A Tourist’s Guide to Frankfurt.

10/09/2014

Dear my wonderful readers,

Hello there again. I hope all is well with you. I realise that it has been two months and a week since my last update, so I apologise for the month long delay, however I hope that your summer holidays have been going well and that you are all settling back in to your usual school routines, feeling refreshed from the wonderful sunshine that I hope you had.

How have I been for the past two months? The term ‘busy’ (or beschäftig) springs to mind! There is always SO much to do and what with the amount of people who have been visiting me (I have either friends or family visiting every single weekend, quite literally!), I have pretty much perfected the tourist route round Frankfurt. And so, my lovely friends, I have decided to put here a little “Weekend Gettaway” plan for Frankfurt, so if any of you ever get the opportunity to visit, you will have a few ideas of what to do before you get here!

1. Main Tower

(photo taken by Thomas Wolf, http://www.foto-tw.de)

So, this is the first, absolute must-do of Frankfurt. It is the second tallest building in Frankfurt and is simply marvelous for trying to get yourself round to seeing the entire city! I have been up on three separate occasions, in all sorts of weather conditions and during various times of the day and it is ‘wirklich wunderbar’ each and every time! Not only that, but students get in for only EUR 4.50 (which, when compared with the shard is simply marvelous!). The viewing platform is on the sechsundfünfzigsten Etage, however there is a lovely (but rather more expensive) restaurant to be found in the dreiundfünfzigsten Etage. Be warned though – at that high up, you might want to bring a nice wind proof jacket and some sunnies as it can be both windy and blinding at the same time!

Tickets!

Lift Selfie 😉

   

Told you it gets windy…

2. The Cathedral

So this sight actually is two fold as you can go into the actual cathedral, which is super schön with the pointy arches, candles, choral music and multitudes of religious paintings and then you can go round the corner and climb up the tower! Now, this tower is only 66m high, but as it was built yonks ago, there are no lifts. Which means? You get to climb 330+ steps! Wooooo! However, it is very worth it. Because unlike the Main Tower where you are a part of the skyline, from the Cathedral you can see the skyline as a whole, which is just such a rewarding experience. Which is why I have now climbed those stairs 5 times. That’s right. 1650+ steps… My thighs are like rocks… And is brilliant views aren’t enough, it only costs EUR1.50!

 

3. Römer, The Alte Oper and Lock Bridge

Otherwise known as the Old City, Römer is famously the one of the few parts of Frankfurt which weren’t destroyed by the second world war. It is very distinct from the rest of the city with it’s old, Germanic buildings and cobble stoned flooring (which eats up high heels). One can find a huge number of German pubs and places to buy various different types of Wurst! After

The Alte Oper is slightly out from the rest of Römer, but is also another old building. It is just down the road for work and so it quite often where I eat my lunch! On a sunny day with ice cream, the fountain is the perfect place!

And Lock Bridge, my favourite of the many bridges in Frankfurt. There is something about the colours and the view it presents, as well as the style of the bridge that makes it just so special to work across!

 

 4. Sunset Viewing

This should actually probably be number one on the list because oh-my-goodness, Frankfurt really does the BEST sunsets. Regardless of rain or sun, the sunsets (or Sonnunter) here are always astonishingly beautiful. I have seen at least a million by now but they really really never disappoint me. In fact, I think I have more sunset photos in my collection than I do selfies! 😮

5. The Museums!

So Frankfurt, as most big cities tend to be, is absolutely FILLED with museums! After two months here, I still haven’t managed to visit them all! Here are a few of my faves so far:

Goethehaus: The house belonging to Germany’s answer to Shakespeare~

Historische Museum

Film Museum

Architekturmuseum

6. The Chinese Gardens

Continuing with this cultural theme, I am sure you won’t be surprised to know that I was more than excited to discover that Frankfurt has a Chinese Garden! With the soothing atmosphere and serene location, it is the perfect place to take a book and just relax for a while.

7. Boat Tours anyone?

As Frankfurt am Main actually means Frankfurt on the river Main, it is probably not a stretch of the imagination to think that boats are pretty common place here. Now, naturally not everyone can own a boat (although I wish I could sometimes….) however the city does offer two options for Tourists so everyone can get a little go actually in the river!

First things first, you could rent a little peddle boat (or treppboot) and then get some strapping young lads to peddle you up the river for a nice 10EUR/30mins – not bad at all when split between three!

Or for those of you who prefer to travel somewhat more luxuriously, there is an official tour boat that goes every hour which allows you to sit back, relax and enjoy a cup of whatever takes your fancy whilst the captain gives you a little information about the city in both German and English. Being the British girls we are, my friend and I opted for tea 🙂

8. Shopping

Because what’s a holiday without a little bit of einkaufen to keep one happy?

German Section: In Deutschland, es gibt zwei verschiedene Ort, wo man einkaufen kann. Für Leute mit viel Geld, haben wir Goethestrasse. Goethestrasse ist wo mein Arbeit ist und es ist im Stadtzentrum. Man kann Louis Vouton, Gucci, Prada, Chanel, Dior, Tiffany’s und Burberry alle da kaufen, wenn man genug Geld hat!

And finally, we have the big shopping mall called MyZeil, which is also located in the city centre! With it’s funky architecture, bazillions of cool sales and even more food-stalls, you can be sure to find whatever you need. But be warned, Germany has a NO-TRADING policy on Sundays so best get all your shopping done on Saturday!

And so that, my lovely readers, is the end of my Frankfurt Tour. Of course there were a million and one other things I could have added, like some of the lovely food restaurants or the zoo or some special food and drink we have here in Germany, but alas, this post was long enough already… So for thank you very much for reading. I hope you have learnt a little German along the way and if you have been to any of these places, please do let me know in the comments!

Alternatively, if you have anything to recommend me, please do this too as I would love to keep exploring new things to do in Frankfurt!

Other than that, I will see you next month~