Where to Stay in Frankfurt? The Best Districts & Hotels

“Which area should I book in?” — few questions come up as often from visitors to Frankfurt. My honest answer nearly always starts the same way: it depends. On what you have planned, on your budget — and, and most people underestimate this, on the calendar. Frankfurt is first and foremost a trade-fair city, and in the big Messe weeks the very same room easily costs twice or three times as much. The good news is that the city is small and superbly linked by U-Bahn and S-Bahn, so there’s hardly a truly “wrong” district. But the neighbourhoods differ markedly in character, and once you know that, you book more aptly.

One tip up front to make the choice easier: don’t think in kilometres to the old town, think in rail minutes. A hotel that looks “far out” on the map is often just ten minutes and two U-Bahn stops from the Römer. So pay less attention to the address than to the nearest stop. And if you’d like to understand the character of the districts more deeply, my big overview of Frankfurt’s districts goes further — here the focus is purely on where to sleep.

City centre & old town: right in the middle, short distances

If you’re in Frankfurt for the first time and want to see as much as possible in two or three days, the centre around Hauptwache, the Zeil and the Römer is the obvious choice. You stay between the shops, the museums and the new old town, and from Hauptwache or Konstablerwache every line takes you everywhere. There are no shorter distances in Frankfurt.

The price for that is literal: prime spots are busy and tend to be expensive, and many houses live off business travellers. At the top end the air is thin and refined — the grande dame is the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof on Kaiserplatz, the city’s first address since 1876; opposite the Alte Oper sits the Sofitel Frankfurt Opera, and right beside the MyZeil shopping centre the Jumeirah Frankfurt. In the mid-range the Motel One Frankfurt-Römer is a reliable design-budget classic with fair rates within walking distance of the old town. Outside trade-fair periods, budget on roughly €120–200 for a solid double in the centre, and double that or more for the luxury houses.

Bahnhofsviertel & Gutleutviertel: the cheapest patch — honestly appraised

Around the main station you get the lowest prices and the best connections in the city rolled into one: the S-Bahn reaches the airport in a good ten minutes, and the centre is walkable. For backpackers and budget-minded travellers the Bahnhofsviertel is therefore first choice — from the a&o Hostel by the station and the Five Elements Hostel to design houses like the 25hours Hotel The Trip on Niddastraße. That the adjoining Gutleutviertel is also home to one of the city’s most stylish luxury hotels, the Roomers (Autograph Collection), shows how mixed this corner has become. For food, the quarter is one of Frankfurt’s most exciting anyway.

But I’ll say it plainly, because you’ll notice it on the ground: the Bahnhofsviertel has a visible drug and street scene, especially in some side streets between Taunusstraße and Niddastraße and particularly late at night. For seasoned city travellers it’s usually not a real problem, and by day and on the busy streets there’s plenty going on. But anyone who is sensitive to it or arriving with small children often feels more comfortable in the Westend, Nordend or Sachsenhausen. Here a few streets make a big difference — so check the exact address, not just the district name.

Westend & Nordend: quiet, green, refined

The Westend is my tip for anyone who wants their evenings quiet. Stately old buildings, plenty of green with the Grüneburgpark and the Palmengarten, and still only a few U-Bahn minutes from the centre — plus it counts as one of the safest parts of the city. Classic hotels are thin on the ground here, though, and many guests fall back on the nearby edge of the centre, where the Hilton Frankfurt City Centre sits by the Wallanlagen. If you’re staying longer or travelling as a family, one of the apartment-hotels around the Alte Oper serves well. The Westend is rarely cheap.

The adjoining Nordend is even more residential: relaxed, creative, with local cafés and weekly markets, but barely any large hotels. Stay here, or in lively Bornheim on Berger Straße, and you’ll experience everyday, “real” Frankfurt — ideal for repeat visitors and longer stays, less so for a quick sightseeing dash.

Sachsenhausen: apple wine, cobblestones, nightlife

On the other side of the Main lies Sachsenhausen — for me the district with the most charm. Cobbled lanes, rustic Äppelwoi taverns, and right on the water the Museumsufer with the Städel and its neighbours. Over the Eiserner Steg you’re on foot in the old town within minutes; if you like being among people in the evening and eating Hessian food, this is exactly the place. The range runs from the leafy luxury of the Villa Kennedy (Rocco Forte) on Kennedyallee to characterful boutique houses like the Libertine Lindenberg near the riverbank.

Just bear one thing in mind: in the noisiest pub lanes around the Klappergasse it can stay lively until late at weekends. Those who seek the bustle will be pleased; those who want an early night are better off booking a few streets away, towards the Sachsenhausen hill or the Museumsufer. Because Sachsenhausen is so popular, I’ve broken down the hotels there in a dedicated guide to hotels in Sachsenhausen.

Ostend & Europaviertel: the modern new-build quarters

Two areas have sprung up almost from scratch in recent years — and with them plenty of fresh hotels. The Ostend around the European Central Bank is hip and in demand: Hanauer Landstraße lines up clubs, galleries and restaurants, and here you’ll find a particularly playful design hotel in the 25hours Hotel The Goldman, plus solid mid-range options like the Motel One Frankfurt-East. You stay a little out of the centre but reach it quickly by tram and S-Bahn.

The Europaviertel west of the centre is the second new-build area: broad boulevards, the Skyline Plaza shopping centre and high-rises with modern chain hotels, right next to the trade-fair grounds. If you value new, well-equipped rooms and need to be near the Messe, you’ll find ample choice here at mostly mid-range prices.

Trade fair & banking district: for meetings and views

Around the trade-fair grounds and in the banking district, large modern houses dominate, clearly tailored to business travellers — from the Maritim Hotel Frankfurt and the Frankfurt Marriott near the Messe to the striking round tower of the Radisson Blu on Franklinstraße. If you have meetings in the high-rises or at the fair anyway, you save valuable travel here. For a pure holiday, though, the area is a little sober in the evening.

One draw remains, precisely here: the view. If you want to look out over the illuminated skyline from an upper floor, the banking district has genuine skyscraper hotels such as the Innside by Meliá Frankfurt Eurotheum. Which houses offer the best outlook I’ve gathered in my guide to hotels with a skyline view.

Right at the airport: only for early birds and transfers

Staying at the airport is worth it above all for very early departures, late arrivals or tight connections. The Sheraton Frankfurt Airport is directly connected to Terminal 1, while the Hilton and the Hilton Garden Inn sit inside “The Squaire” above the long-distance station — it hardly gets more convenient. For a city visit, though, these hotels are the wrong choice: you’re on the edge and have to travel into the city for every outing (about 15 minutes by S-Bahn). Which house suits which terminal I explain in my overview of hotels at Frankfurt Airport.

The trade-fair factor: why the price sometimes explodes

This is the single most important tip in this article, and no choice of district gets around it: in the big Messe weeks hotel prices across the whole of Frankfurt climb steeply — often to double or triple, at peak times even more. For the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, for Ambiente, for Light + Building or for Automechanika, houses near the fairgrounds are also booked out months ahead. The flip side: on ordinary, fair-free weekends the business hotels empty out, and then you can suddenly land a very fair rate in a prime location.

What does that mean in practice? First, check Frankfurt’s trade-fair calendar before you book — a single glance spares you the nasty surprise. Second, if your trip falls in a Messe week, book as early as you can, switch to fair-distant districts like the Ostend or Sachsenhausen, or deliberately stay a little further out — Offenbach and Hanau are close by S-Bahn too. Third, if you’re flexible, shift the city break by a weekend; the price difference can be larger than the train fare to another city altogether. Just how far the room drives the total, and what the fares, museums and meals add on top, I have broken down line by line in my costing of what a weekend in Frankfurt actually comes to.

In short: which district for which trip

• First city break, see a lot: city centre/old town — right in the middle, shortest distances.
• Small budget, best connections: the Bahnhofsviertel — check the exact location.
• Peace and elegance: the Westend — green, safe, refined.
• Charm, apple wine & nightlife: Sachsenhausen — book away from the noisiest lanes.
• Modern & new, with a bit of a scene: the Ostend or Europaviertel.
• Trade fair & business, skyline view: the fair quarter and the banking district.
• Early flight or transfer only: a hotel at the airport.

In the end Frankfurt makes it easy for overnight guests, because the city is compact and well linked. Decide beforehand what matters more to you — bustle or quiet, price or atmosphere — and be sure to glance at the trade-fair calendar. Do that, and you’ll find a good base in almost any district; the only real “mistake” you can make is booking at the last minute in the most expensive week of the year.