78 hours in Frankfurt & area...?

Question

I am arriving in Frankfurt on 8/26 and 7 am by plane. I am leaving for the US on 8/29 at 1 pm. The time in between is completely free! I have no plans -- no car/train/bus reservations, no hotels, nothing. What should I do? Spending time in Frankfurt has been recommended as well as taking a train to Cologne. Any other general/specific ideas? It should not be too expensive and it should be closeby-- I don't want to spend a lot of time traveling.

Answer 1

Book your hotel now from any of the internet travel sites. It will be cheaper than just showing up. Also, anything you buy save the receipt because when you get ready to leave you can take all the receipts to the tax office at the airport and get the tax back, not a bad deal when tax is 16%.

Also, go to the tourist information center at the airport AND the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and get info and ask questions (see below)

Understand that Frankfurt is the Financial Center of Germany. There was a saying that "Frankfurt is the city the Germans love to hate". The city for the most part rolls up it's sidewalks at the end of the business day but there are things to do.

First, don't use a taxi unless you have to get somewhere NOW!. The public transportation system in Germany and especially Frankfurt is outstanding.

There are little out of the way bars scattered all over town. The big bar district is across the river in Sachsenhausen.

The Roemer is the old Cathedral that sits across the square form the RatHause (old city hall). From the river going north you will walk along the fussgangweg (walking way) past the Roemer and RatHause towards the Zeil. The Zeil is a huge major shopping area that runs east and west through the city. At both ends of the Zeil are the 2 redlight districts in Frankfurt, Kaiser strasse and "Alt Stadt". If this blows up your skirt, they are not hard to find so I will let you do the research.

Frankfurt is the transportation hub of Europe. You can get anywhere from there. It is a 4 hour drive to Amsterdam or Paris. It is 8 Hours to Munich and a 7 hour drive to London! It is < 1hour to go to Wiesbaden to the west or Hanau to the east by train / S-Bahn. It is <30minutes to Darmstadt to the south. Europe is a small place and it is easy to get anywhere, it is also cheap as long as you don't use taxi's and airplanes.

There is really more cultural things to do in Wiesbaden than in Frankfurt. It is a beautiful old town founded by what is now called "Old German money". I lived in Wiesbaden for 5 years. There are hundreds of little old towns with histories that go back centuries within a 2 hour train ride of Frankfurt. Try Heidelberg for one. It is a university town with a beautiful old castle that should not be missed.

Try a Weissenbier while you are there. This is a wheat beer that is really really good on a hot day, it's good on a cold day too! Caution, it is a filling beer. TheGermans refer to beer in general as liquid bread and Weissen bier IS A FILLING BEER!

Try each of the other main types of beer also, Pils (a little bitter for Americans), export (less bitter) and Altbier (a really good dark beer).

Ask if any town close by is having a fest. The Germans love to have a party, they will have a fest because the sun came up today! This is a really good way for you to eat and drink a variety of things the Germans eat and drink  as part of their normal way of things and a great way to meet Germans.

VIEL SPASS! (have fun)

Answer 2

if I were you I would stay in Frankfurt City and check out the nightclubs there and during the day I would do some sightseeing.

Things to see in Frankfurt are:

*Goethe-Haus (Goethe was born there)

*take a boat tour on the Main river

*check out the financial district, here you can go to the Japanese tower and have lunch on the 20th floor

*see the Roemer, very nice, it is the townhall

Ah, and from the airport to the city go by S-Bahn (it is either S 8 or S9 and it brings you to the city center)

Here are some links:

http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.ph...

http://www.meinestadt.de/frankfurt-am-ma...

http://www.primus-linie.de/007/

Have fun!!!