Welcome to Frankfurt
We were in Frankfurt am Main for two days at the end of January 2025 and are happy to share our wonderful experiences.
I (Richard) was in Frankfurt 45 years ago and have also run a marathon there.
We stayed in an Airbnb apartment room, which in reality was a modern (10 year old) hotel with 218 rooms right in the centre of Frankfurt ("Mainhattan") between the old town centre with the Roemer and banking district and the Main Tower.
at The Römer
View from a department store's terrace
As parking in the nearby Goethestraße multi-storey car park would have cost over EUR 70, we parked the car for free at Friedrichsdorf station on the outskirts of Frankfurt, where we were visiting friends.
near the Old Opera
On the downside, at the end of the several-hour car journey, we didn't find a single toilet at the station.
The S-Bahn runs from there to the city centre in 30 minutes, in our case Hauptwache station and then another 100 metres to the Ruby Hotel.
The Ruby Louise Hotel is named after Louise von Rothschild and the design of the hotel is inspired by the elegant lines of the Biedermeier period. It has a large Skybar roof terrace on the 6th floor with a marvelous view of the skyline.
Check-in was easy and problem-free, the room was absolutely quiet even at night and the rooms were very clean and modernly furnished. The bed could be reached via a kind of gallery, which certainly doesn't make making the bed any easier. The hotel refers to this as a ‘bed set into the floor’ or ‘platform bed’. I did not see the point of this.
bed embedded into the floor
despite the high ceiling the tv was mounted very low
Oh, and the prices were reasonable at under EUR 100 per night.
We had lunch at Ash (American Steak House), which we had already visited two years ago. They also serve food for vegetarians. It is located directly in front of the bank towers of the skyline.
American Steak House in front of bank tower
Vegetarians are looked after as well
At 240 metres, the Main Tower is the highest vantage point and you can enjoy a meal on the 53rd floor with a fantastic view of the city.
Educationally, we went to the Senckenberg Nature Museum, just two underground stations away, and marvelled at the huge dinosaur skeletons and other fossils. From there, it was only a few hundred metres to the Palmengarten, where the first crocuses and snowdrops as well as tulips were already growing in the large park.
Here we were also able to enjoy pleasant temperatures in the butterfly house.
historic Senckenberg Nature Museum
inside the Senckenberg Nature Museum
snake consumes a tapir
reminds me of Till and Jutta
tropical palm garden
And it just so happened that almost directly in front of the hotel were the Chinese New Year celebrations on February 1st, where we learned about the customs, rituals, and traditions associated with the celebration of the Year of the Snake.
Chinese New Year celebration
We were also delighted with the perfect weather, as you can see on some of the photos.
Some additional photos:
banking district
banking towers
Facade of a department store