Frankfurt Sightseeing: Views and Rebuilt Streets

Frankfurt is two cities at once, and the best sightseeing keeps both in view: the glass towers of Mainhattan and the lanes of an old town that had to be rebuilt. Start from the viewpoints, then step down into the streets.

The skyline from above

Three viewpoints give three angles. Main Tower, at Neue Mainzer Straße 52, reaches about 200 metres with an open terrace and enclosed sections. Adults pay €9 and the reduced ticket is €6. Part of the view is the Taunus ridge and departing jets from the airport. The tower closes when the weather turns bad, and winter hours finish earlier, so check maintower.de .

For a cheaper angle, climb the Kaiserdom’s tower. The Domturm has 328 steps and no lift, with entry at €3 for adults and €2 reduced. From the top you look straight into the glass faces of the bank towers. Opening details are at dom-frankfurt.de .

The third view is free. Stand in the middle of the Eiserner Steg, an iron footbridge opened in 1869, and the towers rise behind the Main. It is open around the clock.

The streets below

After 1944, almost nothing of the medieval centre stood. A concrete city hall filled the site for decades, and between 2012 and 2018 the DomRömer project replaced it with the Neue Altstadt. It re-created 15 historic houses from archival plans, including the Goldene Waage, and added 20 new buildings. The quarter opened on 9 May 2018, and is a pleasant place to walk. The nearby Römer, a town hall since 1405, anchors the Römerberg square.

The Kaiserdom itself is open and free to enter. It is called Kaiserdom because ten Holy Roman Emperors were crowned there between 1562 and 1792.

Two more stops, different in tone

The Paulskirche on Paulsplatz is where the first freely elected German national assembly met in 1848. Entry is free. The Jewish Museum Frankfurt at Bertha-Pappenheim-Platz 1 is open from 10:00 to 18:00 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday to Sunday, and until 20:00 on Thursday.

Getting between the sights

All of these lie in or near the centre. A single RMV ticket costs €3.80, and the Frankfurt Card, at €13 for a day, takes 20% off Main Tower. Pickpockets work the Hauptbahnhof and crowded trams. If you want guided commentary, you can search Frankfurt sightseeing tours on Viator . The day trips page suggests where to go when the old town is done.

Tip: go up Main Tower on a clear afternoon and use the 45-minute last-ascent rule to plan your arrival.

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