Frankfurt crowned Holy Roman Emperors for 500 years, hosted Germany's first freely elected parliament in 1848, and lost 90% of its old town in one 1944 night. Three days trace coronation, democracy, destruction and reconstruction.
From 1356 German kings were elected in the Wahlkapelle here, and from 1562 to 1792 ten emperors were crowned. Climb the 328 steps of the 95m Gothic tower. Cathedral free; tower €4, museum €4. Open 09:00–20:00, closed to visitors during Mass.
Excavated foundations of a Roman military bath (1st century AD) sit directly on top of the Carolingian royal palace where Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious held court in 822 — the first written mention of 'Franconofurd'. Free, sheltered under the Stadthaus.
Eight centuries of city history built around the medieval Saalhof, Frankfurt's oldest surviving building (c. 1200). The Stauferhafen basement shows the 12th-century imperial harbour wall. Adults €8, under-18s free, Tue–Fri 10:00–18:00, weekends to 19:00.
Opened 2018 on the flattened 1944 street plan: 15 exact reconstructions including the Goldene Waage and Haus zur Alten Esslinger, plus 20 new builds. The Hühnermarkt with its Stoltze fountain marks the medieval poultry market. Free to wander.
The first freely elected German national assembly met in this oval church from May 1848, drafting the constitution that failed in 1849. Burnt out in 1944, rebuilt by 1948 as a bare memorial hall with Johannes Grützke's 1991 mural. Free, 10:00–17:00 daily.
The 1996 'Wall of Names' carries 11,908 blocks, one for each Frankfurt Jew murdered in the Shoah, wrapped around a cemetery used from 1272 to 1828. Anne Frank's family names are on the wall. Open access, free; cemetery gate Sun–Thu.
Foundations of five houses from the 1462 ghetto lane, excavated in 1987 during a utility-company build and saved after public protest. Covers the Rothschild family's origins here. Adults €6, combined ticket with Jüdisches Museum €12. Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00.
The 1869 iron footbridge was blown up by retreating Wehrmacht troops in March 1945 and rebuilt by 1946. Its Greek inscription from the Odyssey runs along the railing. Best vantage on the Sachsenhausen bank for the rebuilt north skyline.
Housed in the Rothschild family's 1821 palace on the Untermainkai, reopened 2020 after a €50m rebuild. Traces Frankfurt Jewry from emancipation through the Ludwig Börne era to 1945 and after. Adults €12, Tue–Sun 10:00–17:00, Wed to 20:00.
The green ring follows the demolished 1333 city walls, torn down after 1806 and landscaped by Sebastian Rinz. The 47m Eschenheimer Turm (1428) is the only complete surviving gate tower of the medieval fortification. Free walk.
Hans Poelzig's 1931 curved chemical-cartel headquarters became Eisenhower's US occupation HQ in 1945, where the Deutschmark was launched in 1948. Now Goethe University. Free entry to the lobby and paternoster lift on weekdays.
The cobbled Wallstraße/Klappergasse block largely escaped the 1944 firestorm, leaving genuine 17th- and 18th-century half-timbered fabric. Nicknamed 'Klaa Paris' since the Napoleonic occupation, when French troops were quartered here.