is the case at some other international airports.
9:00 am -Arrival at the Hotel
Our suggestion as the best value hotel to stay at in Frankfurt is:
Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof
This is a beautiful 5-star Hotel with all the amenities you could possibly wish for to have an unforgettable stay. It’s located in the financial district and in perfect walking distance to the main train station, shopping streets and historical sight such as Paulskirche. You enjoy free access to the spa and each room is outfitted with a safe, desk and flat-screen TV. Free-WIFI is, of course, included as well.
Prices: Prices start at $170 a night
Address: Am Kaiserplatz, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany, (GPS input: Bethmannstraße 33)
Tel: +49 69 215-02
9:30 am -Breakfast at Hofgarten Restaurant
You don’t have to go far: It’s at your hotel! The hotel has multiple, fabulous restaurants and bars inside and since you’ll probably be hungry by the time you’ll get to check-in, this would be the perfect first stop. The restaurant offers an extensive buffet prepared from the freshest and most popular ingredients.
11:00 am –Staedel Museum
The Städel, officially the Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, is an art museum in Frankfurt am Main, with one of the most important collections in Germany. This is a lovely museum containing contemporary art, and it’s easy to walk through the entire museum within a solid 3 hours. It’s definitely worth a trip if you’re an art lover and you will surely appreciate its great, impressive collections.
The Städel owns 2,700 paintings (of which 600 are displayed) and a collection of 100,000 drawings and prints as well as 600 sculptures. It has around 4,000 m² of display and a library of 100,000 books and 400 periodicals.
The Städel was honoured as “Museum of the Year 2012” by the German art critics association AICA in 2012. In the same year the museum recorded the highest attendance figures in its history, of 447,395 visitors.
History
The Städel was founded in 1815 by the Frankfurt banker and merchant Johann Friedrich Städel. In 1878, a new building, designed according to the Gründerzeit style, was erected on Schaumainkai street, presently the major museum district. By the start of the 20th century, the gallery was among the most prominent German collections of classic Pan-European art; the other such collections open to the public were the Dresden Gallery, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, and the Altes Museum in Berlin.
World War II
In 1937, 77 paintings and 700 prints were confiscated from the museum when the National Socialists declared them “degenerate art”.
In 1939, the collection was moved out of Frankfurt to protect it from damage in World War II. The collection of the Staedel, officially known as the Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie of Frankfurt, was removed from the museum to avoid destruction from the Allied bombings, and the collection was stored in the Schloss Rossbach, a castle owned by the Baron Thüngen near Bad Brückenau in Bavaria. There, the museum’s paintings and library were discovered by Lt. Thomas Carr Howe, USN, of the American Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives program. Although the Baron von Thüngen and his wife were uncooperative with the Americans, Frau Dr. Holzinger, a licensed physician and the Swiss wife of the Staedel museum director, was present at the site and assisted with the cataloging and the removal of the items to the Munich Central Collecting Point. Lt. Howe said, “The first room to be inspected was a library adjoining the sitting room in which we had been waiting. Here we found a quantity of excellent French Impressionist paintings, all from the permanent collection of the Staedel, and a considerable number of fine Old Master drawings. Most of these were likewise the property of the museum, but a few – I remember one superb Rembrandt sketch – appeared to have come from Switzerland. Those would, of course, have to be looked into later, to determine their exact origin and how they came to be on loan to the museum. But for the moment we were concerned primarily with storage conditions and the problem of security. In another room we found an enormous collection of books, the library of one of the Frankfurt museums. In a third we encountered an array of medieval sculpture – saints all sizes and description, some of carved wood, others of stone, plain or polychromed. These too, were of museum origin. The last storage room was below ground, a vast, cavernous chamber beneath the house. Here was row upon row of pictures, stacked in two tiers down the center of the room and also along two sides. From what we could make of them in the poor light, they were not of high quality. During the summer months they would be alright in the underground room, but we thought the place would be very damp in the winter. Frau Holzinger assured us that this was so and that the pictures should be removed before the bad weather set in.”
Renovations
The gallery was substantially damaged by air raids in World War II and it was rebuilt by 1966 following a design by the Frankfurt architect Johannes Krahn. An expansion building for the display of 20th-century work and special exhibits was erected in 1990, designed by the Austrian architect Gustav Peichl. Small structural changes and renovations took place from 1997 to 1999.
The largest extension in the history of the museum intended for the presentation of contemporary art was designed by the Frankfurt architectural firm Schneider+Schumacher and opened in February 2012.
Digital expansion
The Städel is currently significantly enlarging its activities and outreach through a major digital expansion on the occasion of its 200-year anniversary in 2015. Already available to visitors is an exhibition ‘digitorial’ and free access to WiFi throughout the museum and its grounds. From March the museum will offer to visitors a new Städel app, the possibility of listening to audio guides on their own devices, and a new ‘cabinet of digital curiosities’. Several more projects are currently in development including an online exhibition platform; educational computer games for children; online art-history courses and a digital art book.
Collection
The Städel has European paintings from seven centuries, beginning with the early 14th century, moving into Late Gothic, the Renaissance, Baroque, and into the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The large collection of prints and drawings is not on permanent display and occupies the first floor of the museum. Works on paper not on display can be viewed by appointment.
The gallery has a conservation department that performs conservation and restoration work on the collection.
Admission: 14 Euros
Hours: 10-21.00. Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday the museum closes at 18.00
Address: Schaumainkai 63 | 60596 Frankfurt, 60596 Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Phone Number: +49 69 605098200
Website: www.staedelmuseum.de/en
14:00pm – Classico for lunch
This Mediterranean restaurant will provide you with a sensory sensation for your money and your taste buds won’t be disappointed!
The seafood dishes are their specialty, so why not go for some grilled octopus?
Address: Westendstr. 75, D-60325 Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Hours: Open for lunch and dinner (11.30-15.00 and 18.00 to midnight)
Website: http://www.classico-frankfurt.de/home.html
15:30pm – Frankfurt Main River Cruise (upstream or downstream)
This is one of the most beautiful ways to see Frankfurt from the water. The cruises are either 50- or 100 minutes long, depending on your choosing. For the 50 minute tour you have to choose between going upstream or downstream and during the 100 minute cruise, which is the one I recommend, you get to go both ways and see all the highlights!
Prices: Tickets start at $10
Departure Point: Departure from “Eiserner Steg”, central Frankfurt. Live commentary in German and English
Hours:
Monday -Saturday:
Upstream: 12pm, 2pm and 4pm
Downstream: 11am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm
Sunday & public holidays: (half-hourly departures April through October)
Upstream: 11.30am, 12pm, 1:30pm, 2pm, 3:30pm, 4pm, 5:30pm and 6pm Downstream: 11am, 12.30pm, 1pm, 2:30pm, 3pm, 4:30pm, 5pm and 6:30pm
17:30pm – Walking tour
For this, you don’t necessarily need a guide, but the greatest pleasure with this is to explore the riverside on your own and take a stroll along Main River. Frankfurt is quite serene and peaceful in these parts of town and lovely to see towards the end of the day (unless there’s a festival going on!).
19:00 pm – Drinks at The Parlour
One of the best cocktail lounges in Frankfurt! It’s a little pricey, but well worth it and some of the drinks are quite unique. A good spot for a pre-dinner drink, or post-dinner as well, if you choose to come here at a busier, later time. It is a bit awkward for foreigners to get here specially if the taxi driver does not know the area; make sure you use the building number to find the place as there is no big sign outside
Address: Zwingergasse 6, 60313 Frankfurt, Germany
Phone number: +49 69 90025808
Hours: Open from 19.00 to 3.00 in the morning (closed on Sundays)
20:30 pm – Dinner at Zenzakan
This is an extraordinary Asian restaurant with a hip vibe and very modern and chic interior. The dishes are Asian fusion, served creatively and with incredible taste.
Address: Taunusanlage 15 | 60325 Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hessen
Phone number: +49 69 97086908
Opening hours: 18.00 – 23.30
Website: http://www.mook-group.de/zenzakan/
TripAdvisor Reviews: Zenzakan, Frankfurt – TripAdvisor
1st Day in Frankfurt Map
Below you can find the map with all the places for your first day in Frankfurt. To get this map online, you can click here. This link will open the map for you in Google
Day 2 in Frankfurt
Here is the travel itinerary for your second day in Frankfurt.
8:30am – Leave Hotel (Walking distance to first destination)
9:30am – Reach Zeil Street (MyZeil) and have breakfast of your chosen place
The “Zeil” is the main shopping area in Frankfurt. On the way from your hotel to this destination, you will encounter countless breakfast places, as well as in any of the side streets, where you’ll often find a hidden gem. Afterwards, all the shops will be open, so feel free to do some shopping and looking-around.
A little side note: A typical German breakfast consists of some type of bread (usually rolls or crusty bread), with cheese, cold cuts and marmalade. 12:00am
Roemer/Roemerplatz
Located in a famous, historical town square in Frankfurt, in walking distance from the shopping street, this important landmark shows you true and typical German architecture. This town square is also where the annual Christmas market takes place and is the center of many festivals and celebrations throughout the year. There are several souvenir shops, if you’re looking for presents for loved ones back home, and some very yummy ice cream parlors, worth trying out.
Address: Römerberg 27, 60311 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Phone number: +49 69 21201
13:00pm – Weinstube im Roemer
This restaurant will give you an excellent introduction into German hospitality and traditional food. The portions are fairly big and prices are very moderate, especially for the old part of town that attracts so many crowds.
Address: Frankfurt-Altstadt | Römerberg 19, Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Phone number: 069-291331
Opening times:
Sunday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm, Tuesday 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm, Wednesday 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm, Thursday 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm, Friday 4:00 pm – 11:00 pm, Saturday 11:30 am – 11:00 pm
14:30 pm – Palmengarten
This is a beautiful and serene botanical Garden; one of its largest in Germany.
Plan to spend about 1-2 hours in there.
Address: Siesmayerstr. 61, 60323 Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Phone Number: 069 2123 3939
Admission: 7 Euros for adults, 2 Euros for children up to 13 years old
Opening hours: 9.00-18.00
16:30 pm -Chinese Garden
A trip to China without getting on a plane! It’s a very pretty, but also small garden and you can easily walk it all through within an hour. It contains a little waterfall, which is quite lovely.
Address: Friedberger Tor | Chinesischer Garten, 60311Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Opening hours: Weekdays it opens at 7 through nightfall; Weekends it opens at 10, also through nightfall
18:00 pm – Dinner at Restaurant Francais
Located at the hotel of your choice, the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof, it is a divine culinary experience. This award-winning restaurant doesn’t have a Michelin star for no reason! It’s French cuisine at its finest.
Opening times: Tuesday-Friday 2:00-13.45, Tuesday-Saturday 18.30-21.30
20:00 pm – Alte Oper
Make sure to check the schedule beforehand, but most performances start at 20.00 and are truly a unique experience if you’re a fan of the arts.
Address: Opernplatz 1, 60313 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Phone number: +49 69 13400
Prices: Ticket prices vary, but they are very affordable and discounts of all sorts are provided (for students, Frankfurt Pass-holders, the unemployed
2nd Day in Frankfurt Map
Click Here to get this map online.
Day 3 in Frankfurt
8:30am – Leave Hotel
9:00 am – Café Karin for breakfast
This is a very reasonably priced and great little breakfast place. They offer American and English breakfast versions as well and the service is very friendly and courteous. Address: Großer Hirschgraben 28, 60311 Frankfurt, Germany Phone number: +49 69 295217
10:00 am – Frankfurt Zoo
Established in 1858, it’s one of the oldest zoos in Germany; with a diverse fauna. The suggested time would be about 2 – 3 hours to explore the whole zoo. I would advise to check the feeding schedule of the different animals, since it’s quite an interesting observation.
Address: Bernhard-Grzimek-Allee 1, 60316 Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Phone Number: +69 21233735
Opening hours: 9:00-17.00
Admission: 10 Euros per adult and 5 Euros for a child under the age of 18. They also offer family day passes for 25 Euros (2 adults and up to 4 children) and several other discounts for eligible visitors
13:00 pm – Ristorante Leon D’Oro for lunch
This is a perfect spot to allow yourself a yummy lunch break after a busy time at the zoo. The restaurant is known for its authentic, delicious Italian food and traditional
14:30 pm – German Film Museum
This is a wonderful little museum for Film enthusiasts! It only takes 1-2 hours to explore and gives you plenty of opportunities to interact with film-making tools and for you to receive an inside- glimpse of how movies are made.
Address: Schaumainkai 41, 60596 Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Phone Number: +49 69 96 12 20 0
Phone number: +069 234353
Opening hours: 10:00-18.00 (Wednesdays it’s open till 20.00)
Admission: 6 Euros is the highest entrance fee, but discounts apply and it depends of how much you want to see of the museum. Children under 6 get in for free.
16:00 pm – Cathedral of St. Bartholomew
This is a significant, historic church with amazing interior. There’s no entrance fee and recommend time is 1-2 hours. It used to serve for the coronation of Holy Roman emperors. The viewing platform on top of the tower is pretty nice and worth the sight, if you are physically in good condition and able to walk up the stairs.
18:00 pm Kabuki for dinner
It’s in walking distance to the English Theatre, if you decide to see a show afterwards, and it’s truly one of the best Japanese restaurants in the city. The portions are very generous and filled with great flavors. Address: Kaiserstrasse 42, 60329 Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany
20:00pm English Theatre
Check the calendar for performances, but if you get a chance to see one of their shows, I would highly recommend it, especially as an English speaker. The prices are modest and the shows are usually fantastic! Seats are very comfortable and the theatre has a nice bar inside to hang out before the show starts.
Address: Gallusanlage 7, 60329 Frankfurt, Hessen, Germany
Phone Number: 5478937
We hope you enjoyed our Frankfurt in 3 days travel guide. Have fun and feel free to share your experiences and tips from Frankfurt here.
