Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Frankfurt is the mother of all transport hubs. Flughafen Frankfurt-am-Main is Germany's main gateway and continental Europe's busiest airport.

Frankfurt's Hauptbahnhof is Germany's busiest main train station, and 90 long-distance trains also stop daily at the airport's train station. Long-distance buses connect Frankfurt with most eastern and western European countries, as well as North Africa. With most of Germany's Autobahnen converging on the city, cars can often seem to outnumber people in Frankfurt. The city hosts the country's biggest Los Angeles-style spaghetti junction, Frankfurter Kreuz, and parking is a nightmare proposition.

Getting around

You'll get footsore pretty fast in Frankfurt, but luckily the public transport system is excellent and integrates the city's bus, tram, S-Bahn and U-Bahn lines. It's expensive but effective, and you can buy hourly or daily tickets at almost any stop (as long as you can decipher the ticketing machines' enigmatic instructions). The underground S-Bahn and U-Bahn train lines are convenient and run more frequently than buses. Trams run on major routes and offer above-ground views. Cycling isn't a bad way of getting around, and most streets have designated bike lanes. The maze of one-way streets in the centre of the city makes driving a somewhat frustrating experience, so you're better off parking as close as you can get and hoofing it or hailing an expensive but easy-to-find taxi.