Family travel,  Frankfurt,  Germany

7 Tips on Planning a Frankfurt Trip with Family (updated)

Frankfurt is a nice place to bring your family on a holiday. Since the long school holiday is just around the corner, I am writing to share the tips on how to plan for your travel. A well-planned trip can allow you save time and cost of travelling in the city as well as place to stay.

These planning steps are based solely on my own experience.

1When to visit – The best times for Frankfurt are late spring to early autumn. The summers tend to be sunny and warm around 25 °C (77° F). Be prepared, however, for very hot summer days around 35° C (95° F) as well as for light rain. The winters can be cold and rainy (usually not lower than -10 °C/14 °F). It rarely snows in Frankfurt itself.

fallwomanAutumn in Frankfurt.

2Flight to Frankfurt – Previously it’ll be easier to take Malaysia Airlines direct flight to Frankfurt. But since MAS ceased flight to Frankfurt on May 29, 2015, you can take Lufthansa direct flight to Frankfurt. Alternatively you can also take KLM with layovers choices in Singapore, Paris or Amsterdam. Or try Cathay Pacific, with layover in Hong Kong. Do a comparison first and see which one is cheapest.

flightSons on MAS flight.

3Place to stayRent a place to stay via Airbnb. Renting a flat is much more cheaper as it is not based on pax as what the hotels in Frankfurt (perhaps in Europe). So many choices to choose from; fully-furnished apartment or house because this type of accommodation offers washing machine and kitchen. These two are the core things we need (in a mother’s perspective) when we travel with family.

AirbnbA comfortable apartment in Offenbach, 30 minutes away from Frankfurt city.

4City mode of transportation. Get Frankfurt Card. The super-saver card includes unlimited use of public transport system within Frankfurt city including Frankfurt Airport. It also offers 50% discount on admission to numerous Frankfurt museums, the Zoological Gardens, Botanical Gardens, Oper Frankfurt, city tours, river cruises, not to mention participating restaurants, cafes and retail stores. You can buy the group ticket (maximum of 5 persons) for €19 (one day) or €28 for 2 days. You can buy the ticket at  Frankfurt Airport, Hotels & Tours (Terminal 1: Arrival Hall B), Welcome Center, Tourist Information Office Frankfurt Am Main Hauptbahnhof and Tourist Information Office Römerberg.

supersaver

5Get online connection. Get Ortel data plan prepaid card. It is much cheaper to buy local simcard rather than have your phone on roaming. You can get the simcard for €15 and dataplan for €14.90. You canbuy  from phone shops around the city; in our case we got it from a phone shop (operated by Pakistanis) on Kaiserstraße, just across the main station.  They will help you install and register everything on your phone.

Ortel

6Where to go, what to visit. Being an an internationally diverse city, Frankfurt has many great things to offer; from arts, outdoors, and shopping, to historic buildings and high-rises, here are some of my suggestions:

JUmp-to-joy
Römerberg -the old centre of Frankfurt with a number of historic buildings dating to the 14th and 15th century (many of which, unfortunately, were destroyed during World War II and rebuilt afterwards).

River-Main
Main River – the river that flows through Frankfurt, Germany from Kulmbach to Wiesbaden with a length of 527 km.

Eiserner-Steg
Eiserner Steg (Iron bridge) – Frankfurt’s most well-known pedestrian bridge, built in 1869. It is just a minute away from the Römer, and provides great views of the skyline and the Main River.

museum01
Historisches Museum – offers a wide collection of the history of the city.

zoo
Frankfurt Zoological Garden – a green oasis in the middle of the thriving Main metropolis and it features over 4,500 animals on approximately 13 hectares land.

azmiyassin
The Main Tower – the only tower that is open to the public. From the viewing platform at a height of 200 metres, you will have a good view of Frankfurt and the surrounding area. Make sure to go on a clear day to get a nice family photo for your album.

Entrance
Goethe House and Museum, the birthplace of Germany’s most famous author and poet.

palmengarten1
Palmengarten Botanical Gardens – display a range of interesting and beautiful plants. Almost every kind of exotic flora growing around the world.

Meatzeil
Zeil shopping mile at hauptwache- where most well-known department store chains are to be found, but also where a host of specialised shops offer an extensive range of goods. There’s Zeilgalerie and Frankfurt Hoch 4. There are also cafes, snack bars and restaurants here.

Hauptwache
Hauptwache – one of Frankfurt’s oldest buildings. Hauptwache means “Main Watch”; the building stood as the home of Frankfurt’s military from 1730 until the 19th century. Today the baroque-style building houses a café and stands as one of the few remaining symbols of Frankfurt’s history as a city-state.

7Halal Places to eat – Frankfurt is considered a multicultural city because it is home to people of 180 nationalities. Nearly 25 percent of Frankfurt’s residents are foreign nationals. So looking for Halal food is not a problem at all. We did brought some food from Malaysia but the boys need to eat something also while touring the city because the cold weather made them hungry all the time. Here are some of the restaurants that we went:

thaifun
Thai Fun, Elbestraße 15, Frankfurt.

alrafedain
Al Rafedain Restaurant, Baseler Straße 15, Frankfurt.

Alims
Alim’s Fish Imbiss, Münchener Straße 35, Frankfurt.

viravira2
Vira Vira Restaurant, Hanauer Landstraße 41, Frankfurt.

burger
Palmen Grill, Klingerstraße 6, Innenstadt, Konstablerwache, Frankfurt.

So there you go. Happy planning and happy holiday!

 

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