FRANKFURT & HEIDELBERG

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Frankfurt am Main is considered as the German Capital for Finance. It houses the European Central Bank, the German Federal Bank and several large commercial banks and financial services companies. It is also a centre for transportation and Frankfurt’s Rhein Main Flughafen is one of the world’s busiest airports.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurt
http://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/cms/tourismussuite/en/home.html

We had a short stay of three nights in Frankfurt, from the 22-25 May 2008. We spent one day on an excursion to Heidelberg, a very beautiful small town about 80km away from Frankfurt and the rest inside the centre of Frankfurt itself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heidelberg
http://www.e-heidelberg.com/

We left Malta on Airmalta Flight KM 328 at 19.50 hours and arrived in Frankfurt Rhein Main Airport at 22.35. At that late hour we opted to take a taxi to the Hotel (costs around €50). It is of course much cheaper to use the Train, which we did on our way back to the Airport. A single train ticket from the airport to the Main Train station costs only €3.60 for a journey of just over 11 minutes.

We stayed at the Savoy Hotel Frankfurt, Wiesenhüttenstrasse 42, a convenient hotel, directly across the Main Train Station. The hotel room was clean and very comfortable. The breakfast was very good and lavish. http://www.savoyhotel.de/

One of the most important documents when touring a city is a good map of the city centre. Try to obtain a map because it would be very useful for moving around. The hotel reception very gently made available to us a small map together with some brochures of general interest.

Frankfurt Transport
Frankfurt has a very good public transport with a complex system combining an underground metro called the U-Bahn, a train system called S-Bahn and a tram. There are various U-Bahn and S-Bahn stations which are very well marked on the Frankfurt City Map. For further information http://www.rmv.de/ (and click on English).

Suggested sightseeing
The Römer
One of the most important landmarks in Frankfurt is the Römer (the German word for Roman), a medieval building which for 600 years has served as Frankfurt’s city hall. It is situated in the square called Romerberg together with other buildings of the same era.

We started on our way out from the hotel Savoy through the Wiesenhüttenstrasse (coming out turning to the left of the hotel entrance). Then we walked along the bank of the river (called the Nizza Anlagen) parallel to the Untermainkai. The long asphalted promenade along the banks of the river is very popular for walks, jogging and cycling. When we arrived near the Eiserner Steg (bridgeway) we crossed the Mainkai to the Historical Museum and from there one can easily reach the Romerberg.

The area of the Romerberg is a pedestrian zone and closed for traffic and so it is easier to walk.

An der Hauptwache
From the Northern side of Romerberg, on the left, one can walk up the Neue Kramer to Liebfrauenstrasse and in a few minutes get to An der Hauptwache, a beautiful square which is a central point in Frankfurt and one of the most famous squares in the city.

To the East one may proceed to the Zeil, a pedestrian road nearly 2km long, which is very popular place for shopping, where one can find famous brand shops and international department stores. To the West of Hauptwache there is the Steinweg leading to Rathenau platz and to Goetheplatz in the old town not far from the house where the famous German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born and lived.

The Banking District
As I already said, Frankfurt is famous as a financial centre. To the west of the immediate centre there is the banking district which although small dominates Frankfurt’s skyline with a number of skyscrapers. The famous building of the European Central Bank lies at Kaiserstrasse 29, just close to Willie Brandt platz.

To reach Kaiserstrasse from the Hotel Savoy, we turned right going out of the main door, and then walked to the second street. Unfortunately, Kaiserstrasse lies in the area known as Bahnshofviertel (Station Quarter) and is the beginning of the Frankfurt red light district. The area around Kaiserstrasse, the side streets and the parallel road Taunusstrasse are full of seedy bars and hotels and a number of night clubs and adult cinemas. Although this area is not a really dangerous one, however one should avoid it during the late hours and be very careful because this is where Frankfurt’s drug scene hangs out and drug related crime is possible.

The South Bank of the Rhein

The area to the South of the Alter Brücke is called Sachsenhausen. This quarter is well known for its good restaurants and bargain shops (e.g. Woolworth). Traditional local cuisine features the Frankfurter sausage and the cold Kartoffelsalad (potato salad).

However there are some good Italian restaurants as well. I recommend Ristorante Pizzeria La Traviata, Textorstrasse 50 (corner with Schweizer Strasse), second street down to the right after leaving Schweizer Platz. For more information click on www.selected-restaurants.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi?TMPL=/restaurant/restaurant.html&url_id_stadt=5&url_id_restaurant=126
At Sachsenhausen, there is also a flea market which takes place every Saturday along the Schaumainkai on the Southern Part of the river bank between the Eiserner Steg and Holbeinsteg . For information on Frankfurt markets visit http://www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/cms/tourismussuite/system/galleries/tcf/dok/5366.pdf

The Palmengarten

If one takes the Dusseldorf Strasse to the North-west of the Train station one can proceed to Friedrich Ebert Anlage towards Beethoven Strasse to the North. Then crossing the Bockenheimer Landstrasse towards Palmengartenstrasse one reaches the entrance of the beautiful Palmengarten. This walk takes approximately 20 minutes unless one decides to have a look at Frankfurt Congress Centre which is farther along the Friedrich Ebert Anlage.

The Palmengarten is an open grounds with unique greenhouses displaying beautiful and diverse flowering plants from different continents. There is also a program of exhibitions with flower-shows and information on gardening and botany. There are also children playgrounds, a pond where one can hire a boat and two restaurants. This place offers a very relaxing environment and is worth a visit. Entrance ticket costs €5.

Heidelberg

To visit Heidelberg, we boarded the train that departed Frankfurt at 09.06 hours (platform 10) arriving at Heidelberg at 10.27 hours. The cost of the train ticket was €29.20 for a return trip.

As you go out of the Heidelberg train station, we went to the Tourist Office which is situated to the left. We were informed that to reach the centre we had to take a bus from behind the Tourist office. We bought the bus tickets (€1 for a single trip). We also bought a city map of Heidelberg (only €1).

The bus leaves you at the centre of the old town. We walked into the pedestrian zones of the centre along Markt Platz and then to Karl-Theodore Bridge through the beautiful gate Am Brückentor from where one can get a view of the old castle.

We then went to the Korn Markt Funicular station from where we took the funicular up to the old Castle from where we had a beautiful view of the city.

We returned to Frankfurt in the late afternoon.

Further information on Heidelberg may be obtained from
http://www.e-heidelberg.com/facts/facts.html

Here is a short video of this visit.