Frankfurt question (train, driving, German, speaking) - City-Data Forum

nicsma2002 · 08-26-2010, 08:36 AM

Hello all,

We have a 5-hour layover in Frankfurt, Germany this Sunday at Frankfurt International. Will that give us time to venture out of the airport, take a few pictures, maybe go to a church service, and is any restaurant open on a Sunday morning in Frankfurt? Or maybe there's not enough time to do all this without the risk of missing our connecting flight?

Thanks!

Douglas Dakota · 08-26-2010, 11:04 AM

Hi,

it is not a lot of time, but you may take a little visit to Frankfurt City. It also depends on whether you have to pass immigrations, customs or whatever before your connecting flight goes on and whether your luggage its directly checked to your destination airport or you have to go to the counter again.

What do you understand by "morning"? Cafes may have opened from 7 am and restaurants from 11.30 am or so. I would not recommend to go for a big lunch in this time.

However in a "normal" situation you should have about 2,5 hours of free time.
If you go out the airport, I would recommend to take the local rail to the station "Hauptwache". This trip takes about 15 minutes per way and the train should go every 10 minutes or so. You will find cafes, restaurants there and you could walk a few meters to the old town. Including some time reservers and driving you may only have 1-1,5 hours in town. I don't know if its worth the stress but you could give it a try.

Stefan_from_Germany · 08-26-2010, 11:11 AM

Hmmm, it's a bit tight but doable. You will have to go through passport control and that can take some time but not normally as long as it can in the States.

I would say, if you arrive in Frankfurt on time or early, have a look at the line in front of immigration, go through if it looks ok and get a taxi to downtown (but research where you wanna go as not all parts are nice) and plan on being back no later than 90 minutes before departure.

The trip from the airport to downtown takes around 15-20 minutes or so. You could take the train but I would only do that if you can research the times and stations etc beforehand. It's not normally a problem but a taxi will be more convenient given the time constraints. I would go to oldtown or Sachsenhausen which is by the river and has some nice restaurants. I am sure you can find churches aswell.

Let me know if you need more help.

Threestep · 08-26-2010, 12:11 PM

Just do your own math.
Processing through customs and immigration
Getting out of the actual airport
Cab ride to and from a restaurant and time to eat a meal
Mass runs about 60 minutes

Traffic jam, accident, getting caught in a conversation ... and checking in.

nicsma2002 · 08-26-2010, 12:42 PM

This all sounds like it's possible, thank you all for the advice. Maybe taking a taxi to the "old town" and visiting a cafe and looking around. If there's a church there, maybe stopping in for service would be cool. We wouldn't understand a word but that's half the fun!

We'll have to see how the lines are at the airport, like you all said. Thanks so much for your help. The only other time I've been to Frankfurt was 14 years ago in the dead of winter and it was freezing! It will be nice to see it when it is warm and green.

Vichel · 08-26-2010, 09:09 PM

It'd be good to have the chance to leave the airport as Frankfurt Airport is one of the worst I've been to (in the developed world). Very surprising for Germany.

irman · 08-27-2010, 12:18 AM

If I remember right, did the Frankfurt Airport not have a huge mall downstairs ?
You could spend hours there easily ...

nicsma2002 · 08-27-2010, 07:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irman

If I remember right, did the Frankfurt Airport not have a huge mall downstairs ?
You could spend hours there easily ...

I believe so, and someone told me it even has playgrounds for children, which would also fit the bill. We'll check things out when we get there and see if it's possible to do a quick venture out or better to stay put. Thanks for your input.

Stefan_from_Germany · 08-27-2010, 10:53 AM

There is the airport city mall with food and shopping options as well as restaurants and shops scatttered throughout the terminals. T1 is a bit old but constantly being updated, T2 is much more modern. Where you will be epends on which airline you are using. Generally speaking, Star Alliance members such as United and Lufthansa are in T1, Oneworld and Skyteam (Delta, BA, Air France) in T2.

The airport websoite has all the info you need.

P.S. the weather ain't very good this weekend.

By the way, are you stopping in FRA after arriving from the US or is this your trip home? If you are arriving from the US and your final destination is in the EU you will have to go through passport control anyway.