As Germany’s business capital with a skyline of skyscrapers, Frankfurt surprises many visitors with a historic heart, laid-back charm, and an embrace of green, open spaces. Here are the top self-guided Frankfurt walking tours and running routes for exploring the city.
Frankfurt’s Grüngürtel, or “Greenbelt,” more than lives up to its name with nature reserves, parks, gardens, trails, and lakes running through the city. These three accessible Frankfurt running routes and walking tours will let you discover the city — and they’re all within a few minutes’ walk of The Westin Grand Frankfurt. The property also offers guests a running concierge who can serve as both running partner and guide.
As always, check for travel restrictions and closures before planning your trip.
Route 1 — The Grüngürtel (1.8 miles / 3 km)
The Grüngürtel is a short, accessible, and flat Frankfurt walking or running route that takes you through interconnected parks and elegant gardens teeming with history.
Heading left out of The Westin Grand Frankfurt along Konrad Adenauer Strasse (named after West Germany’s first chancellor), you’ll enter the park and cut across it, under the shade of trees, toward the Drachenburg playground, where families love to gather.
Past fountains and statues in a corner of the park called Bürgergarten, you’ll cross Eschenheimer Tor — a thoroughfare bisecting the park. Take a breath to admire the 15th-century medieval tower that gives the street its name. Eschenheimer Turm is a former city gate that rises incongruously like a wedding cake in the modern metropolis.
From there, the paved path skirts the elegant Bockenheimer Anlage park, where you’ll reach a turning point opposite Alte Oper Frankfurt, the city’s concert hall. Rebuilt in the 1970s to mirror the 1880 original, the hall is a lovely spot that can seat up to 2,500 for concerts and operas.
Head back to the hotel along the path as it winds around the other side of Bockenheimer Lake, then retrace your steps for the remainder of the return.
Route 2 — The Main River (3.1 miles / 5 km)
For those who want a slightly more challenging running route, this compact, 3.1-mile riverside loop is perfect. From the hotel, head south along Kurt Schumacher Strasse. You’ll come to the red stone Alte Brücke, or Old Bridge, your sign to turn east along Frankfurt’s river, the Main.
It’s a clear, straight shot along the riverside path (though you may have to dodge ducks and geese). You’ll pass a funky equatorial sundial sculpture and run beneath an old shipyard crane that’s a reminder of the mighty river’s history.
Skirting the greenery of Hafenpark, you’ll catch views of popular skate ramps, fitness bootcamps, and soccer pitches before crossing the Main on the Osthafenbrücke (East Harbor Bridge). Now on the river’s south side, take in the skyline ahead of you, which boasts some of Germany’s tallest buildings.
Though temptation may await at Yachtklub, a bar and café moored on the river with an inviting terrace, it’s also a landmark reminder to turn and cross the Old Bridge back toward The Westin Grand Frankfurt.
This Frankfurt running route is great in the early evening, as the bridges are illuminated, the skyline lights up, and Frankfurters come out to stroll along the riverbank.
Route 3 — Sightseeing Tour (1.8 miles / 3 km)
Take a slow, 1.8-mile self-guided Frankfurt walking tour (or run) through the city’s heart, where churches, museums, cafés, markets, and stores await.
Start at Kaiserdom St. Bartholomäus, also known as St. Bartholomew Cathedral, which is barely a 10-minute walk from The Westin Grand Frankfurt. Rebuilt after World War II, this Roman Catholic place of worship is on the site of a chapel dating back to the ninth century.
The nearby Historisches Museum Frankfurt teaches you about Frankfurt’s storied past, featuring paintings, photographs, scientific artifacts, and fashion and textile materials.
Don’t miss the ornate, pink medieval facade of Frankfurter Römer, which has been Frankfurt’s city hall for more than six centuries. Make your way over to Goethe Haus, the site where Germany’s most famous literary figure was born, which today serves as a house museum.
Thereafter, hit up Wacker’s coffee house, a gorgeous spot that has served freshly roasted coffee and delectable cakes for more than a century. End your exploration with eats at Kleinmarkthalle food hall. This 1950s architectural gem wows with fabulous local charcuterie bites and fresh produce, regional and global snacks, wines, and beer — and yes, they also serve frankfurters!
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