A weekend in Frankfurt

November 10, 2011 12:52 AM

An amazing weekend in Frankfurt.

I've suddenly got the weekend in Frankfurt, all to myself. AskMeFi doesn't seem very positive about the place. What are some of the quirky, interesting, lesser known things I shouldn't leave Frankfurt without doing? (A day trip leaving Frankfurt doesn't count!)

posted by devnull to Travel & Transportation around Frankfurt, Germany (5 answers total)

Best answer: I used to live in Frankfurt, but it was eight years ago, so things might have changed a bit. But here is what I'd recommend.

Go to the Altstadt. See the cathedral. Eat the delicious cakes at the tiny bakery on the lane from the Römerberg that leads to the river. There's a semi-open archeological dig near the cathedral where you can see old ruins. There's a farmer's market at the Konstablerwache somewhere. Then walk along the riverbanks.

Spend some time in the botanical gardens. They are very nice.

When it is just getting dark, go up the Main tower.

If you don't mind leaving the city proper, go up into the Taunus region on the outskirts. Beautiful forests to walk in, lots of day trips. There are Roman ruins from where the edge of the Roman empire met the barbarians (and never made it any further.)
posted by lollusc at 1:03 AM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, and go to an Apfelwein pub and drink Apfelwein and order the Schlachtplatte. Well, probalby only do the latter after drinking a lot of the former. And be warned that the Apfelwein is a lot stronger than it tastes. Do not be tricked into eating Handkaese mit Musik (mouldy sock cheese with extra stinky onion). Two-eggs-in-a-glass-with-green-sauce is a safer local speciality and pretty much what it sounds like.

If you go to an Apfelwein pub in Sachsenhausen, and there's a waiter called Axel, run very far in the opposite direction.
posted by lollusc at 1:07 AM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]

Do not be tricked into eating Handkaese mit Musik - unless you've alway wanted to try a dish named for the flatulence it causes.

I'd second lollusc's suggestions, particularly the botanical garden (Palmengarten) - it's Japanwoche until Saturday. It's neither lesser known nor quirky but definitively looks interesting.
posted by pishposh at 1:38 AM on November 10, 2011

We spent the last few days of our honeymoon there before flying home. We really enjoyed the architecture museum, applied arts museum, the ring parks around downtown, the fressgass (dining street), and the old homes in Bornheim. Lots of walking, and yes, large parts of the city can be a bit post-war dreary, but there's no shortage of activities. We heard the Main tower at sunset is great, but unfortunately missed our chance.
posted by Chris4d at 10:24 AM on November 10, 2011

Best answer: AskMeFi doesn't seem very positive about the place

Aw. Frankfurt's great!

As well as the excellent suggestions above, perhaps you would enjoy seeing:

• the Frau Rauscher Brunnen statue;
• the surviving mediaeval towers, which look straight out of Rapunzel: Eschenheimer Turm, the gate tower in the centre of the city, and the four watchtowers a little further out, Bockenheimer Warte, Galluswarte, Friedberger Warte and Sachsenhäuser Warte;
• the crazy architecture of the MyZeil shopping centre;
• the imaginative U-Bahn station at Bockenheimer Warte;
• the dinosaurs outside the Senckenberg Museum.

And perhaps you would enjoy exploring:

• the very pretty, very old Höchst district;
• the inner-city forest, the Stadtwald, including the Goetheturm, a wooden observation tower with nice views of the city's skyline.

posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:44 PM on November 10, 2011 [1 favorite]