What’s Frankfurt like?
Vibe
Planning to spend a Long Weekend in Frankfurt and would like to learn more? Read on...
Frankfurt is modern cosmopolitan city, situated in the heart of Europe at the crossroads of the international transport routes. It is also called the "cosmopolitain village", as it crams in a lot into a rather small space.
The traffic through the city is so great in fact, that Frankfurt's International Airport is now the sixth biggest in Europe. If you come by plane, on the decent into the airport you will see the commercial heart of the city, crowded with Skyscrapers at the centre of a vast sprawl of residential commuter towns. The so called “Rhein-Main” (Rhine-Main) area stretches as far as the eye can see. The Main is the biggest river running through the city, which is connected to the Rhein (Rhine) in the southwest of the urban sprawl.
Mainhattan
Frankfurt sports the largest number of high rise buildings anywhere in Germany which has earned the city the name "Mainhattan". The name Frankfurt is synonymous with international banking and the city draws in thousands of commuters every day. They are heading for the the European Central Bank, the German Stock Exchange (the Börse) or the gigantic Norman Foster designed edifice of the Commerzbank. The Trade Exhibition Centre (Messe) every year in October hosts the largest book fair in the world.
However, Frankfurt offers many different aspects, from contemporary architecture, to historic buildings and lots of green spaces and parks. The centre is characterised by several miles of interlinked pedestrianised shopping areas, which the visitor can explore and where one can find everything from Haute Couture to High Street Brands. One great benefit of Frankfurt is that almost everything is within easy walking distance. During a Long Weekend in Frankfurt you take in man of the sights.
Melting pot
For an international city, Frankfurt sports a relatively modest number of 780.000 inhabitants. However, it sits in the centre of a much greater metropolitan area, called Metropolregion FrankfurtRheinMain, which is home to 5.5 million people.
Frankfurt is an international melting pot - almost a third of Frankfurt's inhabitants come from outside Germany - Turkey, Greece, Italy, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, the US and Britain. The city has adapted to its foreign inhabitants and guests by providing foreign language entertainment such as an English speaking theatre and foreign language cinemas. Even the announcements on trains and subways are provided in the English language.
In the summer Frankfurt can almost feel mediterranean: it gets very hot in the summer, and therefore life takes place mainly outdoors. During the summer months, street festivals, parades, open air events, dictate the city life such as the "Museumsuferfest" on the banks of the river Main in August. This is good news for fans who want to enjoy the fan zoneduring the EM which is being set up on the banks of the river Main, between the main station and the city centre.
Where to eat, drink and party
The city centre and its cultural life have many varied faces. Many cafés and lounge bars provide food throughout the day as well as night-time entertainment. Nightlife can be found in the lounge bars of the inner city area and smaller clubs and bars nestle in the area near the main station (Bahnhofsviertel). Larger clubs and live-music venues can be found on the outskirts, in the East and West of the city. The Restaurant scene is a coulourful and as international as the inhabitants of Frankfurt: it caters to bankers and students, traditionalists and the arts scene alike. They all embrace the local culture, in the form of the traditional Applewine Pub (see below).
Frankfurt's traditional drink - Applewine
Frankfurters consume nearly 30 million litres of their traditional drink Applewine per year mainly in the Apfelwein-Kneipe (Applewine Pub). Here, the punters sit on long wooden benches next to each other in the wood paneled and tobacco stained hall. The drink is served in blue glazed earthenware jugs called a “Bembel”, which come in different sizes based on the number of glasses of drink they contain, four, eight, sixteen, and so on. Some are so large that a hinged metal frame is used to help pour the drink into the traditional patterned glasses. Due to the nature of the drinking dens, where young and old, rich and poor, sit next to each other applewine is seen as a "democratic" drink. In fact, the applewine pubs could not be more different from modern wine bars.
For the British drinker applewine might look like cider, but is not as sweet. There is the option to mix the drink with sweet lemonade (shandy fashion), or with mineral water. Thinned down with water the drink becomes very refreshing on hot days. However, it contains 5% alcohol and it is customary to eat little snacks or a light meal together with the drink. Most places offer a choice of traditional dishes which vary slightly from pub to pub. There are pretzels and cheese dishes, most usually a cheese called "Handkäs" (a raw milk cheese), served with onions and vinegar. Usually there is also a Bretzelmann (Pretzle-Man) doing rounds in the pubs, wo sells - you may have guessed it - large German pretzels and other cheesy, spicy or sweet snacks, which might be the German equivalent of the bag of crisps with your pint.
A recommended main meal in any of these pubs would be “Rippchen mit Kraut”, which is boiled or grilled pork chop with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. Its sounds a simple dish, but accompanied by applewine in a traditional beer garden, it is irresistible.
Sightseeing - not to miss
Römerberg - the reconstructed historic town of Frankfurt
Eiserner Steg - historic bridge, linking the northside of the river Main to the southside and Sachsenhausen
Banks of the river Main - long promenade for walking, cycling and chilling
MOMEM - Museum for Modern Electronic Music
German Techno and House had a home not only in Berlin, but also in Frankfurt. This museum was conceived by former DJs and Producers and looks back on the Frankfurt club scene of the "naughties", i.e. the early 1990s to the Millennium. In addition there are changing exhibitions about the development of electronic music in general.
An der Hauptwache 15, lower level Agora, https://momem.org/.
Tourist Info: https://frankfurt.de/frankfurt-entdecken-und-erleben
Frankfurt Transport: www.rmv.de
More detailed info in our Travel Guide: Rhein-Main-Gebiet
Popular areas of town
The polar opposite of the international cosmopolitan Frankfurt is the strong attachment of the local population to their traditional food and drinking culture. Two suburbs close to the city centre exemplify this link to an older Frankfurt, Bornheim to the North, and Sachsenhausen, just across the river to the south.
Bornheim (reachable via Underground U-Bahn U4)
The main thoroughfare is the Bergerstrasse, which stretches from Merianplatz in the southwest to the old centre of Bornheim in the northwest. The high street is lined by shops, cafes and bars on virtually its whole length.
Pubs:
Zur Sonne, Berger Strasse 312, https://zur-sonne-frankfurt.de. This place has been a pub since 1750 and still serves guests in the historic environment of the old centre of Bornheim.
Solzer, Berger Strasse 260, www.apfelwein-solzer.de. Another traditional pub in Bornheim, run by different generations of the same family since 1893!
Irish Pub Bornheim, Berger Strasse 255, www.irishpubbornheim.com. Apart from the UEFA Cup games, this pub shows Premier League football on a regular basis.
Sachsenhausen (reachable by U1, U2, U3 or tram)
South of the river Main is one finds culture in the form of several museums along the promenade. The old part of Sachsenhausen, around Affentorplatz, is a nightlife area with a mix of traditional pubs and late night venues. The main thoroughfare of Sachsenhausen is the Schweizer Strasse, with shops and restaurants.
Pubs:
Klaane Sachsehäuser, www.klaanesachsehaeuser.com/en/index.html, daily 12–midnight. Local favourite, with nice service even during busy times.
Ebbelwoi Unser, Abtsgässchen 8, www.ebbelwoi-unser.de, Sun-Thur 5pm-midnight, Fr and Sat 5pm-1 am. Traditional with a contemporary touch.
Atschel, Wallstrasse 7, www.atschel.de, Tue-Sund 12–11.30 pm. The menu here is a bit more varied with a broader choice of dishes away from the traditional fare.
Bahnhofsviertel - Red Light District
If you arrive at the main train station (Hauptbahnhof), you have to negotiate a few blocks of the "seedy" area near the “Kaiserstrasse”, home of the red light district and the rampant drug scene. Personally, I call it "the gauntlet". However, it is not as bad as it seems, - or as the British tabloid press claims it is by calling it "Zombieland".
It is not a "slum", but an area inhabited by a mixed demographic of people which is facing certain challenges like drug dealing and gang crime. All of these are being dealt with. The station is by no means a "no-go" area.
As you walk on Kaiserstrasse, corridors have been painted in bright colours, which are meant to show tourists the way to the centre. At night, try and avoid the side streets, like Weserstrasse, Elbestrasse and Niddastrasse unless you are on the way to a club or pub. The more you move away from the station, the more the area has been gentrified over the last few years. The cafés and bars are frequented by a lively international crowd, some trendy nightclubs have even moved into former strip bars and cater to the everyday nightlife crowd.
Bars to visit
Pik Dame, Elbestrasse 31, www.pikdamefrankfurt.com. This club in a former strip bar is run by mixed martial arts fighter Max Coga and hosts international DJs.
Moseleck, Moselstrasse 21, www.moseleck-ffm.de. Small old-fashioned German pub, where crowds gather mainly in fron of the door.
Tokonoma/K39, Kaiserstrasse 39, www.instagram.com/tokonoma_ffm/?hl=de. Spreads over seven floors in the backyard of the main thoroughfare.
Pracht, Niddastrasse 54, https://de.ra.co/clubs/99940. Late night clubbing.
Bar Plank, Elbestrasse 15, www.instagram.com/plankcafebarstudio. Drinks, Music, Art.
O'Reilly's, Am Hauptbanhof 4, www.oreillys.com/frankfurt. Late night Irish Pub with British Food and live music.
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