For many travelers, Frankfurt am Main is the initial stop on a European tour, but not a destination in and of itself. The tendency is to swoop in and grab the connecting flight to Venice or buy train tickets for Paris, but don’t give in to impatience! Every city in Europe has charm and history — Frankfurt is no exception.
The best way to get around Frankfurt is with the subway system – probably one of the easiest systems to understand in all of Europe. From the airport, there is a direct link to the main train station, Hauptbahnhof and also the central shopping area of Hauptwache.
The main shopping leads west to one of Europe’s grandest opera houses, die Alte Oper, one of the few buildings spared by Allied bombings during WWII. The plaza in front of the opera house is a fine place to sip a good coffee or dip into smooth Italian ice cream.
No one should visit Frankfurt without visiting the cathedral, or Dom, by the river, just south of Hauptwache. The cathedral towers above the old city center, Romerberg, a cobblestone plaza ringed by smiling, colorful houses in the classic patchwork designs that hint at roaring fireplaces, overflowing steins and massive roasts. This is actually Frankfurt’s City Hall and has been for more than 600 years. Business is now done elsewhere, but you can find food and drink here on the weekends, in the summer and especially during Christmas, when the markets stretch from Romerberg to St. Paul’s Church around the corner.
Just in between St. Paul’s Church and the cathedral is Goethe’s residence while he lived in Frankfurt. Goethe is one of Germany’s greatest poets and writers and he always loved this city – Frankfurt in turn claims him as its own son.
Take a peek at the old Roman ruins to the left of the cathedral if you are coming from Hauptwache. Frankfurt is more than 1200 years old and began as a Roman fort on the Main river.
From Roemerberg, you will be just a few minutes from the Main river. On the north bank of the river is a small coffee house that serves joggers, dog walkers and riverwalk lovers throughout the summer. There are several walking bridges that cross the river to the south side of the city, but the best one is the Eiserner Steg, that takes you directly into Old Sachsenhausen.
The south bank of the river is called Museumsufer. There are classic and modern paintings here as well as sculpture gardens and occasional exhibitions.
By this time, you might be getting hungry. Fear not, Sachsenhausen has the best authentic Frankfurt cuisine (yes, it exists!). In Frankfurt there are a few dishes you must try and a few drinks you have to guzzle. Without question, get your hands on some apple wine (Apfelwein.) The best place to do this is either right in Old Sachsenhausen, just across the bridge, or a few blocks down on Schweizerstrasse, where the locals gather nightly for Tartarrenbrot and Apfelwein, or maybe a Sachsenhauserplatte (sausage platter)and a glass of Bitburger.
Schweizerstrasse can be quite lively at night and if you walk the length of it heading north, you’ll be right back at the river. You might be looking at your watch and wondering how to get back to the hotel, but its easy here in Frankfurt. If its not too late, the subway runs straight from the Schweizerstrasse stop to Hauptwache, where you can switch trains to the airport or the main train station. If it has been a night of food and drink and the trains have stopped, there is a nightbus that also stops right here and will take you to Hauptwache or the main train station. If all else fails, cabbies are everywhere.
Frankfurt might not have the international allure of Paris or Berlin or even Munich, but there is no reason to stay cooped up waiting for the next flight when you can easily catch the charm of a city in one afternoon.
If you want to stay in the area there is a youth hostel nearby, Jugendgastehaus.
Related posts:
- Train Travel in Europe …
- Looks Like We Made It …
- Germany: Where History Comes to Life …
Written by Travel News on July 4th, 2009 with no comments.
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All over France there are cultural festivals, musical performances, dance, theater, art shows, and sporting events that are held to celebrate summer. Many are internationally famous, such as the Avignon Theater Festival, the Cannes Film Festival, or the Tour de France.
Some events such as the Fete de la Musique on the summer solstice, June 21, are celebrated with great exuberance in Paris as well as elsewhere. Amateur and professional musicians perform on the streets, in parks, and in public places during the day and into the late evening. In recent years, many small villages have started some type of musical celebration to celebrate the start of summer.
The biggest celebration in France is held on Bastille Day, July 14, commemorating the beginning of the French revolution in 1789. In Paris, there is a military parade on the Champs Elysees with military planes flying overhead, leaving red, white, and blue contrails. That evening, a spectacular fireworks display is held at the Eiffel Tower. All over France, the day is celebrated with music, military commemorative events, and fireworks to end the day.
There are also many less known events, sponsored by scores of small cities and villages that we have discovered while boating through France. Three years ago as we were going down the Burgundy Canal, we saw a posting in a small town announcing a Dixieland Jazz event at the nearby city of Montbard the next day. The next morning we took an early train and arrived in Montbard just as the opening parade began. The music was fantastic – had you closed your eyes, you would have thought you were in New Orleans. We joined the crowd following the band to the plaza in front of the “Hotel de Ville” (City Hall), where, after more music, there was a kickoff speech by a local authority and everyone was invited a have a glass of champagne. And this was at 10 am!
This year we haven’t yet found anything quite that spectacular. However, here in St Jean de Losne, a Friday evening jazz event started last week along the quay. A small group of musicians travel from café to café along the waterfront, rain or shine. In the last few weeks, just in our homeport of St Jean de Losne or within easy biking distance, we’ve enjoyed speed boat races, flower shows, music, carnivals, fireworks and art shows.
One flower sale/show was held in the tiny village of Franxault. Again we happened to see a notice at a local tourist office, so we biked there from the boat expecting something a bit larger than what we found. In the local park, lovely bedding plants were for sale, individually or in flats. Several women were making “gaufres” (“Belgian” waffles served with powdered sugar), and people were standing in the shade sipping chilled rosé wine while conversing with their friends. We were the only tourists of any nationality, but we were greeted warmly and offered enthusiastic assistance with our selection, a single pink dahlia to put in a pot on our aft deck.
As a contrast, we saw a similar notice for a flower and art show to be held in St Jean de Losne. We followed the signs to the event, and found very skillfully executed art (watercolors, photography, pastels, etc.) and had a wonderful conversation with an illustrator of botanicals, Patryck Vaucolulon, whose work was being shown. He is a botanist and has researched, written, and illustrated a book on the flora, fauna, and animal life of Burgundy. He has also spent a year living with and drawing the penguins in Antartica for a French scientific organization.
Another festival we stumbled across by accident, while on the Rhone River, a couple of years ago was the Festival of Bulls in Beaucaire. About two hours after we tied up in the port, a marvelous parade passed by within thirty feet of the bow of our boat! There were hundreds of historically costumed participants, some on horseback, many bands (including one from Brittany playing bagpipes), and several dragons from multiple cultures (there is a local legend about a dragon that lives in the river here). During the following week, certain streets were blocked off every evening to create a course through town. Bulls were then turned loose to run the course, one or a few at a time, accompanied by cowboys on horseback, while teenagers and people old enough to know better tried to touch and even “bulldog” the bulls. On the final evening, 100 bulls were released simultaneously. Talk about the “Thundering Herd!” This week long event starts 21 July this year.
Socialization seems to be a primary component of each of these events. Everyone is out to enjoy the day and many obviously know each other. In small towns we’ve never felt excluded, but instead have been welcomed and made to feel part of the summer celebration.
For over eight years, Neil and Joan have been spending their summers cruising the canals and rivers of Western Europe aboard their now thirty-year-old Dutch motor-cruiser, the “Estate.” This year they are sharing their experiences.
Related posts:
- Summer Literary Festivals in the UK …
- Upcoming Festivals in Scotland …
- Paris Celebrates: Festivals & Events …
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Crossing state lines this holiday weekend? If you’re planning to set off a fireworks display of your own making, then be sure to check out the laws regulating firework usage in each state. The National Council on Fireworks Safety reported that 9,800 people were injured using fireworks in 2007, so please don’t become a statistic. We all know that fireworks can be dangerous, so be smart and use the proper techniques to keep yourself safe. Have a fantastic fourth!
How do you feel about consumer fireworks?
Map: Sarah Aldrich
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Being in the nation’s capital for the Fourth of July is one of those experiences that you never forget. Something about watching the fireworks with the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and Capitol as the backdrop is thrilling.
My favorite spot to watch is directly beneath the show. I tell everyone I know to bring a blanket and grab some room underneath the Washington Monument facing the Lincoln Memorial. The fireworks are shot from the reflecting pool so from there you feel every loud “boom” in the bottom of your gut as they’re set off. At the same time, music from the National Symphony Orchestra plays over loudspeakers in time with the fireworks display. It’s always packed, but there’s a buzz of excitement that emanates from the massive crowd, who naturally are all adorned in red, white and blue paraphernalia. The Washington Post put together a great map that shows other places to sit and watch the fireworks.
Everyone has a different place that they think is great, so I asked some of the staff at National Geographic Traveler to share their favorite spot to watch, whether it be in D.C. or elsewhere in the United States. Read on to get some new ideas for you and your family and friends, and share your own favorite spots in the comments.
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No one should visit Frankfurt without visiting the cathedral, or Dom, by the river, just south of Hauptwache. The cathedral towers above the old city center, Romerberg, a cobblestone plaza ringed by smiling, colorful houses in the classic patchwork designs that hint at roaring fireplaces, overflowing steins and massive roasts. This is actually Frankfurt’s City Hall and has been for more than 600 years. Business is now done elsewhere, but you can find food and drink here on the weekends, in the summer and especially during Christmas, when the markets stretch from Romerberg to St. Paul’s Church around the corner.
Take a peek at the old Roman ruins to the left of the cathedral if you are coming from Hauptwache. Frankfurt is more than 1200 years old and began as a Roman fort on the Main river.
Schweizerstrasse can be quite lively at night and if you walk the length of it heading north, you’ll be right back at the river. You might be looking at your watch and wondering how to get back to the hotel, but its easy here in Frankfurt. If its not too late, the subway runs straight from the Schweizerstrasse stop to Hauptwache, where you can switch trains to the airport or the main train station. If it has been a night of food and drink and the trains have stopped, there is a nightbus that also stops right here and will take you to Hauptwache or the main train station. If all else fails, cabbies are everywhere.
