Transportation

The best and easiest way to get around Frankfurt is by subway. A one way ticket costs €5.40 and strict penalties are imposed if a person is found without a ticket, including a fine of €40. The subway system is divided into the U-Bahn, which is blue with a U sign and the S-Bahn, which is green with an S sign. The S-Bahn is used for the suburbs and to get a ride to and from the airport while the U-Bahn is for commuting within the urban areas of the city. Tickets are bought on the spot but the ticket machines are complicated, so it’s best to get help from officials or a bystander. If you have plans to explore the city all day, make sure to buy one of the ‘magical’ Frankfurt cards. This car gives you unlimited discounts on all sorts of public transport and can even earn you a discount on museum tickets! The Frankfurt card, available at tourist shops, airport terminals and travel agencies, is valid for one or two days and is available separately for individuals and groups. The cost of the card is: 1 person, 1 day = €8.9 Group, 1 day = €18 The downside is that the S-Bahn is particularly known for its delayed departures so remember to account for this while making your plans.

Driving around Frankfurt is not such a good idea because of the constant hustle and bustle of tourists and the crowded roadside stalls. During the peak times of the season, parking spaces are hard to find and illegal parking can lead to terribly high fines and penalties since most parking spaces are reserved for local residents and are marked so. The best you can do is park your car in a ‘parking garage’ for the entire day and then walk around for the sightseeing and shopping. Garage parking costs around 8 euros for the whole day. Cars can be rented from a number of companies who allow for online rentals as well. All the car hire companies have their respective desks at the Frankfurt Hahn Airport and provide safe and reliable services.

Before you hire a car, you need to take into account Frankfurt’s laws for driving around the city. With heavy tourist activity and a high crime rate, laws in Frankfurt have become even stricter. There are regular fines, tailgating charges and radar traps to watch out for. Moreover, Germany has a very stringent DUI policy i.e. driving under influence of alcohol. Any amount greater than 0.5mg - which is no more than one glass of wine, is unacceptable. Therefore, be sure to stay sober if you wish to drive around.

Exploring Frankfurt by a taxi is a good idea as taxi fares are very reasonable and one can find taxis very easily throughout the city at various spots. Be careful to not be tricked by a taxi driver as they tend to act smart if they learn that you do not know your way around here. Taxi drivers tend to drive very fast as required by German businessmen, however they can be told to slow down as the passenger requests it. The following taxi companies also offer doorstep services and can be found at the Frankfurt Airport.

Biking is very common on the roads of Frankfurt. People are seen enjoying the beauty of the river side and the constant activity of the markets while peddling away on bikes. Several bicycle rental services are available with Deutsche Bahn being the most popular. DB has a very convenient bike service with pick-up and drop-off points almost at every other corner of the market square, and charges 15 Euros for one day. Bikes are available from April to December on easy rates and are recognized by the unmistakable red logo of DB.

Traveling by bus isn’t a very common practice in Frankfurt. Tourists usually take buses in order to get from the Frankfurt Airport to the main city. The airport runs shuttle services to accommodate these needs.

Trams are the best mode of transport within the city due to heavy tourist flow. Frankfurt has 9 tram lines and they arrive every 10 to 12 minutes at various spots in the city. Trams as a mode of intracity transport is easier and much more pleasant as tourists can enjoy sightseeing along the way.