Frankfurt Attraction Tours: Goethe to Dinosaurs
Frankfurt Attraction Tours: Goethe to Dinosaurs
Frankfurt’s attractions fall into three themes: words, bones and water, plus one skyline. Pick the theme that matches your interest and you can see the best of each in half a day. The options below are sorted by feel rather than by map position.
Words: Goethe and the Romantics
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749 at what is now Großer Hirschgraben 21, and he wrote early drafts of Faust in the house. The rooms are a careful rebuild of an 18th-century merchant’s home. Next to it, the Deutsches Romantik-Museum gives space to the Romantic movement, from Novalis to Brentano. The two share one ticket, and the current price is on frankfurter-goethe-haus.de . Both open from 10:00 to 18:00 and stay open until 21:00 on Thursdays. The old house has stairs and is not suited to prams.
Bones: the Senckenberg
Senckenberg Natural History Museum, at Senckenberganlage 25, is among the largest in Europe. The central hall holds a Diplodocus and an Edmontosaurus skeleton, and the T. rex on show is a cast. Tickets are €12 for adults and €6 for ages 6 to 17, with free entry under 6. See museumfrankfurt.senckenberg.de for opening hours.
Water: the Main by boat
Primus-Linie sails from the Eiserner Steg quay on 50-minute and 100-minute loops past the Museumsufer, the Commerzbank tower and the European Central Bank. It says it sails year-round, and hourly city departures start at 11:00. Book at primus-linie.de . Boat trips on the Rhine are a different matter, because liner cruises there can be suspended when the river runs low, as in autumn 2026, so check KD or Bingen-Rüdesheimer before planning around one.
The skyline: Main Tower
Main Tower’s platform sits at about 200 metres, with part of it open to the air. Adults pay €9 and the reduced ticket is €6. A family ticket costs €20 for two adults and up to three children aged 6 to 12. It is closed in bad weather, and the last lift goes up 45 minutes before closing. Details are at maintower.de .
Putting it together
A comfortable half-day could be Goethe in the morning, the river at lunchtime and the tower as the light goes. All three are reached on city transit, where a single RMV ticket costs €3.80. Watch for pickpockets around the Hauptbahnhof. If you would rather join a group, you can search for Frankfurt guided tours on Viator . The day trips page shows what lies beyond the city.
Tip: on a Thursday both Goethe-Haus and the Romantik-Museum stay open until 21:00, so leave the literary stop for the evening and spend the day on the river and at the Senckenberg.