Frankfurt’s Neustadt (New Town) is the area outside the original town walls but still inside the expanded walls that were demolished only during the 19th century. In 1945, air raids destroyed large parts of Frankfurt ensuring that many buildings in Neustadt are indeed new even though the suburb itself is several centuries old.
Explore Frankfurt am Main's Hauptbahnhof Area
Frankfurt’s Hauptbahnhof (Main Station) is the busiest in Germany. In the immediate vicinity is the largest concentration of hotels in Frankfurt. Across the road are the luxurious new Steigenberger Hotel Metropolitan and the Inter City Hotel favored by especially business travelers. The Frankfurt Intercontinental Hotel as well and the low-cost Frankfurt Ibis Hotel are a few blocks away but both have clear views of the Main River. Many other hotels are in or on the edges of Frankfurt’s red light district – although this area is not particularly sleazy or unsafe, hiking past sex shops and bordellos is not everyone’s idea of a good day out.
From the Hauptbahnhof, stroll down Kaiserstraße towards downtown – the parallel Taunusstraße goes through the heart of the red light district. Following the demolition of the town walls in the 19th century, a green space was created that runs in a half moon from the Main around the former old town.
Across from this park is the temporary head office of the European Central Bank. A few blocks further, across from the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof Hotel – the grand dame of Frankfurt hotels – is the Commerzbank Building, at 259 m (850 ft) the tallest in Europe (no viewing platform).
Sights to See Around the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main
Strolling north in the park affords good panoramic views of the high-rise buildings that are in Germany unique to Frankfurt. The Alte Oper (Old Opera) is a 19th-century, Neo Classical opera house that was bombed out during the Second World War. For more than three decades, until it was restored in 1981, this empty shell was the best-looking ruin in Germany. Nearby are Deutsche Bank’s glass-paneled twin towers locally known as “Soll und Haben” (Debit and Credit).
Time for a Break?
- Many restaurants, cafés, and up-market delis are in the Grosse Bockenheimer Straße, a pedestrian street also known as Freßgasse (Gluttony Alley). Parallel to Freßgasse is Goethestraße with Frankfurt’s most fashionable boutiques and international fashion brands.
The park continues behind the Alte Oper and soon leads to the modern Frankfurt Hilton Hotel. Across the road is the Frankfurt Hard Rock Café although its neighbor Yours Australian Sports Bar is more inviting with similar fare.
Nearby is the Eschenheimer Tor, the best looking of the surviving medieval tower gates. Although it is possible to continue along the park all the way to the Main, turn away here towards the Hauptwache, an early-18th-century former police station and major public transportation hub. From here, go down the Zeil for shopping or take an historic old town walk with visit to the Goethe Haus and Museum.
The walk, without stopping for sightseeing or coffee, should take around 45 minutes and is flat without stairs.
Energy Left to See More of Frankfurt?
This walking tour combines well with a walk of the historic old town of Frankfurt, which starts from the Hauptwache. The Museum Bank in Sachsenhausen is excellent for rainy days and more intellectual entertainment.
Public Transportation in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
The Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof has excellent links to all of Frankfurt (and Germany), around 10 minutes by S-Bahn from Frankfurt Airport. Hauptwache has excellent transportation links back the Hauptbahnhof and Airport or across the Main to Sachsenhausen and the Museum Bank.
Henk Bekker - Henk Bekker is a freelance travel writer currently living on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
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