Frankfurt itinerary: 1 to 3 days
Plans for one to three days in Frankfurt, day by day: Römerberg, St. Paul's Church, the Zeil and the Alte Oper first, then the Goethe House, the Städel and the Hauptwache, and the Cathedral, Main Tower, the Palmengarten and more museums as you add days. Every stop has a typical visit length.
How long do you have?
Map: 3 days
Frankfurt in 1 day
Day 1
Römerberg
Frankfurt's old market square, framed by half-timbered houses, the Römer town hall and a fountain of Justice.
St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main
Round church where the first German national assembly met in 1848, now a place of democratic memory, with exhibits.
Zeil
Frankfurt's main pedestrian shopping street between Hauptwache and Konstablerwache, with department stores.
Eschenheimer Turm
Late-medieval city gate tower from around 1400, one of the best-preserved parts of the old fortifications.
Alte Oper
Concert hall rebuilt in the 1980s from the 19th-century opera house, facing Opernplatz, with a lively square outside.
Frankfurt in 2 days
Day 1
Römerberg
Frankfurt's old market square, framed by half-timbered houses, the Römer town hall and a fountain of Justice.
St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main
Round church where the first German national assembly met in 1848, now a place of democratic memory, with exhibits.
Goethe House
Reconstructed birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, with period rooms, the study and a museum next door.
Hauptwache
Baroque guardhouse of 1730 on a central square, now a cafe and a major hub for the S-Bahn and U-Bahn.
Alte Oper
Concert hall rebuilt in the 1980s from the 19th-century opera house, facing Opernplatz, with a lively square outside.
Day 2
Städel
One of Germany's leading art museums, with works from the Middle Ages to the present, on the Main embankment.
Goethestraße
Frankfurt's luxury shopping street between Opernplatz and Goetheplatz, lined with designer boutiques.
Eschenheimer Turm
Late-medieval city gate tower from around 1400, one of the best-preserved parts of the old fortifications.
Zeil
Frankfurt's main pedestrian shopping street between Hauptwache and Konstablerwache, with department stores.
Frankfurt in 3 days
Day 1
Frankfurt Cathedral
Gothic red sandstone cathedral where German kings were elected and Holy Roman emperors crowned, with a tall tower that can be climbed.
Museum für Moderne Kunst
Museum of contemporary art in a triangular building known as the slice of cake, with works since the 1960s.
Römerberg
Frankfurt's old market square, framed by half-timbered houses, the Römer town hall and a fountain of Justice.
Zeil
Frankfurt's main pedestrian shopping street between Hauptwache and Konstablerwache, with department stores.
Eschenheimer Turm
Late-medieval city gate tower from around 1400, one of the best-preserved parts of the old fortifications.
Hauptwache
Baroque guardhouse of 1730 on a central square, now a cafe and a major hub for the S-Bahn and U-Bahn.
Goethe House
Reconstructed birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, with period rooms, the study and a museum next door.
Main Tower
Skyscraper of 1999 in the financial district with a public observation deck near the top, giving views over the city and the Main.
Day 2
Museum Giersch
Gallery on the Museumsufer showing art from the Rhine-Main region, in a 1910s villa.
Städel
One of Germany's leading art museums, with works from the Middle Ages to the present, on the Main embankment.
Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt
Museum of communication history on the Museumsufer, from the post and telephones to digital media.
German Architecture Museum
Museum on the Museumsufer showing the history of architecture, with models and drawings in a converted villa.
Museum Angewandte Kunst
Museum of applied art and design on the Museumsufer, in a modern white building by Richard Meier.
Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt
Exhibition hall between the cathedral and the Römer, with large changing shows of modern and contemporary art.
Goethestraße
Frankfurt's luxury shopping street between Opernplatz and Goetheplatz, lined with designer boutiques.
Day 3
Historical Museum, Frankfurt
Museum on the Römerberg on the city's history from the Middle Ages to today, with a large city model.
St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main
Round church where the first German national assembly met in 1848, now a place of democratic memory, with exhibits.
Alte Oper
Concert hall rebuilt in the 1980s from the 19th-century opera house, facing Opernplatz, with a lively square outside.
Palmengarten
Large botanical garden in the Westend with glasshouses, themed gardens, a lake and a miniature railway.
Naturmuseum Senckenberg
Large natural history museum known for its dinosaur skeletons and one of Europe's biggest fossil collections.
Portikus
Small contemporary art exhibition hall on a island in the Main, next to the Städel art school.
Watch: Frankfurt
A one-minute look at the plan: every stop, day by day, with the map.
When to go to Frankfurt
Late spring and early autumn, roughly May to September, are the most pleasant, with mild weather and long days. July and August can be hot, and winter is cold and grey but has the Christmas market on the Römerberg from late November. The Frankfurt Book Fair each October and large trade fairs in spring fill hotels.
Plan the rest of your trip
- Where to stay: hotels in Frankfurt on Booking.com or Trip.com
- Skip-the-line tickets: museums and sights in Frankfurt on Tiqets
- Tours and day trips: things to do in Frankfurt on GetYourGuide
- From the airport: a private transfer in Frankfurt with Kiwitaxi
- Data on arrival: an eSIM for Germany from Airalo
Some of these are affiliate links: we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Tips for Frankfurt
- Most Frankfurt museums are closed on Mondays and open late on Wednesdays; check the day before you plan a museum morning.
- The Museumsufer Ticket gives one-day entry to many riverside museums and is worth buying if you visit two or more in a day.
- The city centre is compact and walkable, and the S-Bahn and U-Bahn link the airport and outer sights; one day ticket covers them.
- Frankfurt is a trade-fair city, so hotel prices spike during large fairs such as the Book Fair in October and the Motor Show years; book early.
- Shops are closed on Sundays in Germany, so plan shopping streets like the Zeil for other days.
Make it your own
Open the guide in Andiamo Places to see every stop on a map with walking directions, move places between days, check opening hours for your dates, and add your own finds. After the trip, your photos become a journal and, if you like, a printed photo book.
Guides are made with the help of AI and public sources such as Wikipedia, and may contain errors. Opening hours and prices change, so check before you go. Spotted a wrong photo, a pin in the wrong place, a missing stop or a better one? Write to andiamotravelapp@gmail.com: the e-mail opens with this guide filled in.
Photo credits
- Alte Oper: Felix König, CC BY 3.0
- Eschenheimer Turm: Nemo bis, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Frankfurt Cathedral: Mylius, GFDL 1.2
- German Architecture Museum: Epizentrum, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Goethe House: Mylius, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Goethestraße: Eva K. / Eva K., GFDL 1.2
- Hauptwache: EvaK, GFDL 1.2
- Historical Museum, Frankfurt: Mylius, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Main Tower: Thomas Wolf , www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
- Museum Angewandte Kunst: Anna M. Gewandt, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museum Giersch: dontworry, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt: Pedelecs, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Museum für Moderne Kunst: Own work, Public domain
- Naturmuseum Senckenberg: Tilman2007, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Palmengarten: Anna16, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Portikus: DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Römerberg: Dontworry, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt: Ingolfson, Public domain
- St. Paul's Church, Frankfurt am Main: Photo: Andreas Praefcke, CC BY 3.0
- Städel: Simsalabimbam, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Zeil: Daviidos, CC BY-SA 4.0
Opening hours change; check before you go. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
