Frankfurt tours and excursions

Bicycle tours

An extensive variety of Frankfurt cycling tours is offered by ADFC. With over 200 routes available, there are full-day, half-day and afternoon options to choose from. Starting points are dotted around the city and each route comes with its own knowledgeable guide.

Walking tours

Tourismus+Congress GmbH Frankfurt am Main organises walking tours of the city. A two-hour guided tour of the city is available in English and German and takes in Römerberg, St. Paul's Church, Goethe-House and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange before finishing at the Observation Platform of the Main Tower. The meeting point is Tourist Information Römer, Römerberg 27, and a maximum of 25 people per guide.

Bus tours

Sightseeing Frankfurt offers either a full, one-hour tour of the city or a hop-on, hop-off service along the same route. Open-top double-decker buses leave from the Paulskirche/Roemer stop at Berliner Straße and take in sights such as St. Paul's Cathedral, Goethe House, Römer, the apple wine district of Sachsenhausen and Frankfurt Zoo. Accompanying commentary is available in 10 languages. Tickets can be bought on the bus or booked online.

Tram tours

A vintage tram known as the Ebbelwei Express can be hired for private tours of the city, from the city centre to Sachsenhausen. Tram hire is for a minimum of two hours and an English-speaking guide can be arranged. The price includes a glass of ebbelwei (apple wine), some brezeln (pretzels) and music. On weekends and holidays the tram makes scheduled trips around the city.

Boat tours

A variety of round trips and cruises depart mainly from Eiserner Steg, off Untermainkai. Primus-Line River Cruises offer 50 minute and 100 minute tours with several departures a day. Commentary is available in English and German. Köln-Düsseldorfer Panoramic River Cruises run 60 minute trips with tickets available from Tourist Information Römer, Römerberg 27. Both take in Frankfurt's main sights such as Dom, Römer and the impressive financial district skyline.

Taunus

This line of mountains to the north and west of Frankfurt provides a wooded setting for a number of famous spa towns including Wiesbaden, the capital of Hessen, and Bad Homburg, where hot saline springs are set in a beautiful park.

From the attractive town of Königstein, the road continues to the Grosser Feldberg - the highest point in the Taunus at 881m (2,890ft). Most Taunus destinations can be reached by S-Bahn, but the area is best appreciated by car.

While in the region, visitors are recommended to stop at the Open-Air Museum Hessenpark, Laubweg 5, Neu-Anspach, which shows an original village of traditional half-timbered houses, inside and out. The museum is open daily from 1 March to 31 October and at weekends from 1 November to 28 February. Trains take around 1 hour to Hessenpark from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof.

Heidelberg

Approximately one hour by IC train, just 75km (46 miles) south of Frankfurt, lies one of the most visited towns in Germany. Heidelberg fulfils all expectations with its romantic setting on the banks of the Neckar, its gothic and Renaissance castle and the oldest university in Germany. The picture-perfect town is boosted by numerous lively festivals and popular student taverns.

Tourist Information Heidelberg, located in the Hauptbahnhof (main railway station), can provide further information.

Baden-Baden

Nestled in the foothills of the Black Forest, 174km (108 miles) from Frankfurt, the old time beauty of Baden-Baden still stands today after staying untouched by allied bombings in WWII. Chosen as a base by the England football team for the World Cup in 2006, this spa town is known for wellness retreats, and few come with as much historical artistry as the beautiful Roman-Irish baths at Friedrichsbad, Römerplatz 1.

With Germany’s largest Opera House, Festspielhaus, Beim Alten Bahnhof 2, holding around 300 concerts each year and the idyllic Lichtentaler Allee park primed for lazy, lost afternoons, the 1 hour 19 minutes ICE train journey from Frankfurt doesn’t seem all that long.