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Frankfurt

Frankfurt is ripe with culture, restaurants, history and, the European Stock Exchange. Eat a dinner at one of their cider houses, experience the flavor of Frankfurt’s local dishes, visit a beer garden, spend the afternoon at one of their free parks or visit a museum. Frankfurt is also the home of one of the world’s most popular hot dogs that bears its name.

Costs in Frankfurt

• Hostel Prices: Most hostels in the city cost around 19 Euros for a dorm bed and 50 Euros for a private room.
• Budget Hotel Prices: The cheapest hotels will start at 40 Euros a night and go up to about 100 Euros per night.
• Average Cost of Food: Frankfurt is known for its food and eating out in their cider houses will set you back about 10 Euros and 3 Euros for a beer. As long as you don’t go to high end restaurants you can eat for under 15 euros for a meal. McDonalds and other fast food places cost around 6 Euros. You can also get hotdogs and sausages for 2 or 3 Euros. A week’s worth of groceries will cost around 40 Euros.
• Cost of Internet: Internet cafes cost 2.50 Euro per hour but like elsewhere in Germany, you’ll find no shortage of free wi-fi hotspots.
• Transportation: A one day ticket on the U-Bahn will cost 5.40 Euros. A Frankfurt Card, which costs 8.90 Euros, gives you access the airport train as well as the entire public transportation system.

Things to Do in Frankfurt

• Visit the Dom – Frankfurt’s main attraction, the Dom (main cathedral) is dates back to the 14th century and crowned the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire. It’s a place decorated for Emperors with stunning stone and glasswork. Admission is free.
• Sachsenhausen – South of the main river, Sachsenhausen has many of the best cider bars and pubs in the city. Afterwards visiting some of these pubs, take a stroll on the river and enjoy the view (just don’t fall in).
• The Eiserner Steg – Otherwise known as the Iron Bridge, this bridge provides great views of the city and is on the way to Sachsenhausen.
• Visit the Städel-Museum – The Stadel Museum displays old and new pieces of art. It has over 10,000 pieces of art with a heavy focus on Germany and Renaissance art. It costs 6 Euros to get in.
• Visit the Museum Judengasse – Germany has troubled past when it comes to its Jewish population.This museums teaches you about the Jews of the area and has a Holocaust Memorial Wall that lists the murdered Frankfurt Jewish citizens.
• Spend the day at the Palmengarten – This is Frankfurt’s Botanical Gardens and like most botanical gardens you’ll find a wide array of plants from around the world. Admission is 5 Euros and there are many paths, gardens, flowers, and birds to see here. I think it’s one of the best things to do in the city.
• Walk around the Bornheim – Mostly a residential area, the area has many medieval style houses that survived the war. It’s Frankfurt’s historic area and is your only chance to see what the city looked like before World War II.
• Römerberg – This is the central, old place in downtown Frankfurt. It features various buildings and a church from the 14th and 15th century (in theory; the buildings were mostly destroyed during World War II but completely rebuilt afterwards). The Römer itself is the town hall of Frankfurt. Cafés and shops can be found at the square itself and in the vicinity. Most of the area was rebuilt after the war.
• The City Forest – Located in the south of Frankfurt. With about 48 square kilometres, it is regarded as the largest inner-city forest in Germany. Six playgrounds and nine ponds make the forest a popular places for both locals and tourists alike.
• Frankfurt Book Fair – Held in the middle of October, every year since the printing press was designed, this fair is considered the largest event of its’ kind, within the publishing industry. It is a week long, but is only open to the public during the last 2 days. A day ticket is 12 Euro.
• EXPLORA Science Center – Housed inside of an old World War !! bunker, this museum is filled with tons of interactive exhibits and neat features. There is a range of puzzles, optical illusions, and mathematical games to check out—in addition to a ton of other interesting stuff to see. They even have a charge station for eBikes and electric cars.
• Visit the Zoo – The Frankfurt zoo is somewhat of a typical inter-city zoo. They have many of the traditional, expected attractions you would hope to see. The highlight here, however, is the Grzmek-house—the night animal attraction. The Opel-Zoo, which is just outside of Franfurt-in Kronberg, is another place to check out.
• Offenbach – Just a short bike ride out of Frankfurt, Offenbach is a smaller neighboring city. Despite its’ size, there are tons of little shops, a Flea market, a Farmer’s market, an old baroque castle, and various historical sights here. It is a little cheaper than Frankfurt and fun to spend a few days in.
• Messe Frankfurt – As one of the world’s largest exhibition centers, it is often host to a constant array of events which are open to the public. Just two short stops away from the Central Railway Station, it is easy to find and it is usually worth checking to see what is being held. It will give you something to do besides the normal tourist sightseeing activities.

Budget Tips for Frankfurt

• Buy a U-Bahn card. Buying a week pass can save you about 10 Euros.
• Museumsufer-Ticket – For those of you that love checking out museums, this two-day pass will save you tons of money. At a mere 12 Euro, this card guarantees you access to 29 museums, in and around Frankfurt. That also includes special exhibitions.

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