- Frankfurt Airport is Germany's busiest, with flights from most UK airports
- Rheingau wine villages are an easy day trip from Frankfurt
- Marburg and Kassel suit travellers looking beyond the big cities
- Try apple wine in a Sachsenhausen tavern
- Airports
- Frankfurt (FRA)
- Best time to go
- May-October; late November-December for Christmas markets
- Type
- Region
Hesse sits in the middle of Germany, and for many UK travellers it is where a German trip begins: Frankfurt Airport is the country's main international hub. Most people pass straight through, which is a shame. Beyond Frankfurt's banking towers lie the Riesling slopes of the Rheingau, the spa towns of the Taunus hills, and the old university towns and forests that inspired the Brothers Grimm.
Hesse suits a city break with day trips or a slow wine-and-walking holiday. For the rest of the country, see our Germany guide.
Things to do
- Frankfurt – the rebuilt Römerberg square, the Main riverside museums, the cathedral and the views from the Main Tower. Our Frankfurt guide has more.
- Apple wine in Sachsenhausen – the cider-like Ebbelwoi is served in traditional taverns south of the river, usually with hearty local food and green sauce.
- The Rheingau – a short strip of wine villages along the Rhine west of Wiesbaden. Visit Eberbach Abbey, then take the cable car above Rüdesheim to the Niederwald Monument, at the start of the Middle Rhine Valley.
- Wiesbaden – the state capital is an elegant spa city with a grand Kurhaus, thermal baths and a Belle Époque feel.
- Marburg – a hilly university town with a castle on top, a medieval old town and St Elisabeth's Church, one of Germany's earliest Gothic churches.
- Kassel – the Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe is a UNESCO-listed hillside park crowned by a Hercules statue, with water features that run on set days in summer. Kassel also hosts the documenta art exhibition every five years.
- Darmstadt – the Mathildenhöhe artists' colony is a showcase of German Art Nouveau and is UNESCO-listed.
- The German Fairy Tale Route – the route starts in Hanau, birthplace of the Brothers Grimm, and runs north through Hessian towns such as Steinau and Marburg.
Where to stay
| Area | Why stay there |
|---|---|
| Frankfurt | Best flight and rail connections, plenty of hotels |
| Wiesbaden | Calmer and more elegant, close to the Rheingau |
| Rüdesheim or Eltville | Wine-village stays on the Rhine |
| Marburg | Characterful old town for central and northern Hesse |
| Kassel | Base for the north and the Fairy Tale Route |
Getting there
Frankfurt Airport has frequent direct flights from London and many regional UK airports. The airport has its own long-distance railway station, so you can be on an ICE to Wiesbaden, Mainz, Cologne or Marburg within minutes of landing.
By rail, take Eurostar to Brussels and connect to a direct ICE to Frankfurt, which usually takes a little over three hours from Brussels. Driving from Calais takes roughly six to seven hours.
Best time to visit
May to October is the best time for wine villages and walking, with wine festivals in late summer and the grape harvest in autumn. Frankfurt is a year-round city break, and its Christmas market around the Römerberg is one of Germany's oldest. Avoid the dates of major trade fairs if you can, as Frankfurt hotel prices rise sharply.
Check the Frankfurt trade fair (Messe) calendar before booking, as big shows such as the Book Fair fill hotels across the region.
Top attractions in Hesse
LandmarkBrandenburg Gate
Berlin's neoclassical city gate, crowned by the Quadriga, once trapped behind the Wall and now the symbol of a reunited…
LandmarkEast Side Gallery
The longest surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall, painted in 1990 by artists from around the world and now an open-air…
LandmarkNeuschwanstein Castle
King Ludwig II's fairy-tale castle on a crag in the Bavarian Alps, the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Hesse on the map
Frequently asked questions
Is Frankfurt worth more than a stopover?
Yes, for a couple of days. The museums along the river, the old town, the apple wine taverns and easy day trips to the Rheingau and Heidelberg make it a good short break.
How far is the Rheingau from Frankfurt?
Regional trains reach Eltville and Rüdesheim in roughly an hour, so it works well as a day trip.
What is Hesse best known for?
Frankfurt's financial district and airport, Riesling wine from the Rheingau, apple wine, and its links with the Brothers Grimm.
Written by
Anna Beach, family & practical travel editor
Anna knows which beach has shade at 3pm and which car hire excess is a rip-off. She covers sun, islands, family trips and practical travel tips.
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