Frankfurt: The City Everyone Passes Through and Too Few Actually See

The first thing you notice from the train arriving in Frankfurt is the skyline — a cluster of glass towers rising above a flat river plain, improbable and impressive in a country where most cities spread horizontal. The second thing, visible as you walk south from Hauptbahnhof, is how wrong your assumptions about Frankfurt were. The financial district gives way to medieval half-timbered houses around the Römerberg, then to the riverbank where 16 museums face each other across the water, then to Sachsenhausen where apple wine flows from blue-grey pottery jugs in taverns that have barely changed since the 19th century.

Frankfurt is Germany’s most underrated city by a significant margin. Part of the problem is geography — it is everyone’s first stop, the hub through which 63 million passengers pass annually, and most of them take the S-Bahn directly to a trade fair or a connecting flight. The people who stay, who walk from the Hauptbahnhof to the Römerberg, who spend an evening eating Handkäs mit Musik (marinated cheese with music, so called because of the digestive effects) in a Sachsenhausen Weinstube, who browse the Kleinmarkthalle at breakfast time — they leave Frankfurt with the most stubborn affection for a city that gave them no reason to expect any.

The Römerberg is Frankfurt’s historical heart — a triangular old town square rebuilt after the 1944 bombing with a row of gabled houses that look medieval and are, in fact, 1980s reconstructions of medieval originals. The reconstruction is honest about itself (a plaque explains the history) and the result is genuinely beautiful: the stepped gable facades, the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen fountain, the Römer city hall with its Imperial Hall where Holy Roman Emperors were celebrated after their coronations in the Dom. It is the best version of what Frankfurt wants to be.

Walk south from the Römerberg along the riverbank and you reach the Museumsufer — Museum Embankment — a stretch of 16 museums facing each other across the River Main. The Städel Museum on the south bank is Germany’s oldest public art institution and one of Europe’s finest, holding 700 years of European painting in extraordinary depth: Botticelli, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Monet, Beckmann. Entry EUR 18. In late August, the annual Museumsufer Fest sees all 16 museums open free for three days, accompanied by food and music along the river — one of Germany’s best annual events.

Why Frankfurt deserves more than a layover

Frankfurt is Germany’s most international city. Roughly a quarter of its residents are foreign nationals, drawn by the European Central Bank, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and the city’s role as a continental hub for finance, logistics, and trade fairs. The result is a food scene that reflects genuine global diversity rather than tourist-market approximation: Vietnamese, Thai, and Lebanese restaurants that serve the people who actually live in the city rather than tourists looking for Asian food, and a cultural mix that makes Frankfurt feel more like a cosmopolitan crossroads than the provincial German banking town of its reputation.

The Sachsenhausen district, across the Eiserner Steg pedestrian bridge from the Römerberg, is where Frankfurt’s soul lives. This old quarter south of the Main is Frankfurt’s Apfelwein (apple wine) heartland — a drink made from pressed apples fermented with no additives, served in round-bellied blue-grey ceramic pitchers called Bembel. It tastes nothing like British cider: drier, more acidic, more complex, and fundamentally Hessian in character. The traditional taverns (Weinstuben) like Zum Gemalten Haus and Zum Eisernen Steg serve Ebbelwei alongside Handkäs mit Musik (marinated curd cheese with onion vinaigrette) in settings that have not meaningfully changed since the 1880s. Spend an evening here and you will understand Frankfurt completely.

The financial towers are real and impressive in their own way. The Maintower observation deck (open daily, EUR 10.50) offers 360-degree views from 200 meters that take in the city, the Taunus hills to the north, and on clear days the Odenwald forest to the south. The contrast between medieval rooftops and glass-and-steel towers visible from this elevation is unlike anything else in Germany.

What should you do in Frankfurt?

Römerberg and the Old Town — The reconstructed medieval old town around the triangular Römerberg square is Frankfurt’s historic center. The Römer city hall (exterior free, Imperial Hall EUR 2) has hosted celebrations since the 15th century. The Dom (Frankfurt Cathedral, free entry) a few minutes’ walk east was the site of Imperial elections and coronations for 300 years. The cathedral tower (EUR 3) offers the best view of the reconstructed old town roofscape. The New Old Town development (Neue Altstadt, opened 2018) around the Dom reconstructs 15 historical buildings destroyed in WWII with careful attention to original plans — walk the alleys and appreciate the painstaking recreation of Frankfurt’s pre-war urban fabric.

Städel Museum — Germany’s oldest public art museum (founded 1815) holds an extraordinary collection spanning 700 years: Botticelli’s Virgin and Child, Vermeer’s The Geographer, Rembrandt’s The Blinding of Samson, and a superb 20th-century German collection including major works by Max Beckmann. Entry EUR 18. Plan three to four hours. The underground extension (2012) adds significant modern collection space while the historic villa houses the Old Masters. Closed Mondays.

Kleinmarkthalle — Frankfurt’s covered food market is the city’s finest non-tourist experience. Three floors of vendors sell Taunus mushrooms, Rheingau Riesling, Hessian cheeses, artisan bread, Mediterranean produce, and street food. The standing tables on the upper gallery are packed with local workers at lunch. Go at 7:30am for breakfast: a glass of Riesling, a board of local cheese, some fresh bread. EUR 8-12 for one of the best meals you will eat in Germany. Open Monday to Friday 7:30am-6pm, Saturday until 4pm. Closed Sundays.

Sachsenhausen Apple Wine District — Cross the Eiserner Steg pedestrian bridge from the Römerberg and you enter Frankfurt’s most atmospheric neighborhood. The Schweizer Strasse and Wallstrasse areas are lined with Weinstuben (apple wine taverns) serving Ebbelwei in Bembel pitchers. Order Handkäs mit Musik (marinated curd cheese with onions), Rippchen (smoked pork ribs), or Grüne Soße (Frankfurt’s famous green herb sauce served cold with boiled eggs and potatoes). A half-liter of apple wine costs EUR 3-4. This is genuinely local food culture.

Museum Embankment — Sixteen museums line both banks of the Main between the Holbeinsteg and the Alte Brücke. Highlights include: the Museum of Film and Cinema (EUR 9, excellent), the German Architecture Museum (EUR 9), the Liebieghaus sculpture museum (EUR 14), and the Jewish Museum Frankfurt (EUR 12, important and well-curated). A combined day pass for multiple museums is available at tourist information. The annual Museumsufer Fest in late August opens all 16 museums free for three days.

Goethe-Haus — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in Frankfurt in 1749, and his four-story family home near the Römerberg is preserved as a museum recreating the bourgeois Frankfurt of his childhood. Entry EUR 10. The tour through the furnished rooms — the library, the writing room with its astronomical clock, the puppet theater where young Goethe staged shows — takes about 90 minutes and gives a specific and intimate picture of educated 18th-century German life.

Maintower Observation Deck — At 200 meters, the Maintower’s public observation platform (EUR 10.50) offers the best panorama of Frankfurt’s skyline from above. On clear days the Taunus hills to the north and the Odenwald to the south are visible. Open daily in good weather; check conditions before visiting. The financial towers around it — the Commerzbank Tower (formerly Europe’s tallest building), the Messeturm, the DZ Bank twin towers — make more sense at this elevation than they do from street level.

Where should you eat in Frankfurt?

• Grüne Soße (Green Sauce) — Frankfurt’s signature dish is a cold herb sauce made from exactly seven specific herbs: sorrel, chives, watercress, parsley, chervil, borage, and salad burnet. Served cold alongside boiled potatoes and hard-boiled eggs. Found at virtually every traditional restaurant. EUR 8-12. Goethe reportedly loved it.

• Zum Gemalten Haus, Sachsenhausen — The most famous apple wine tavern in Frankfurt, with painted facade and garden seating. The full traditional menu: Rippchen with sauerkraut (EUR 14), Handkäs mit Musik (EUR 7), Frankfurt sausages with green sauce (EUR 12). Ebbelwei EUR 3/half liter. Open evenings; arrive before 7pm for outdoor seating.

• Metropol am Römerberg — For Hessian regional cooking in a central location with Römerberg views, Metropol serves reliable versions of Frankfurt classics. Schnitzel with green sauce EUR 16, roasted pork with potato dumplings EUR 18. Terrace seats fill fast on sunny days.

• Kleinmarkthalle Upper Gallery — The standing counter on the upper floor of the food market is where local office workers eat lunch. Multiple vendors; order from whoever appeals and eat standing at the counter. Full meal EUR 8-14. The quality-to-price ratio is the best in Frankfurt.

• Cafe Laumer, Westend — A 1920s institution in the residential Westend district serving traditional German cakes (Frankfurter Kranz, a ring cake with cream and praline), coffee, and light lunch. Cake and coffee EUR 8. The interior — marble tables, white tablecloths, polished wood — is pleasantly unchanged from mid-century.

• Fichtekränzi, Sachsenhausen — A rougher, more authentically local Weinstube than Zum Gemalten Haus, with a courtyard garden and an atmosphere that involves actual Frankfurt locals rather than guided groups. Ebbelwei EUR 2.80/half liter. Open from 5pm on weekdays.

• Erno’s Bistro — Frankfurt’s most celebrated restaurant, a tiny space in the Sachsenhausen district serving classic French-influenced cooking with exceptional execution. The multi-course menu EUR 90-120. Reservations weeks in advance.

• Frankfurt Christmas Market Bratwurst — The Römerberg Christmas market (late November through December 23) features vendors selling Frankfurter Bratwurst (thin pork sausages, EUR 4), Bethmännchen (marzipan cookies, a Frankfurt specialty), and mulled wine in commemorative cups. The Römerberg setting with illuminated facades and the Dom in the background is one of Germany’s most beautiful market scenes.

Where should you stay in Frankfurt?

Budget — Generator Frankfurt (from EUR 25/night): A well-run design hostel in the Sachsenhausen district, close to the Museum Embankment and apple wine taverns. Dorm beds from EUR 25, private rooms from EUR 75. The common areas are sociable without being chaotic.

Mid-Range — Hotel Escheheimer Turm (from EUR 90/night): A reliable mid-range option in a central location near the Eschenheimer Tower, one of the few remaining medieval city gate towers. Clean, well-run, and convenient for the Römerberg and Hauptbahnhof. Doubles from EUR 90-140 outside trade fair periods.

Mid-Range — Innside Frankfurt Ostend (from EUR 120/night): A contemporary property in the up-and-coming Ostend district near the European Central Bank and several excellent restaurants. Modern rooms, good service, and competitive pricing outside major events. Doubles from EUR 120.

Luxury — Jumeirah Frankfurt (from EUR 280/night): A striking contemporary hotel in the Westend with spa, pool, and a rooftop bar that offers city views. The level of service and finish is genuinely excellent. Doubles from EUR 280; check for packages that include breakfast.

Warning on trade fair periods: Frankfurt hosts some of the world’s largest trade fairs (Automechanika, IAA, Frankfurt Book Fair) and during these periods hotel prices multiply two to five times. Always check the Messe Frankfurt event calendar before booking.

When is the best time to visit Frankfurt?

April to June and September to October are Frankfurt’s best months — pleasant weather, full cultural programming, and manageable prices outside major trade fairs. September in particular brings the Book Fair (mid-October, the world’s largest book fair), which is open to the public on the final weekend and a fascinating visit.

December brings the Römerberg Christmas market, one of Germany’s oldest and most beautiful. The half-timbered setting is perfect for the occasion, and the market is less commercial than Munich or Cologne.

July and August are hot and relatively quiet for a business city. Many locals leave for vacation; museum crowds thin out. Good time to visit if you prefer a quieter city.

Trade fair periods to avoid (unless you are attending): IAA Mobility (September), Frankfurt Book Fair (October), Automechanika (September, alternate years). Hotel availability drops sharply and prices can triple with little notice.

Frankfurt rewards those who treat it as a destination rather than a transit point. The Sachsenhausen evening, the Kleinmarkthalle breakfast, the Städel afternoon — these are not compromise experiences in lieu of Munich or Berlin. They are Frankfurt-specific pleasures that exist nowhere else. Come through, but plan to stay.

For more on planning your German trip, explore the Germany destinations guide and the Germany packing list.