Museums · Frankfurt · Germany
6 best museums in Frankfurt
The collections worth your time, how long each takes and how to fit them together.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Quick answer
Start with Städel Museum, Goethe House and German Romantic Museum and Senckenberg Natural History Museum. Together the 6 picks below take roughly 11–13 hours across 4 areas; all charge for entry.
Key facts
- Places in this guide
- 6
- Free entry
- 0
- Time to see them all
- 11–13 hours
- Areas
- Sachsenhausen, Innenstadt and Westend
Museums in Frankfurt
Museum · Sachsenhausen
1.Städel Museum
Founded in 1815, the Städel covers seven centuries of European art: Botticelli, Holbein, Rembrandt and Vermeer's Geographer, Tischbein's portrait of Goethe in the Roman countryside, French Impressionists and German Expressionists, with contemporary art in underground galleries lit by round skylights.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Museum · Innenstadt
2.Goethe House and German Romantic Museum
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749 in this townhouse on the Großer Hirschgraben, rebuilt after the war with its original furniture, paintings and the puppet theatre he played with as a child.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
- Art
Museum · Westend
3.Senckenberg Natural History Museum
One of Germany's largest natural history museums, famous for its hall of dinosaur skeletons, plus fossils from the nearby Messel Pit UNESCO site, mummies, whales and an exhibition on human evolution.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
- History
Museum · Sachsenhausen
4.Liebieghaus Sculpture Collection
In a 19th-century villa on the Museumsufer, five thousand years of sculpture run from Egyptian and Greek works to medieval wooden saints and Baroque pieces.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- History
- Off the beaten path
- Rainy day
Museum · Innenstadt
5.Jewish Museum Frankfurt
Housed in the Rothschild Palais and a modern extension on the riverbank, the museum tells the story of Frankfurt's Jewish community from the Middle Ages to today.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
Gallery · Altstadt
6.Schirn Kunsthalle
Between the cathedral and the Römerberg, the Schirn has no permanent collection but hosts major temporary exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, from retrospectives to themed shows.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
Grouped by area
| Area | Places | Time needed |
|---|---|---|
| Sachsenhausen | Städel Museum and Liebieghaus Sculpture Collection | 2–3 hours + 1.5 hours |
| Innenstadt | Goethe House and German Romantic Museum and Jewish Museum Frankfurt | 1.5–2 hours + 2 hours |
| Westend | Senckenberg Natural History Museum | 2–3 hours |
| Altstadt | Schirn Kunsthalle | 1.5 hours |
Booking and timing
Of these 6, 6 mid-priced. None needs booking far in advance. The longest visit is Städel Museum; group the rest by area to save travel time.
How to fit them into 3 half-days
Grouped by area and kept to about four hours each, so you walk more than you ride.
- Half-day 1 (Sachsenhausen): Städel Museum → Liebieghaus Sculpture Collection, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 2 (Innenstadt): Goethe House and German Romantic Museum → Jewish Museum Frankfurt, at least 4 hours.
- Half-day 3 (Westend and Altstadt): Senckenberg Natural History Museum → Schirn Kunsthalle, at least 4 hours.
The quietest months for queues
- February: highs of 6°C (43°F), about 9 rainy days, quiet crowds. Still wintry; trade fairs such as Ambiente can make hotels expensive in some weeks.
- January: highs of 4°C (39°F), about 10 rainy days, quiet crowds. Cold and grey but quiet; a good time for museums, with low hotel prices outside trade-fair dates.
- March: highs of 11°C (52°F), about 10 rainy days, quiet crowds. Changeable spring weather, with the first café terraces and blossom in the parks.
The neighbourhoods they are in
- Sachsenhausen — Museum mile on the riverbank, cobbled tavern lanes and the Schweizer Straße
- Westend — Villa-lined streets, bank towers and the Palmengarten
More of Frankfurt
Questions travellers ask
+Where should I start in Frankfurt?
Städel Museum. Founded in 1815, the Städel covers seven centuries of European art: Botticelli, Holbein, Rembrandt and Vermeer's Geographer, Tischbein's portrait of Goethe in the Roman countryside, French Impressionists and German Expressionists, with contemporary art in underground galleries lit by round skylights.