Most amazing day trips from Frankfurt for which you will for sure want to stay in the city for few more days.
Lots of people stop in Frankfurt for one day due to business purposes or because Frankfurt represents an ideal starting point for traveling around the rest of Germany. And Frankfurt really is a great starting or ending point. But if you are limited with just a short stay in Frankfurt, make sure to tick off at list one of the amazing day trips on our list.
Table of Contents
5 most amazing day trips from Frankfurt
Rüdesheim am Rhein
One of our favorite day trips from Frankfurt, if not the best one, is with no doubt the Rheingau and its charming town Rüdesheim am Rhein. The town might be small, but you can find many amazing things to do in Rüdesheim.
For us Rüdesheim represents the perfect place for romance, but it actually is a place for all kinds of interests and things to do. If you enjoy good food, wine, spectacular views, hiking paths, boat rides or getting to know the rich history along the Rhein river, Rüdesheim am Rhein is for sure the place to be.
Heidelberg
One of the most popular day trips from Frankfurt is visiting the university city of Heidelberg. It is also one of the most popular destinations among tourists in Germany. It is super crowded with groups, visiting the city as a day trip. But if you are making a day trip from Frankfurt individually, make sure to be there early in the morning or late in the afternoon, to avoid the crowds.
There are many things to do in Heidelberg, from shopping along the longest pedestrian street in Europe, sitting in a cute cafe, walking up or taking the funicular ride to the castle, admiring the views from the river banks. If you have time, I would suggest to stay in Heidelberg overnight, just to have the streets almost to yourself in the evening and in the morning.
Gelnhausen
Gelnhausen is a great place for a quick half day trip from Frankfurt, as it is one of the lesser known ideas among day trips from Frankfurt. The city is known as the Barbarossa city, because it was established by Friderik I. Barbarossa (Holy Roman Emperor and German king) in 1170. Once magnificent and rich trader’s city became a place for poor farmers during the Thirty Year’s War. That is why the old town’s center has many half-timbered houses.
You can also visit the town’s museum, walk up the preserved old town wall to admire the views. Gelnhausen is already part of the German Fairytale route, so everyone enjoying brothers Grimm you might want to join a visit with a nearby town of Steinau and der Strasse by visiting the brother Grimm’s house, where the Grimm family lived for a while.
If you are not keen on brothers Grimm and are traveling to Germany with younger kids, Adventure park Steinau will do the trick for sure. Our son loved it.
Rothenburg ob der Tauber
Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a little bit further away from Frankfurt, as you need around 2 hours to reach it. But if you are not in Germany often and you wish to see one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval towns in Germany, you should definitely put it high on your list of day trips from Frankfurt.
The whole old town is surrounded by city wall, which you can walk on and admire picturesque views over the colorful houses and vibrant streets. You can find many interesting things to do in Rothenburg, so check them out here.
Adventure park Steinau
If you will find yourself in Frankfurt with kids, aged 3-12, one of the best ideas for day trips from Frankfurt is a visit of the Adventure park Steinau. The adventure park is big enough to make you busy for one complete day, especially because your kids will not want to leave. It is also nice to join Adventure Park Steinau with a short walk around Gelnhausen – another hidden gem, which not many foreigners know about.
When you find yourself in German financial capital, it sure would be a shame to skip all the amazing places, which are easily reached as day trips from Frankfurt and are just around one hour away.
This is great, thanks for sharing.
Thank you Panjene. Glad you enjoyed the blog post about day trips from Frankfurt. 🙂
Happy traveling, Nina