Top 10 Day Trips from Frankfurt
Last Updated on October 28, 2024 by Ingrid & Alex
Are you visiting Frankfurt and want to see a little bit more outside the city? Here are our top recommendations for the best day trips from Frankfurt.
Whether you love nature, want to see castles, go back in time on the streets of a medieval town, or do some wine tasting, you will find it here.
We loved all these places, and choosing only a few would not be easy. However, depending on your travel style and available time, we trust you will make the best decision.
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Table of Contents
- How to travel on a day trip from Frankfurt?
- Our top 10 day trips from Frankfurt
- Johannisburg Palace in Aschaffenburg (approx. 30 min)
- Cochem (approx. 2 hours)
- Burg Eltz (Eltz Castle) (approx. 2 hours)
- Würzburg (approx. 1 h 10 min)
- Rhine Valley
- Trier (2.5 hours)
- The Romantic Road (approx. 2 hours)
- Koblenz (approx. 1h 45 min)
- Heidelberg (approx. 1 hour)
- Baden-Baden (approx. 2 hours)
How to travel on a day trip from Frankfurt?
By car
On most of our trips around Germany, we traveled by car. This choice has many reasons, but it is mainly because it offers more flexibility, especially when traveling with a small baby.
Driving in Germany is not complicated, and most drivers respect rules and regulations. Also, we never had problems finding parking, no matter where we went.
By the way, if you need to rent a car, we recommend looking at Discover Cars. We always use this aggregator to find the best offers and save on our car. Check offers here!
By train
Where there is a great railway system, we enjoy traveling by train. It is fast, easy to use, and it allows us to do other things while traveling.
Also, trains in Germany have special carriages for families traveling with kids. As parents, we know how important entertainment is for kids and the possibility of being mobile.
Another advantage of train travel is that the train station is usually close to the city center.
Conversely, train tickets can be expensive, and the trip is more complicated to manage when traveling with a lot of luggage. Additionally, not all destinations can be reached by train.
By organized tour
We enjoy going on organized tours whenever we can.
Firstly, we like the fact that we don’t have to worry about transportation because everything is already organized.
Secondly, we get to see many places in a short period and have some free time to explore as we wish.
Thirdly, a guide joins the tour and does an introduction for every place we see so we can learn about the place and its history.
On the other hand, if you are traveling with a kid (like us), it can be easier to organize your independent visit. Children need a stricter schedule, and your time is not as flexible.
That said, Frankfurt offers plenty of great tour options, and we will mention them as a choice where applicable.
Our top 10 day trips from Frankfurt
Johannisburg Palace in Aschaffenburg (approx. 30 min)
Visiting the Johannisburg Palace in Asschaffenburg is one of the most convenient day trips from Frankfurt.
Getting there is easy by car or train; whichever option you choose, you can be there in roughly 3o minutes.
Since we were on a longer Germany trip, we traveled by car and had no issues finding parking in the city center.
On the other hand, the train leaves from the city center in Frankfurt, and the palace is a 10-minute walk from the train station in Aschaffenburg.
Since we parked in the city center, we also explored the charming Bavarian village, stopped for a coffee, and admired the old town.
The imposing palace is set on the Main River banks in the middle of a charming Mediterranean garden.
Since we were visiting in spring, we loved strolling around, smelling the flowers in bloom, and taking in the stunning view. If you love wisteria, this is the place to come to!
Inside the palace’s gardens, we found the Pompejanum – a replica of a Roman villa constructed in recent years. Alex is passionate about Roman history; thus, we couldn’t skip this attraction, even though it is not authentic. King Ludwig I wanted it to be a place where history and art lovers in Germany could study ancient culture. And that’s what we did!
Don’t come here without visiting the main attraction, the Johannisburg Palace.
Once the second residence of the archbishop-electors of Mainz, the palace today hosts an art gallery, a church with an impressive Renaissance altar, the Municipal Palace Museum, and the Princely Apartments.
Additionally, Rome lovers should not miss the cork architectural models crafted into some of the most famous buildings in Rome, such as the Colosseum and more.
Address: Schloss Johannisburg
Cochem (approx. 2 hours)
Cochem is a charming, colorful village located in the Moselle Valley, roughly 2 hours away from Frankfurt.
Getting there by train is possible, but it can be a bit challenging, with one or two train changes along the way. On the other hand, driving there is faster and not at all complicated.
We love Cochem and have visited the small village on several occasions.
We always stop for a coffee on the promenade along the Moselle River and admire the boats sailing along. Refreshed, we like to walk along the streets of the Old Town, admiring the colorful buildings.
We never skip visiting the famous Cochem Imperial Castle, the largest castle in the Mosel Valley. Even if you don’t go inside the castle, from its gardens, you get one of the best views over Cochem and the surrounding area.
Even though the village is not too big, it offers plenty of things to do, and we have put together a complete guide here.
You can spend the whole day in Cochem without getting bored, especially if you go on a river cruise and taste some local wine.
Burg Eltz (Eltz Castle) (approx. 2 hours)
Burg Eltz, or Eltz Castle, is one of the most photogenic castles in Germany. Along with the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, it makes the top of the Disney fairytale castles you can visit in real life.
Getting there from Frankfurt is easy by car. We visited several times and loved it, especially because you can also go on an easy hike from the parking lot to the castle.
Unfortunately, taking the train is not really an option, but there is an organized tour leaving from Frankfurt to the castle.
If you choose to drive there, the trip is less than 2 hours long on each segment. On the other hand, the tour lasts 8 hours and includes dinner at a local restaurant.
The beautiful castle is surrounded by forest, and from the parking lot, you can either walk for around 20 minutes or take a shuttle bus.
The walk is easy and flat, and along the way, you can search for some spots that offer the best view over the castle. This one is the most famous from where you can get a view from above.
We visited with our 6-month-old baby on a spring day during the week and found the place to be not very crowded. On the other hand, I was there in August, and finding the bridge without people on it was impossible.
The castle, which dates from the 9th century, takes its name from the small river next to which it was built, the Eltzbach. Throughout all these years, the Eltz family owned the castle, which was never destroyed.
Plan your visit so that you can go on a guided tour and see the impressive interiors of the castle.
Würzburg (approx. 1 h 10 min)
One of our favorite day trips from Frankfurt, Würzburg, is such a hidden gem. Even though we knew nothing about this Bavarian town before visiting, it was love at first sight for us.
Traveling between the two towns is not difficult, whether by car or by train.
Even though it is not a popular destination for foreigners in Germany, in Würzburg, you can see a lot of cool things.
We parked in the city center, in one of the covered garages, and walked toward the Old Main Bridge. We stopped for a coffee at a terrace set on a boat on the Main River because it offered the perfect view.
After we crossed the main bridge, we climbed to the top of the hill, to the Marienberg Fortress. We got the best view of the old town from the fortress’s gardens. It is hard not to like it!
Lastly, we went for a stroll in the Würzburg Residence’s gardens. Of course, if you have the time, step inside the summer palace and feel like royalty. We will definitely come back!
Another great thing worth doing in Wurzburg is wine tasting. Vineyards surround the city and its hills, and the local wine is not bad at all!
Rhine Valley
The Rhine Valley is a dream for any castle and nature lover. The upper part of the valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its castles, historic towns, and vineyards.
From Frankfurt, it is easy to reach many of the Rhine Valley’s important attractions. However, the best way to experience them is on an organized day tour.
When we stayed close to the Moselle Valley for one month, our hosts told us how lovely the Rhine Valley is. They told us it is hard to find a town without at least one castle.
The tour will take you to see Rüdesheim am Rhein, and the nearby Niederwald Monument. After a lovely lunch in Assmannshausen, you will hop on a boat and admire the beautiful landscape of hills covered with vineyards.
Next, you will visit Sankt Goarshausen and its many beautiful castles and the famous Loreley Statue. Once you return to Assmannshausen you get some time for a wine tasting at a local tavern.
In our opinion, it is a great itinerary for a trip from Frankfurt to the Rhine Valley. See more about the tour here!
Trier (2.5 hours)
Alex’s favorite city, Trier is packed with history and is Germany’s oldest city. We liked it so much that we returned several times and explored every corner.
Getting to Trier from Frankfurt is easy by car, and you will be there in around 2.5 hours.
However, traveling by train is not a good day trip option. If you could spend the night in Trier, I would consider that.
That’s because there are no direct trains from Frankfurt to Trier, and you will have to change at least once, if not twice. Consequently, that will increase the travel time by 1 hour as compared to driving there.
Any Roman history lover should not skip Trier because there are many important landmarks dating from that time.
From strolling over the Roman Bridge to admiring the impressive Porta Nigra or imagining how people relaxed at the Roman Baths, Trier will take you back in time.
Don’t skip coffee at Balott Coffee & Factory in the Old Town and a visit to the Karl Marx Museum.
Read everything you need to know about all the best things to do in Trier from our comprehensive guide.
The Romantic Road (approx. 2 hours)
The famous Germany Romantic Road is a 460-kilometer road that links Wurzburg in the north to Fussen in the south. It has this name because throughout its length, you pass through many picturesque towns and castles.
While Frankfurt is not set on the Romantic Road, Wurzburg is less than 1 hour away. However, Rothenburg ob der Tauber is the most famous pretty village on the Romantic Road. And you can drive there from Frankfurt in less than 2 hours.
Another option is to travel by train, but you will need to change trains twice: once in Wurzburg and once in Steinach.
The third option, and the best one if you don’t want to drive, is to go on an organized tour.
By doing so, you will not only get to see the charming Rothenburg but also enjoy Weikersheim, Röttingen, and the residence in Würzburg.
We saw Rothenburg ob den Tauber as part of our Romantic Road itinerary, and it is safe to say you can see it all in one day. The small town is incredibly charming and a popular destination, particularly because of its Christmas Market.
However, don’t worry if you can visit only during other seasons. We went there during the summer, and we absolutely loved it!
All the colorful houses and flowers made me think we were entering a fairy tale.
Koblenz (approx. 1h 45 min)
The place where the Rhine River meets the Moselle River, Koblenz, is a popular cruising starting point.
The good news is that getting from Frankfurt to Koblenz is easy and relatively fast, whether you take the train or drive.
We spent one day in Koblenz and loved it!
Here is what we did on ours so you can plan yours.
We parked at the Park “Am Saarplatz” which was right next to the Old Town City Center. From there, we walked along the river and stopped to admire the Stadtarchiv Koblenz. These are the state archives but they are hosted in a beautiful castle set on the river banks.
Next, we walked toward the famous Deutsches Eck, the imposing statue that marks the point where the Rhine and the Moselle rivers meet. Next, we took the cable car to cross the river and get to the top of the hill and the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress.
From the top, we admired the beautiful valley, the Old Town, and some charming castles in the distance.
A better way to admire the city and region is on a 2-hour sightseeing cruise on the Rhine River. You cannot come to Koblenz and not do that! Have your camera ready to take pictures of all the beautiful castles, palaces, and fortresses along the Rhine. Book your tour here!
Also, if you travel by train, don’t miss taking part in a wine tasting in Koblenz. Taste 4 types of some of the best wines in Europe and the world, and learn about the region’s wine culture. See more about the tour!
Heidelberg (approx. 1 hour)
A vibrant university town, Heidelberg is the perfect getaway from Frankfurt.
With a charming historical old center, the oldest German University, and a castle set up a hill, Heidelberg is a popular tourist destination.
Getting there from Frankfurt takes roughly one hour whether you travel by train or car.
After all, Mark Twain chose to make Heidelberg his home for a time and even called Germany in summer “the perfection of the beautiful”.
Thus, if you decide to visit the city set on the Neckar River, start with a climb to Heidelberg Castle, where you can admire the city from above. Cross the Old Bridge and go on a stroll on the Philosophers’ Path all the way to the Philosoprehrs’ Garden.
Of course, the best way to see the city and its surroundings is on a Neckar River cruise.
Back in the city, try the delicious chocolate at Chocolaterie St. Anna No.1. And don’t leave without having a hearty local lunch.
If you would rather have the itinerary done for you, this organized tour from Frankfurt with a local guide will help you see the best the city offers.
Baden-Baden (approx. 2 hours)
A famous spa town in the Baden-Württemberg state, Baden-Baden is easily reached from Frankfurt by car or train.
The city is located very close to the French border, and getting there is most accessible by car, but it is also doable by train.
Baden-Baden is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its spas and architecture, and visitors can explore or relax here.
However, if you plan to spend a day at the spa in Germany, it is worth knowing that most facilities are “textile-free”. There are certain places where they have a mix, so if you don’t feel comfortable without anything on, please research beforehand.
If you would like just to visit the city and admire its impressive architecture, start your day in the Old Town. Allow yourself to get lost on the charming streets and make your way to the Neues Schloss (New Castle).
From there, visit the Faberge Museum, where you can admire the world-famous Faberge eggs and other impressive items.
Walk on the Lichtentaler Allee and relax and enjoy this charming German town. If you feel like going on a hike, head over to the Merkur Mountain. You can also take the funicular to the top.
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