Frankfurt - whats good and whats not..

universe777

I'm going to Frankfurt from 30th December to 2nd January, anyone been there around that time of year? whats good to do, and whats not? cheers:)

michaelanthony

Not a lot to be honest. I don't mean to rain on your parade but its a business centre and there is not really much for recreational visitors. There is the Zeil - this the main shoppping street and is pedestrianised and there is a zoo. That's all I can think of.

DublinWriter

The six months I worked in Frankfurt were the most depressing in my life. There is nothing, and I do mean nothing, to do there.

As is the general German custom, all the shops only open half-days on Saturday, except for the 'Langer Samtag' - once a month. Forget about anything being open on a Sunday.

I'm not sure if An Teach Beag is still on the go. It's a tiny little place run by Taigh from Limerick and it more of an Irish pub than most Irish pubs in Ireland, as in you get into conversations with strangers - thats practically tantamount to anarchy in Frankfurt.

There's also the old part of the city that was rebuild after the massive bombing raid in 1945 - can't remember the name - but it's hardly worth a visit.

Other attractions include the unfortunately named "Judengasse Museum" and
Van Goethe's House.

I think Germany's main Museum of Film is located in Frankfurt, but I couldn't be sure.

You'd be far better off going to Berlin - it's quite 'unGerman' these days and has a very lefty modern bohemian feel about it that only really came about in the last 5 years.

is_that_so

Not the prettiest of cites but my own time there was good. Mainly business and shopping centres. Sachsenhausen was always a bit of fun - just south of the river,lots of bars . Heidelberg on the ICE is 40 mins away. That would worth a day trip. Beautiful place. But it will be bloody cold at that time of year.

Ruu_Old

Out of all the cities in Germany I visited (Berlin, Heidelberg, Cologne, Munich, Dusseldorf) I didn't find Frankfurt that great at all. I was disappointed and wished I had have left it out of my plans. I went to the zoo and walked around plenty but think thats about it.

jester77

Lived there for 2 years and as all the others have pointed, there is not much to do. It's just a business city.

However as you are there during the xmas season then check out the xmas markets. There is an excellent one at Römer (just off Zeil). Nothing better than a Feuerzangenbohle with a bratwurst/reibekuchen in the really cold temps! Great stuff!

For shopping the Zeil is ok and when you come to the end of the Zeil (Hauptwache end) cross over and there are a few nice streets down that way for shopping, albeit very expensive. All shops are closed on Sunday.

For nightlife Sachsenhausen is good, couple of Irish, British, German and Brazilian bars down there. Sibhin was decent with good music. Area around the Haupwache has a few decent trendy bars, at the end of the Zeil (when facing Hauptwache) turn left and take the first left. Bornheim is also ok for going out in.

If you are into Irish bars there is O'Reillys across from the Hauptbahnhof, few in Sachsenhausen, and McGowans have a bar in Bornheim and also past the end of the Zeil (not Hauptwache end, need to keep walking for about 5 mins and it's on the left on a corner)

KTRIC

universe777 wrote:

I'm going to Frankfurt from 30th December to 2nd January, anyone been there around that time of year? whats good to do, and whats not? cheers:)

You could have picked a better place to go for Silvester

Like the Bayreuth or Nurnberg

Dave

Try Alt-Sachenhausen, should be lively around Christmas. The Anglo Irish is decent, I used to work in O'Dwyers which is around there also. S-Bar is a bar that opens from around 3am to 9am and is an experience

DubDani

Best thing about Frankfurt is by far... the motorway out of Frankfurt.

Frankfurt is def. the worst big(ger) city in germany. Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, cologne or Dusseldorf are all much better options. Why anyone would want to go to Frankfurt is beyond me.. and i lived close to it.

universe777

ok, i have come to the conclusion from the above posts and trawling the net that Frankfurt isn't a good idea..
but I am flying into Frankfurt Hahn airport on the 30/12, there's a bus service every hour to Frankfurt city, it takes 1hr 45mins each way, we were gonna take that,but not now.

No hotels booked as of yet anywhere..

theres another bus from Hahn, it goes to Cologne (Koln?), doesnt go as often, every couple of hours, and takes 2hrs 15mins each way..
someone please tell me if Cologne is better? anyone been? much to do etc.

feylya

jester77 wrote:

If you are into Irish bars there is O'Reillys across from the Hauptbahnhof

Nice place but expensive. Afterwards, you can go to the Indian restaurant down the road - Gaylord

Ruu_Old

universe777 wrote:

ok, i have come to the conclusion from the above posts and trawling the net that Frankfurt isn't a good idea..
but I am flying into Frankfurt Hahn airport on the 30/12, there's a bus service every hour to Frankfurt city, it takes 1hr 45mins each way, we were gonna take that,but not now.

No hotels booked as of yet anywhere..

theres another bus from Hahn, it goes to Cologne (Koln?), doesnt go as often, every couple of hours, and takes 2hrs 15mins each way..
someone please tell me if Cologne is better? anyone been? much to do etc.

We went into the Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), you can't miss it really as its outside the Hauptbahnhof. When we were there, building work was going on and probably still is but you can climb to the top of the south tower I believe. It is a magnificent structure. We went to the Flora and Botanical Gardens as well and my favourite of all the Imhoff-Stollwerck Chocolate Museum! The most popular shopping streets I can remember was called Hohe Strasse. Enjoy yourself.:)

Frank OJ

think people are been a bit unfair on Frankfurt. your going for a weekend, not for life. Does depend on who your going with of course, and what kind of weekend your looking for.

Frankfurt has a numbe rof good night life options, you just got to suss them out. Let me recommend O'Reillys on a friday night. always packed and good crowd in there. stay till about one and make your way to the nightclubs. theres two good ones within 5 mins of o'reillys. ones an old firstation thats been converted and the other way is just one block away. for some reason I think its called Galerie. cant remember. they stay open till 7am and can be well wicked on weekends. theres also another nightclub called Odeon I think it is.

theres a number of good cheap restaurants in Frankfurt, generally on the other side of the river. theres a main rd, forgot the name of it, but along there you'll find loads places and some german beer gardens. taste the appewein, its well good. one place I remember is Paolos. Check out meatpackers as well beside the opera house and finance centre.

check out to see if theres any football matches on in the Waldstadion. the stadium is class and near the city centre. the german fans are insane.

Zeil shopping street has some huge stores and you could spend ages there. alternatively theres an outside shopping centre near hochst, although its prob a bit too far unless you got a car.

Theres an english cinema and english threatre there as well based in the city centre. Of course there is the zoo also.

Check out sacceshausen some evening as well. great variety and good place to meet british and irish. as one poster said you'll find one or two interesting places in sacenhausen. watch your back though too, one or two that area of town are always up for fights, and one specific nationality in particular.

also theres an ice rink, indoor and outdoor, near the city centre.

If you like architecture, you'll love frankfurt, and the contrast between old and new.

anyway its up to you but for a weekend in frankfurt you can find plenty of things to do if you wish

DublinWriter

Frank OJ wrote:

think people are been a bit unfair on Frankfurt.

Sounded like the OP just got some random tickets for 1c on the RyanAir website - honestly OP, if you are going to do that again, pick Brussels the next time - Belgium is Western Europe's best kept secret.

jester77

OP, don't be put off by what's being said above. It's not a pretty city for living in but you are just there for a few days. The nightlife can be great, I had a great time while I lived there. Sachsanhauesen and Bornheim are great spots for heading out in. The xmas markets are brilliant, Frankfurt has some of the best, particularly the one at Römer. There are plenty of good clubs as well. 2 of my favorites are King Kamehameha and 190 East. They are right beside each other on Hanauer landstrasse. Antother decent club is Living under the European Central Bank and if you are into your dance music then check out Cocoon (Sven Vath is a resident DJ there) and U60311 (It's a converted underground subway station at Hauptwache, can be hard to miss as the entrance is not so obvious).
There are some good websites around that detail the clubs and bars of Franfurt, they are worth checking before you leave.

Third_Echelon

I'd spend a good bit of time in Germany with work..

Frankfurt is pretty dull alright. Our office is just outside of Heidelberg (quite close to Frankfurt) and everyone loves their trips to Heidelberg. Great place. There's a big university there, so its a student town with lots of cool bars and nightclubs etc. Most students will probably be away over the christmas period, so it might be a bit dead.

If you can get to Hamburg or Berlin, thats where the most fun will be had! Berlin is probably my favourite european city...

Dresden is actually a good spot as well. Not a lot of people would think of going there, but i had quite a good time there....

gary the great

So Belin seems to be the place to go in Germany, my dad was in Frankfurt and he said it was a very dull place.

BarrySheehan

i probably should have checked it out first but college students being college students 11 of us booked cheap flights to frankfurt on the 14th of february for 2 nights for a piss up..we plan on staying in the jurgendherberge beside the river..can anyone give us help of where to go in the city ie. good pubs, nightclubs etc..thanks

Le King

BarrySheehan wrote: »

i probably should have checked it out first but college students being college students 11 of us booked cheap flights to frankfurt on the 14th of february for 2 nights for a piss up..we plan on staying in the jurgendherberge beside the river..can anyone give us help of where to go in the city ie. good pubs, nightclubs etc..thanks

Was there for the WC in 2006 intermittently so I'm not going to give you recommendations from then. But there is an Irish bar in the city, I was caught in Frankfurt for a night in August but generally I wouldn't be going there as students. You'll get your only joy from McDonalds I'd say. We went to an Irish bar, which was expensive. We looked around and the atmosphere I loved from the WC in Frankfurt was gone. You are much better off going to Berlin. Berlin is a fantastic city, not nearly as good as Madrid though for night life in Europe.

AngryLips

Imagine Canary Wharf with a massive international airport attached to it and that would be close to a really exciting version Frankfurt for you right there. I spent a night there on my way to Asia and I heard the same stories about it beforehand but I thought to myself; 'no one can get bored of a city over the space of one night' ...I was wrong.

Test For Echo

Dammit, I've just this minute booked flights to Frankfurt in May and then I spot this thread :pac:

Only going for 3 nights (on my own) so looks like I'll go ahead and rent a motorcycle and go see some countryside during my stay...

undo

Frankfurt is famous in Germany for being pretty much bankers, prostitutes and not much else.

My guess is that most people talking about flying to "Frankfurt" are actually flying Ryanair to Hahn, a town two hours away from Frankfurt by bus. If so, you have many more options. I flew to Hahn a couple of years ago, got a hire car and drove to Trier and Luxembourg for the weekend. It was great fun and both of those were very well worth visiting. Just because Ryanair happen to call Hahn airport "Frankfurt" does not mean you actually have to head into the most boring and depressing city Germany has to offer...

Test For Echo

undo wrote: »

Just because Ryanair happen to call Hahn airport "Frankfurt" does not mean you actually have to head into the most boring and depressing city Germany has to offer...

Flying with Aer Lingus. So looks like I'm headed for the heart of boredom & depression

Oh well, at least there'll be prosti...

rossie1977

BarrySheehan wrote: »

i probably should have checked it out first but college students being college students 11 of us booked cheap flights to frankfurt on the 14th of february for 2 nights for a piss up..we plan on staying in the jurgendherberge beside the river..can anyone give us help of where to go in the city ie. good pubs, nightclubs etc..thanks

there are loads of bar/clubs in the Sachsenhausen area of the city, south of the river

have to say i wasn't bored in frankfurt but then again i have a bit of thing for modern architecture and frankfurt has plenty of that, the view on top of the maintower is good

BarrySheehan

thanks you for the responses, i must admit i was quite concerned with the replies but feck it we're students, with drink we can have fun anywhere.. We are staying in the Jurgenherberge in the city, has anyone ever stayed there that could give an insight about the area around it etc?

Johnny Zero

Hi,
Frankfurt is not the typical tourist city, but more or less a business oriented city. Nevertheless Frankfurt really has a lot to offer! As mentioned the Zoo, tons of museums (Film, Modern Art, Senkenberg museum), the Palm garden, the Opera. I wouldn't recommend going to Alt-Sachsenhausen, as it is the Frankfurt version of Temple Bar. It's more or less a tourist trap. Also the nightlife is excellent, especially if you are into electronic music. While U60310 had it's best times a few years ago, the Cocoon Club, Monza, King Kamehameha, Cookies are worth checking out. My favorite club is the Robert Johnson, which is located in Offenbach, just across the river or the Vinylbar (late a night once the other clubs are closing around 6-7am).

have fun!

ShatterProof

students will love the idea of the Trinkhalle !!!!

Couple of night in frankfurt is OK , as said before not an awful lot to do, but for a weekend there should be enough to keep you occupied.

Dean820

There's a great 24 hour pub next to the train station. To the right of the McDonalds.

universe777

Holy thread resurrection!

I didn't go in the end, only lost the price of the cheap Ryanair tickets. I went to Amsterdam instead, much more fun!

undo

Congratulations, good choice .

BarrySheehan

So its been a while since i returned from the famous college group trip and i can safetly say i had one hell of a good time.....i think!!
i must admit the pubs are not that cheap and the beer wasnt the best but we found a shop across the road from our hostel and stocked up on bottles of vodka and southern comfort as college students do.
i put together a montage of the trip (for most of us its the only memory we have of it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MbnDJHtBDs

thanks again for the recommendations