I have to go to Frankfurt area sometime in the next year and wondering, since Frankfurt is pretty modern, are there any must-sees of medieval or historic towns nearby?
I don't know hiow much of the medieval is left, but I love the Taunus Mountains: Oberursel, Bad Homberg, Koenigstein. Sachenhausen south of F'kt is really interesting. Heidelberg is wonderful, too (More medieval.) I've heard great things about Rothenberg ob der Tauber, but have not visited.
It's been 40 years (I was there for two; Heidelberg for one), but we walked the Frankfurter Anlagen (parks where the city walls were before Napoleon tore them down.) The area near Opernplatz has bohemian/jazz bars.
Depending on how much time you have there are several options in addition to the suggestions by oldassocprof:
- If you have an hour, go to Limburg, Marburg or Fulda, all of which have well-preserved old towns and nice castles/churches.
- The Rheingau, west of Wiesbaden, is a gorgeous wine-growing area full of cozy little towns. Rüdesheim is a tourist hot spot but I am kind of partial to Eltville or Oestrich.
- If you'd like something more historic, try the remains of the Roman Limes in the Taunus, such as the Saalburg close to Bad Homburg. There is also a new Celtic history museum in Glauberg.
