Things to Do in Frankfurt

The Goethe House & Museum is the site where the great German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749. Goethe’s former house is a fantastic and tangible example of the living style of the 18th century Frankfurt's gentry. The house was technically Goethe's parents', and he lived here until moving to Weimar where he died in 1765.

Main features include Goethe's original writing desk and the library on the fourth floor, where Goethe composed his famous epistolary, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and where he began writing Faust. The rooms are decorated with a charming mix of reproduction and original furnishing. The museum is a picture gallery dedicated to the Age of Goethe. The Goethe House & Museum offer an intriguing a peek into 18th century lifestyles and Goethe’s early years.

Although the Black Forest is located in one of the sunniest areas of Germany, its name dates back to a time when thick trees shielded the forest floor from light. While there are more clearings now, the country's largest and most renowned forest remains a real-life Grimm fairy tale dotted with gingerbread villages and serene wood-fringed lakes.

The Frankfurt Zoo opened in 1858 and is the second oldest in Germany. The zoo contains over 4,500 animals of more than 400 species. If want to experience crocodiles, gorillas, lions and rhinos while in Germany, the zoo is great place to visit. Animal aficionados will find many many exotic animals to observe, from mouse lemurs and galagos over tamanduas to aardvarks, fossas and kiwis.

Also known as Attendorn Dripstone Cave, Atta Cave is located in Attendorn, Germany, and is the country’s largest dripstone cave. Filled with stalagmites and stalactites that appear to be dripping from the ceiling, visitors can meander the cave’s 262-foot (80-meter) natural corridor below ground. It’s fun to think about what these otherworldly formations resemble: People, animals, castles and anything else your imagination can come up with.

You’ll be immersed in a bizarre yet beautiful world of stalagmite and stalactite striped curtains, pillars and forest, with the highlight being the otherworldly Kristallpalast (crystal palace) chamber. The startlingly beautiful natural attraction is thought to be over 400 million years old, formed when impure carbon dioxide-rich waters covered the water-soluble rocks. Interestingly, Atta Cave is thought by some to have therapeutic properties for certain ailments like asthma, bronchitis and insomnia.

In the romantic Rhine Valley near the town of St. Goarshausen, a siren named Loreley was said to bewitch sailors from upon her granite rock, causing them to ground their boats or lose control of them and sink. The area around the massive granite outcrop which rises vertically 433 ft (132 m) about the river, is indeed dangerous - the narrowest part of the Rhine between Switzerland and the North Sea surrounded by reefs and rapids which are a major threat to shipping. These days a safe channel is marked by buoys and no one admits to hearing the siren song of Loreley. (The translation of the name Loreley is 'murmuring rock')

The area is also important for wine-making. Since 1395, the Counts of Katzenelnbogen have had vineyards here and it was this dynasty of winemakers who invented Riesling. The whole Rhine River area, of course, became famous for Rieslings but they were first developed here, under the siren spell of Loreley. These days, due to the noise of modern life, it is hard to hear the murmuring of Loreley, but we can still drink the Riesling!

The Palm Garden (or Palmengarten) is the largest garden of its kind in Germany. The botanical exhibitions are organized according to their geographic origin in open air or climate-controlled greenhouses. The Palm Garden is famous worldwide for its ample collection of native, tropical, and subtropic flora. In addition to the plants, it offers a variety of activities including guided tours, summer concerts, evening festivals and exhibitions.

The Frankfurt Palmengarten is a public site, financed and implemented by the architect Heinrich Siesmayer. The garden was completed in 1871 and subsequently opened to the public. The Palm Garden was revamped in the 1960s when a major reconstruction effort was begun to develop and expand the existing structures.

One of the oldest fortresses in Germany, this medieval castle dates back to the 13th century with original owner Rudolf von Greifenstein residing here in 1226. Located in Hesse and declared a national historical landmark in 1995, the dark grey stone castle features numerous courtyards and bastions, as well as torture chambers, towers, catacombs, a baroque church, an underground chapel, herb gardens and a wine cellar. Interestingly, the castle has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, and today you’ll see sections that are in ruins while other parts are in-tact.

A major highlight of a visit to the Greifenstein Castle is its German Bell Museum, where you can view about 50 beautiful bells, some dating back to the ninth century. Bells have descriptions about how they were produced, and visitors have the chance to create their own music by chiming them. Don’t leave without also having a meal in the onsite restaurant, which is reminiscent of old times with scroll menus, knights providing entertainment and traditional meals you eat with your hands. If you have time, you can explore the hiking trails in the nearby forest.

Frankfurter Dom is the main church of Frankfurt. From the 14th century onwards, kings of the Holy Roman Empire were elected in this Catholic church. From the mid-16th century to the late 18th century, emperors were crowned here.

The cathedral has been damaged in the past by fire and warfare, most recently during the WWII. It was reconstructed in the 1950s and has undergone periodic renovation since then. It has been widely recognized as an important national symbol for Germany. The museum has an impressive collection of reliquaries and ceremonial objects.