Wondering what to do on a stopover at Frankfurt Airport, Germany? Excellent trains make trips to downtown Frankfurt am Main, Mainz, Wiesbaden, and even Cologne possible.
Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), the busiest in continental Europe, is slick and modern with good facilities but when on a stopover with a couple of hours between flights, Germany’s reliable public transportation system allows for far more interesting excursions than hanging around in duty-free shops and departure lounges.
Trains are generally the fastest, most reliable, and cheapest way to get from Frankfurt Airport to nearby destinations. Always factor in waiting time and possible delays – a 10-minute journey can easily become 20 minutes due to some delays or 30 minutes if you missed the train by a whisker.
Frankfurt Airport has two train stations. From the airport terminal, follow the covered walkways and signs “Zu den Züge” (To the Trains).
From Frankfurt Airport, take any S-Bahn train in the direction of the Hauptbahnhof (Main Station). All S-Bahn trains also continue to Hauptwache, two stations further, which are in a more pleasant environment and closer to the old town than the main station. Frankfurt am Main is a modern city with a small old town, good museums, and parks to stroll in. Traveling times from the Airport to Hauptbahnhof are 11 minutes, and 4 minutes more to Hauptwache. A taxi to downtown Frankfurt is around €20 and takes around 20 minutes in light traffic.
Frankfurt am Main offers an excellent quality of life but for many visitors this city is simply too modern and without a romantic old-town feel. Many visitors therefore prefer to spend some time in Mainz or Wiesbaden, which are only minutes further from the airport than Frankfurt is.
From Frankfurt Airport, take S-Bahn train S8 towards Mainz (26 minutes). (ICE, IC, and RB trains do the journey in less than 20 minutes but at a significant surcharge.) To Wiesbaden, S8 takes 38 minutes and S9 takes 34 minutes – same price.
On the super-fast Intercity-Express (ICE) trains, Limburg, Cologne (Köln), and Heidelberg can be reached in less than an hour from Frankfurt Airport. Due to the price of ICE tickets, these cities are best reserved for full-day or multiple-day trips while on longer stopovers.
German Railways, Deutsche Bahn (DB), allows all schedules to be checked online in several languages including English. Use the abbreviation FRA as departure station for Frankfurt Airport (FRM for the Hauptbahnhof). S-Bahn tickets can only be bought from platform vending machines (English available).
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