One Day in Frankfurt – What to See and Do

If you only have one day to spend in Frankfurt, here are a few suggested options that should satisfy various interests and age groups. We hope that you will come on our Frankfurt on Foot Walking Tour, as this is the easiest way to cover many of the highlights of the city listed below, but if the times don’t match your schedule, please consider booking one of our Private tours, as this is the very best way to see many of these sites. Our website, www.frankfurtonfoot.com has information on how to reserve a tour.

Option A. – Römerberg, Alte Nikolai, Book Burning Memorial, Jörge Ratgeb wall paintings in the Karmeliter Cloister, the Kaiserdom, the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Wall, the Klein Markt Halle, Eschenheimer Turm, Alte Oper, and then have dinner at one of the guard towers built in the 1400’s, either the Friedberger Warte or the Eschenheimer Turm. Visit one of the Farmers Markets (see our post about Farmers Markets for locations and days of the week).

Option B. – Visit the Deutsche Ordens Church (Teutonic Order of Knights) built in 1309, stroll through the Palmengarten, take tram #12 to Bornheim on Wed. or Sat. for the Farmers Market and a walk down the Berger strasse with a stop in Bethmann Park, on Fri. visit the market on Schiller Strasse, or at the Konstablerwache on Thurs.and Sat. When evening comes, take a walk through Alt Sachsenhausen with dinner in one of the old applewine pubs, like Dauth-Schneiders or Atschel. If you prefer staying in Bornheim, have dinner at Apfelwein Solzer, a beautiful, old, half-timbered Applewine Pub on the upper Berger Strasse.

Option C (with kids under 12) – Visit the Senckenburg Museum of Natural History, the Bible Museum, Experimenta, the Communication Museum, the Film Museum, spend a few hours at the Palmengarten, go to the Zoo because kids under 18 are free. On Sundays you can visit the Antique Tram Museum and check out all the old trams. Have dinner at one of the cafes that surround the Römer (Alte Limburg or Schwarze Stern), so the kids can run around and you can watch the buskers perform that are often there.

Option D – If you haven’t been able to get to any old towns while here in Germany, then make plans to visit the Frankfurt neighborhood of Hoechst. There, you can walk through a dry moat that surrounds the small schloss and is next to the old city wall, see about 400 original half-timbered houses lining narrow cobble-stoned streets, as well as St.Justinus, one of the oldest churches in Germany built in 850. Go to the great Farmers Market held on Tue. Fri. & Sat. from 7-13:00 as well as their wonderful Market Hall. Have lunch or dinner up on the wall at  Alte Zoll Wache, Zum Baeren, or Zum Schwan. Tram #11 goes there and lets you see lots of Frankfurt as the ride takes about 45 min. or you can cut the time to 10 min. using the S-1 or S-2 from the Hauptbahnhof, Hauptwache or Konstablerwache.

Museum recommendations if you only have one day (and it isn’t a Monday) and depending on your interests:  the Judengasse Museum plus Jewish Museum, the Städel, Liebieg Haus for sculpture, the Archeology Museum, the Schirn, Museum of Modern Art, or the Film Museum.  If you are here on Mondays, the Palmengarten, the Zoo, the Senckenburg Museum, and the Goethe Haus are open. If you want to visit several museums, we recommend getting a 2 day ticket.
Museum Ticket

5 comments

  1. When I had a whole day in Frankfurt, I started out with your walking tour. It left me way too tired to do anything else but sit in a cafe!Great ideas here though, for my next long layover!

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  2. Hi, what about a Sunday? Is there anything open or will it just be walking the streets? I am there in mid-March… I suppose I could try to extend my trip and spend a Wednesday there instead. Ideas?

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  3. The only thing that is closed on Sundays in Germany are the stores. Everything else is open. The Museums, restaurants, theaters, pools, movies, cafes, the Palmengarten, the Zoo, and other tourist attractions. Souvenir stores in the inner city are also open, as are stores at the main train station. Our tour of course takes place 365 days a year, so we hope you will join us at 10:30 on your Sunday visit.

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