Frankfurt

"Are there interesting things to see in the small towns nearby...?" The uberscenic Middle Rhine Valley is worth a couple of days. The whole valley is a UNESCO-designated World Heritage site. http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=318&L=3 I'd call these 800+-year-old castles pretty interesting: Marksburg in Braubach - tour: www.marksburg.de Rheinfels in St. Goar: self-tour: http://www.st-goar.de/17-1-.html On the weekend you'll be there, you can catch one of the final wine fests of the season in this region, also in Braubach; there's parades, music, wine tasting, etc. The fest continues on Sun and Mon (10/7-8): http://winzerfest.braubach.de/html/impressionen.html St. Goar and the other villages on the west bank (Bacharach, Oberwesel, and Boppard) are worth visiting too - these are small towns that are connected by train routes and river cruise boats with half-timbered buildings, old town walls, wineries, and a few minor diversions, like the chairlift ride to a lookout in Boppard: http://www.sesselbahn-boppard.de/chairlift_boppard/index_eng.htm

"I think of it as a large business city". It is, and there's certainly a lot of interesting stuff to see and do in Frankfurt, but I won't steal any of Jo's thunder. She knows her town best. There's plenty of nice towns within an hour's transit time. Some include Wetzlar, Seligenstadt, Königstein, Hanau, Butzbach, Büdigen, Mainz, Wiesbaden, Rüdesheim, Bad Homburg, Darmstadt, Heppenheim, Bennsheim, the Odenwald, etc.

Until Jo arrives with specifics . . . I spent 5 days in Frankfurt last summer, one of which was a day trip to charming, untouristy Buedingen. I liked Frankfurt most of all the places I visited in Germany. The Old Town is as historic and interesting as any other and very close to the train station and the river. I highly recommend it. I still don't understand why it gets short shrift as a tourist destination.

Just south of F'furt is Aschaffenburg. It is ok and has a couple of interesting things to see. BUT, just south of A'buge is Messelbrum. It is a small, fairy tale castle with a moat that has been in the same family since about 1400. A'burg is less than an hour by train from F'furt and and you can get to M'brum by regular public bus. Google them both and see what you think. TC

OOOPS. Mispelling!! Mespelbrumm. TC

Yes, there is plenty to see in Frankfurt. Yes, we have skyscrapers, but we also have dozens of museums, lots of historic buildings and churches, fabulous farmers markets, lots of festivals, and wonderful green spaces too. What are you interested in though? If I give you tons of info about the Imperial coronations, but what you want is info on Jewish history or medieval churches, then you don't get what you want. The more info you give us, the more we can be helpful. I probably have a few 100 posts on this forum about Frankfurt. Type in Frankfurt + attractions, or historic sites, or medieval churches, or Jewish sites, into the Search function button on the top right hand side of your screen. What else is going on around Frankfurt during this time period? * 5-8 Oct. Harvest Fest, Idstein * 6-7 Oct. Apple & Harvest Fest, Hessen Park in Neu Ansbach

My favorite thing in Frankfurt was eating dinner on a converted WWII mine sweeper. It was decked out with militaria. The best part was the company - I went with a big group of German reserve military (which, unless they are called up, is more like a club than a military unit).

You might find this site interesting. I know I did. All sorts of info on Frankfurt. Blogger seems very well informed. ;) www.frankfurtonfoot.com

Hi, With the few days you have before flying out, I myself would spend them by staying in Frankfurt. But, if you want to see a small town nearby, I would choose, as recommended above, the towns of Butzbach between Frankfurt and Gießen and Wetzlar. Yes, Frankfurt is a big buisness city, the banking center of Germany, but it's also a cultural city. You'll see why.

I want to thank everyone for their tips. We did book at the Ibis in Mainz, and will take day trips to some of the great places mentioned Marina