Frankfurt: top attractions & road trip guide
Frankfurt am Main is Germany's financial capital, its skyline of glass towers rising above a reconstructed medieval old town along the Main river. Home to the European Central Bank and one of Europe's busiest airports, it blends high finance with a compact, walkable core of half-timbered houses, museums, and apple-wine taverns.
For a road trip, Frankfurt works well as a starting or end point given its central location and airport, with the Rhine and Rhine-Main region easily reached within an hour. The city itself is best explored on foot or by tram, with the riverside Museumsufer and the rebuilt Römerberg square as anchors.
Top attractions
Römerberg
Frankfurt's historic central square, lined with reconstructed half-timbered houses and the Gothic Römer town hall used for coronation banquets.
Frankfurt Cathedral (Kaiserdom)
A red sandstone Gothic church where Holy Roman Emperors were elected and crowned; its tower offers panoramic views over the old town.
Museumsufer (Museum Embankment)
A riverside stretch on the south bank of the Main lined with around a dozen museums, including the Städel art museum and the Museum of World Cultures.
Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church)
A circular former church that hosted Germany's first freely elected parliament in 1848 and remains a symbol of German democracy.
Palmengarten
One of Germany's largest botanical gardens, with historic glasshouses, themed plant collections, and open lawns west of the city center.
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