With winter just around the corner, here are some ideas for things to do in Frankfurt am Main during the cold months of the year:
1. Go ice skating – at the Eissporthalle (take the U7 train or tram no.12)
2. Take a ride on the Ebbelwoi-Express – a historical tram ride that takes an hour and goes past many sights in the city centre whilst service apple juice and cider.
3. Visit a museum, such as the Senckenberg Natural History museum or the Explora science centre.
4. Go shopping on the Zeil, or just visit “My Zeil” and watch the shoppers go by from the inside of the glass hole.
5. Try the local cuisine – apple wine with potatoes and green sauce – in Sachsenhausen, south of the river (take tram nr. 14 to Frankensteiner Platz).
6. Visit the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and watch the DAX go up and down.
7. Take in a concert at the Alte Oper.
8. Find out about the history of money in general and how Germany’s central bank works at the Geldmuseum at the Bundesbank.
9. Enjoy the warm temperatures inside the greenhauses at the PalmenGarten.
10. Visit the Christmas Market in front of the Frankfurt’s town hall – the Römer.
Do you have any other ideas? Please leave a comment in the space below!
About Graham
Hello there, i’m brasilian and am going with a 14 y o nephew to frankfurt on the 25th of december 2012. I’d like to tAke a train to a smaller town, cute, close to frankfurt to stay until yhe 27th dec. Any sugestions? Some town that have something to see on christmas (the 25th)???? Or some place with snow around fankfurt? What are the most charming little towns around it?
Thank you very much
Valeria
Since Christmas is celebrated on 24th December, the 25th and 26th, being public holidays, tend to be rather quiet. The shops are closed and only places like restaurants are open. I suppose that some theatres and will be open and sports events may take place, but most of the tourist type of things tend to place in the weeks before Christmas.
One place that it might be worth looking into is Rüdesheim (there are some articles about it here on the site), which is in the Rhine Valley and not too big. The vineyards around it may be high enough for snow, and many shops have concessions to be open on Sundays so may be open over Christmas as well, although I am not sure about that.
The might likely place to have snow otherwise near Frankfurt is probably on the Feldberg (880m) near Oberursel. Getting to Oberursel by train is easy (line S5), and it has a nice old town, but most things will be closed on those days. There is, however, a bus that goes up to the top of the Feldberg, but the timetable for Christmas has not been published yet.
You might also want to consider going to Fulda. It is about an hour from Frankfurt and has one of the nicest Christmas markets in Germany.
If you enjoy sightseeing, there’s plenty of that there too, with a number of cathedrals and beautiful palaces. It’s worth spending a few days there.