Give a kid a high place and a skyline to point at, and the outing runs itself. Frankfurt's towers look best from a distance, so these picks range from a deck above the banking district to forest towers, hilltop lawns, a Taunus summit and a gondola over Rhine vineyards. Some take an elevator, some take hundreds of steps. Here's what we checked, from the Main Tower to the Großer Feldberg.
Main Tower is a skyscraper in the banking district with Frankfurt's highest viewing platform, 200 meters up. A high-speed elevator climbs to the enclosed 55th floor, then stairs lead to the open-air deck above.
On a clear day kids can trace the river Main and spot the Taunus hills, and a free AR app labels cities on the horizon. A poor pick for anyone uneasy with heights or wind.
The west tower of the Kaiserdom, the church where Holy Roman emperors were crowned, rises 95 meters over the Altstadt. A narrow spiral staircase of 328 steps climbs to a viewing platform 66 meters up, with views over the Römerberg, the Main and the skyscrapers, and on clear days the Taunus hills. There is no elevator, so it suits kids who can manage a steep, steady climb.
Eiserner Steg is an iron footbridge over the Main, linking the old town by the Römerberg with Sachsenhausen. From the middle, kids can watch boats pass underneath, with the skyline on one side and the Museumsufer on the other.
Sightseeing boats leave from the old-town bank, and electric boats can be rented on the Sachsenhausen side, next to a restaurant ship.
Lohrberg is a 185-meter hill on the northeast edge of town, and the city's only vineyard grows on its south slope. Apple orchard meadows cover much of the hill, and the MainÄppelHaus orchard center explains the trees and Frankfurt's apple wine.
At the top, the Lohrpark has a big flat lawn for ball games, a playground, and wide views of the skyline. Walking and cycling paths wind through the orchards.
A forest playground of almost three hectares at the foot of the Goetheturm, a 43-meter wooden lookout tower in the Stadtwald. Tall trees shade slides, swings, climbing towers, a wooden maze and a mud play area.
Climb the tower's 196 steps for a view over the southern woods to the skyline. The Goetheruh restaurant sits next door, and the Goetheweg walking trail passes right by.
The Großer Feldberg is the highest peak in the Taunus at 881 meters, with an open, treeless summit plateau. One of its towers can be climbed for views over the Frankfurt skyline, and the Brunhildisfelsen rock at the north edge looks out over the Usinger Land.
Kids can watch eagles and owls at the Falkenhof, the oldest falconry in Hesse. In snowy winters, the slopes fill with sleds.
Small gondola cabins, each fitting two adults and two kids, glide about 10 minutes over the Rheingau vineyards from Rüdesheim up to the Niederwald Monument, a huge Germania statue built between 1871 and 1883 to mark German unification.
At the top are wide views across the Rhine to Bingen, places to eat, and an easy forest loop past the Adlerwarte bird of prey station.
Give a kid a high place and a skyline to point at, and the outing runs itself. Frankfurt's towers look best from a distance, so these picks range from a deck above the banking district to forest towers, hilltop lawns, a Taunus summit and a gondola over Rhine vineyards. Some take an elevator, some take hundreds of steps. Here's what we checked, from the Main Tower to the Großer Feldberg.
Main Tower is a skyscraper in the banking district with Frankfurt's highest viewing platform, 200 meters up. A high-speed elevator climbs to the enclosed 55th floor, then stairs lead to the open-air deck above.
On a clear day kids can trace the river Main and spot the Taunus hills, and a free AR app labels cities on the horizon. A poor pick for anyone uneasy with heights or wind.
The west tower of the Kaiserdom, the church where Holy Roman emperors were crowned, rises 95 meters over the Altstadt. A narrow spiral staircase of 328 steps climbs to a viewing platform 66 meters up, with views over the Römerberg, the Main and the skyscrapers, and on clear days the Taunus hills. There is no elevator, so it suits kids who can manage a steep, steady climb.
Eiserner Steg is an iron footbridge over the Main, linking the old town by the Römerberg with Sachsenhausen. From the middle, kids can watch boats pass underneath, with the skyline on one side and the Museumsufer on the other.
Sightseeing boats leave from the old-town bank, and electric boats can be rented on the Sachsenhausen side, next to a restaurant ship.
Lohrberg is a 185-meter hill on the northeast edge of town, and the city's only vineyard grows on its south slope. Apple orchard meadows cover much of the hill, and the MainÄppelHaus orchard center explains the trees and Frankfurt's apple wine.
At the top, the Lohrpark has a big flat lawn for ball games, a playground, and wide views of the skyline. Walking and cycling paths wind through the orchards.
A forest playground of almost three hectares at the foot of the Goetheturm, a 43-meter wooden lookout tower in the Stadtwald. Tall trees shade slides, swings, climbing towers, a wooden maze and a mud play area.
Climb the tower's 196 steps for a view over the southern woods to the skyline. The Goetheruh restaurant sits next door, and the Goetheweg walking trail passes right by.
The Großer Feldberg is the highest peak in the Taunus at 881 meters, with an open, treeless summit plateau. One of its towers can be climbed for views over the Frankfurt skyline, and the Brunhildisfelsen rock at the north edge looks out over the Usinger Land.
Kids can watch eagles and owls at the Falkenhof, the oldest falconry in Hesse. In snowy winters, the slopes fill with sleds.
Small gondola cabins, each fitting two adults and two kids, glide about 10 minutes over the Rheingau vineyards from Rüdesheim up to the Niederwald Monument, a huge Germania statue built between 1871 and 1883 to mark German unification.
At the top are wide views across the Rhine to Bingen, places to eat, and an easy forest loop past the Adlerwarte bird of prey station.
