Frankfurt

[Im a BusyBee]

Just booked flights for a long weekend in Frankfurt in January but i have never been there before - could you give me some ideas of what there is to do there please? also would i need to hire a car? and if you know of any reasonably priced but nice hotels thank you so much

[Buenchico]

I assume that you've taken up Ryanair's offer of free flights from Stansted. In which case, you won't arrive at Frankfurt Airport but at Frankfurt-Hahn, which is 75 miles from Frankfurt.

The bus service to Frankfurt is reasonably frequent, with gaps of either 45 minutes or an hour between most services. The journey takes 1hour 45 minutes, with a single fare of �12. The current timetable is here:
http://www.bohr-omnibusse.de/AirportHahnFahrpl an/busfahrplanFrankfurt.htm

There's no need to hire a car but, if you choose to do so, you can find a list of the companies at Hahn airport, here:
http://www.hahn-airport.de/default.aspx?menu=r ental_car&cc=en

To see what Frankfurt has to offer (including accommodation), use the drop-down menus from the home page of the city's official tourism website:
http://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/cms/tourismu ssuite/en/home.html?sprache=%2Fcms%2Ftourismus suite%2Fen%2Fhome.html

Chris

[nickmo]

http://www.rlpcard.de/en/home.php has lots of info for you about the region too.

The visitor card is a seasonal offer - so no good in Jan. - but it gives free entry to attractions, free public transport and free river cruise - costs 30 Euros....

A trip to one of the spas would be nice and cheery in the winter too - try Bad Homburg - as in the hat! - north of Frankfurt, or for a tour around if you do drive, aim for Heidelberg and see the worlds biggest barrel....or Worms - tons of history there...

Lovely area - have a good trip!

[VillageVicar]

I often stay at Baden Baden. It�s one of my favourite spa towns, outside of Eastern Europe.

http://www.baden-baden.de/en/tourism/indexc.ph p?content=/content/00783/indexen.html



My favourite hotel is Brenners. However, I�ve stayed at the Schlosshotel B�hlerh�he and enjoyed that as well. If you choose to do this, a car will definitely be appropriate.

If you�re really interested in staying in the city, I usually stay at either The Kempenski, or preferably the Steigenberger, which is one of Frankfurt�s classics. The Kempenski Falkenstein, another classic hotel.

If you don�t mind driving all day, or sitting in a coach, you might consider a trip to �Mad Ludweig�s� Neuschwanstein Castle. It�s a jolly long journey, but certainly worth the visit. Here�s a coach link in case you don�t want to deal with a car. http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-2070739-10420052.

Are you taking children by chance? I�m always fascinated how the �posh� restaurants are appalled when people bring their children. Mine are now teenagers. However, when they were small, I constantly watched Maitre d�s do the Death Scene from Camille whenever we would enter the restaurants or hotel dining rooms. But invariably, we had people coming up to compliment the children and us on their behaviour�which we found humorous. To this day, I can�t imagine what German children get up to in these situations.

Oh, and I hope you're not taking Ryanair...if you are, remember...pay your fifty quid, pick up your folding chair and you're on your way!

Have a great trip!

Fr Bill

[Im a BusyBee]

Thanks for your help. Yes i have booked the cheap ryanair flights can you give me any further advice - bearing that in mind?? And also could you enlighten me as to the 50 quid and folding chair??? thanks so much

[filthiestfis]

I dont get the �50 and folding chair comment either.

[VillageVicar]

The comment about Ryanair is just tongue-in-cheek. They have a�er�um�reputation.

I�ve lost the first half of what I�ve written. The AB site seemed to have frozen for a moment and I lost the post�dumb me for not writing it out in word first.

I think I was saying that if you�re mad about driving�and want to go dead south, you could head south of Munich and visit Dachau�but it�s a flippin long journey�but then you can drive f a s t! Or�as is often my preference when all the driving is down to me�take the train! Nice!

My children thoroughly enjoyed one of the boat trips along the Rhine River:

http://www.bingen-ruedesheimer.de/index.php?la ng=en


If you�re into photography, you�ll get some stunning shots from the river.

I�ve done a of the Uber Touristy things in the past, such as the apple wine tours, etc. But they�re not quite my cup of tea. For me, Frankfurt is merely a launch point to other locations. I�d personally, travel out towards Cologne or the Rhine Valley. If it�s Cologne, I�d see the cathedral (yes, it�s a priesty thing�but it�s still worth seeing) and I�d much prefer to stay in the country than in the city�but to each his own.

The City hotels I recommended are among the finest in Frankfurt�my ultimate trips when in Frankfurt are to head for the spas though�.nothing to compare�and if you�re not accustomed to hearty massage, you may find you�re something close to rigor mortis after your first one. You�ll sleep as you�ve never slept before!

I�ll keep my thoughts going through the evening and see what else I might add�

Gute Risen!

Fr Bill

[JK2]

Have a look at the Lonely Planet Guide

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destina tions/europe/germany/frankfurt/see

[VillageVicar]

Excellent suggestion JK! I've always had a high regard for Lonely Planet...and my opinion has trebled recently as, bless their socks, they've even provided links to me in one of their guides!

BTW...are you proud of me for just clipping and pasting this time, rather than providing a link to the same verbage? :-)

Gott segnen die ganze Sie!

Fr Bill