Frankfurt with Friends: Apple Wine, Bar-Hopping & Group Ideas

A long weekend with friends, and you can’t agree on a city? Take Frankfurt. It has a reputation for being nothing but banking towers and an airport — which is exactly why most people underestimate how well it works for a group. It’s compact enough that you can hop from the skyline down to an apple-wine tavern in two or three U-Bahn stops in the evening, and international enough that there’s something for every taste. Over the years I’ve steered countless visits from friends around this city, and I’ve learned what genuinely works with a group and what you can happily skip. What follows is my tried-and-tested collection — from the sociable must-do to the wet-weather plan — with real addresses and prices (as of 2026).

The must-do: an evening in an apple-wine tavern

If your group does only one thing in Frankfurt, make it this: an evening in a proper apple-wine tavern in old Sachsenhausen. The format could have been designed for groups of friends. You sit at long wooden benches, often next to complete strangers, order a Bembel — the grey-and-blue stoneware jug — and pour for one another in turn. One Bembel for four or eight people, a few glasses of water alongside, and you’re sharing before you’ve even thought about it.

My first recommendation is the Fichtekränzi at Wallstraße 5, right in the cobbled heart of old Sachsenhausen and in business since 1849 — in summer you sit in its shaded courtyard under old trees. For something a little calmer and less overrun by stag parties, head to Schweizer Straße: Apfelwein Wagner (Schweizer Straße 71, family-run since 1931) and the neighbouring Zum Gemalten Haus (Schweizer Straße 67) are known for their brightly painted façades and hearty cooking. Order right across the table: Handkäs mit Musik, green sauce with egg and potatoes, cured pork ribs with sauerkraut, or a schnitzel that hangs over the edge of the plate. If the tart apple wine is too sharp for you neat, ask for it “sauergespritzt” with sparkling water, or sweet with lemonade. For groups of about six or more it’s worth reserving, and bring cash — some of the old houses still don’t take cards. Which tavern suits your particular crowd, and how the houses differ, I’ve set out in detail in my guide to the best apple-wine taverns.

A spin on the Ebbelwei-Express

Before the evening proper kicks off, the brightly painted vintage tram makes a wonderful warm-up — and for many groups it’s the highlight of the afternoon. The Ebbelwei-Express trundles around the city for roughly an hour on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, passing the Römerberg, the zoo, Sachsenhausen and the trade-fair grounds. The fare of €8.00 per person (€3.50 reduced, as of 2026) includes a bottle of apple wine — or apple juice or water if you prefer — and a bag of pretzels. Tickets are bought from the conductor on board, so have the right cash ready. One catch for the spontaneous: you can’t hop off and on again along the way; you ride the full loop. For birthdays you can even hire a whole carriage privately. All the timetable and stop details are in my piece on the Ebbelwei-Express.

Bar-hopping in the Bahnhofsviertel

After dark, there’s barely a better place for a group than the Bahnhofsviertel. The former red-light and problem district right behind the main station has turned into one of Germany’s liveliest nightlife quarters, and the beauty of it is that everything is within walking distance, so you can easily string together three or four spots in a single night.

The classic starting point is the Yok Yok kiosk, where half of Frankfurt gathers of an evening with an after-work beer on the pavement — cheap and unfussy. For craft beer on draught, head to BrewDog at Kaiserstraße 51. When you fancy something more polished at some point in the night, ring the bell at the discreet door of the Kinly Bar at Elbestraße 34: a 1920s-style basement bar with hand-cut ice and one of the best cocktail lists in the city. For a similar standard in an even more hidden spot, try The Parlour at Zwingergasse 6. Two practical notes: agree a fixed meeting point as a group, because it’s easy to lose one another in the crowded lanes, and plan your way home on the U-Bahn and S-Bahn so everyone gets back safely. If you’re after more evening ideas, you’ll find plenty in my overview of things to do in Frankfurt at night.

Craft beer and a proper brewery

Frankfurt is apple-wine territory, but it also has a surprisingly lively beer scene. My favourite for a relaxed afternoon with a group is the BrauStil brewery at Oeder Weg 57 in Nordend, set in a converted former petrol station with a big beer garden. They pour their own brews on tap, ideally as a flight of four small glasses — perfect when everyone wants to try something different. Closer to the old town is Naïv on Fahrgasse, at once a bar, restaurant, pizzeria and bottle shop, with a rotating selection of up to a hundred craft beers from around the world. Both work well with a group that can’t agree on what to drink.

Lunch in the Kleinmarkthalle

For a group lunch there’s no better place than the Kleinmarkthalle at Hasengasse 5–7. This covered market hall in the middle of the old town isn’t a restaurant but a bustling market with around 150 stalls — and that’s exactly what makes it so good for groups: everyone wanders off and grabs whatever they fancy. A must is the freshly brewed beef sausage from the long-established Gref-Völsing stand, while the next person picks up cheese, olives or a piece of fish. Regroup afterwards at the wine terrace on the upper gallery, where a winemaker serves wines by the glass and you stand around together just like the Frankfurters who like to “raise one” here after their shopping. Important: the hall is open Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it’s closed on Sundays — so don’t plan your visit for its day off.

When it gets competitive, or rainy

Not every day is made for sitting outside, and some groups need a bit of a contest. There are good addresses for both. For bowling, head to Main-Bowling in Eschersheim: with 32 lanes it’s the largest venue in Hesse, fully modernised at the end of 2025 and expanded with a sports bar, billiards and darts — plenty of room even for a bigger crowd. If you’d rather put your heads together, book a room at TeamEscape, right by the main station (Am Hauptbahnhof 8): in three differently themed escape rooms the team has to solve puzzles and get out in under 60 minutes. And for a silly, guaranteed-fun evening, there’s GolfZone’s 3D blacklight minigolf at Friesstraße 3 in the east of the city (from around €13 to €15 per person), where you putt through glowing sets.

A cruise on the Main

On a fine day, the best view of the famous skyline is from the water. The Primus-Linie departs right at the Eiserner Steg, the much-loved pedestrian bridge in the centre of town. The short 50-minute round trip costs €16.00 for adults and the longer 100-minute tour €19.50 (as of 2026); the boats run hourly, and every half hour at weekends and on public holidays. There are drinks on board, and gliding past the high-rises and the museum embankment with a cold beer on the top deck is a lovely, calm counterpoint to the bustle on land.

An Eintracht Frankfurt home match

If your group is even remotely into football, try to get tickets for a home game of Eintracht Frankfurt. They play at the Deutsche Bank Park, the old Waldstadion set in Frankfurt’s leafy city forest to the south, which holds around 58,000 after its rebuild and has a retractable roof. The atmosphere, especially on the Nordwestkurve terrace, is among the best the Bundesliga has to offer. The easiest way to get there is by S-Bahn: lines S7, S8 and S9 stop right at Stadion station, about twelve minutes from the main station, and on matchdays extra trams on line 20 run every few minutes. Popular fixtures sell out early, so sort your tickets out in good time. One more thing: the Deutsche Bank Park also hosts major concerts, so it’s worth checking the events calendar if there’s no league game on while you’re in town.

Out into the surroundings, if you have the time

If you have a day to spare, a joint excursion into the surrounding region is well worth it — all of the following are comfortably reached by train, and regional services often offer good-value group tickets. The Rheingau tempts with wine tastings in Rüdesheim and the cable car up to the Niederwald Monument; romantic Heidelberg, with its castle and old town, is a little over an hour away; and if you want to stretch your legs, you can hike up the Großer Feldberg in the Taunus. For a group, a day out like this is often the part everyone remembers most fondly afterwards.

Making the weekend run smoothly

A few things make a group weekend noticeably more relaxed. Reserve everywhere in advance from about six people up — in the apple-wine taverns as much as the bars. Check for group tickets on local transport and for excursions; they save real money. Bring cash, because plenty of places still don’t take cards. And if you can, avoid the big trade-fair dates, when hotels are expensive and quickly booked out.

In the end, Frankfurt is such a rewarding city for groups of friends precisely because the contrasts sit so easily side by side: a Bembel in a courtyard in the afternoon, cocktails above the rooftops in the evening, a river cruise or a match at the stadium in between — and thanks to the short distances, all of it fits into a single weekend. If you decide to come back as a couple afterwards, my piece on Frankfurt for two points you to the quieter, more romantic corners of the city. For the group, though, the rule is simple: reserve ahead, keep a bit of cash on you, travel by public transport — and the rest takes care of itself.