Booked a 3-night trip to Frankfurt--suggestions on day-trips?

The 26th is holiday in Germany so stores are closed and some museums may also be closed. Trains will be on a holiday schedule. Leave at least one day to explore Frankfurt as there is much to see here. For side trips, there are a number of towns you could visit all with-in one hour of Frankfurt by train which means you can use the local transportation prices or a Hessen ticket.

Recommend Marburg, Limburg, Büdingen & Gelnhausen, Hessen Park Open Air Musuem as well as the Saalburg Roman fort (both are near Bad Homburg and are reached by once an hour bus from the main station in Bad Homburg)

Frankfurt has many museums to match any interest you might have. One of my favorites is the Judengasse which has the cellar ruins of the oldest Ghetto in Germany. All text in this museum is in English and it has lots of interactive exhibits. The did a massive upgrade 2 years ago which was a huge improvement. Next to it is the Jewish Holocaust Remembrance Wall that surrounds the medieval cemetery. Other museums to visit would be the Städel, the Schirn, the Film Museum, or the Liebieg Haus. Do visit the Karmeliter Cloister with their wall paintings from the 1500's.

After the 27th, visit the Klein Markt Halle, and on Thur. go to the Farmers Market on the Schiller Str. The Palmengarten will have its' Winter Lights happening in the evenings, so take your camera for this. It is open on the 26th.

If you like medieval churches, go to the Deutsche Orden Church to see the largest nativity in Germany with 200 figures. The church was built in 1309 and is really lovely. The Alte Nikolai (1290) and the Kaiserdom (1415) are a must.

I enjoyed Mainz. . . cathedral, church with Chagall windows, ancient Roman ruins under the shopping mall

Heidelberg

Frankfurt is easily close to the nice area of the Rhine. Note that your 3 day trip is 2 days on the ground. Frankfurt has easily 2 days of activities. Why not just stick to Frankfurt, rather than planning for a day trip away?

Hi,

For your historical interest, I heartily recommend Marburg, as suggest above, very doable by train, and Bad Ems, near Koblenz, or stay the entire time in Frankfurt, also super historical and cultural.

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions! I do have three days on the ground (if my flight lands at 8 am in Frankfurt as scheduled), so I figured 1-2 days in Frankfurt and 1-2 days of day trips, depending on weather, how I'm feeling, and spontaneity. Off to research all the places you mentioned. Thanks again!

Just wanted to thank everyone again for all the suggestions. Even though it rained or sleeted nearly the entire trip, I had such a good time! I took the Frankfurt on Foot walking tour (which included a visit to the Karmeliter cloister, the Kaiserdom, and the Alte Nikolai church), bought the 22 euro 2-day RMV pass, went to the Saalburg Roman Fort (my favorite!), took the train to Mainz, visited the Palmengarten at night to see it all lit up, took the tram to Hochst, took the train to Limburg (which was still having its Christmas Market!), and took the tram to Sachsenhausen. Happy memories of my three days in Frankfurt!

Thanks for the great trip report. Glad to hear you enjoyed your time in Frankfurt, even though you had sleety, rainy weather as well as it being a holiday.
We should have had a coffee together!