Frankfurt am Main

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Frankfurt am Main
<map lat='50.11' lng='8.68' zoom='10' view='3' />
Information
Country:
Flag of Germany
Germany
State:
Coat of arms of Hesse.png
Hesse
Population: 659,000
Licence plate: F
Major roads: A3, A5, A66, A661, A648
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Frankfurt is a major city in Hesse, Germany. It is an air, rail and road transport hub, so you will find many people travelling out of the city in many different directions.

Hitchhiking out

North (Kassel, Hannover), West (Wiesbaden, Mainz) and South (Karlsruhe, Strasbourg, Basel) Bundesautobahn 5 number.svg

Perhaps the best spot for getting rides out of Frankfurt in every direction is on the B8, on the start of the "Theodor-Heuss-Allee" near the centre of the city.

Underneath the “Messeturm” skyscraper is a roundabout connecting "Theodor-Heuss-Allee", "Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage" and "Senkenberganlage". Take the underground (U-Bahn) line U4, or tram (Straßenbahn) lines 16 or 17, and get off at the stop “Festhalle/Messe”. The roundabout should be easily visible.

The spot is a bus stop on the "Theodor-Heuss-Allee", about 20 metres after the roundabout. "Theodor-Heuss-Allee" is the main road without a Straßenbahn tram line following along it. It is the road in the direction A86/A3 (among others), and the bus stop is under a tall hotel.

Traffic is very busy here every day from 7:00 to 20:00. The traffic moves slowly. Although this looks like an almost-perfect hitchhiking spot, it is still in the centre of a large city and so expect a waiting time of 30–60 minutes. There is a reasonable chance of finding other hitchhikers at this spot.

If you prefer not to take public transport, then from the central train station (Hauptbahnhof), walk north for approximately 15 minutes. Look for the dark red Messeturm skyscraper (nickname “The Pencil”, which gives a clue to it's appearance) and walk towards it along the main road. From there, look for the roundabout.

Update (April 2012): They are building close to this spot, so many cars/trucks park on the right lane or on the sidewalk. I wouldn't recommend to try to hitchhike here.
Still going on - I always left from this spot, but now I gave up after several hours of waiting and trying points around that area! --Globestoppeuse 03:02, 21 May 2012 (CEST)


2nd option: Take tram No. 17 from Frankfurt DB main train station until the last stop "Am Rebstockbad" (Map. This takes you about 10 minutes. From the final stop "Am Rebstockbad" you can already see the motorway (A648) which interchanges some 700 meter westward on the Autobahn A5 (north/soutward). When you arrive at the (eastbound) Esso gas station on the side that leads into Frankfurt - walk westward along the Autobahn and cross at a road bridge 200-300 meters away. Cars that refuel at the opposite (westbound) Esso gas station will in almost every case travel either northward (Kassel, Hannover) or southward (Darmstadt, Basel) on the Autobahn A5.

The next gas station (on A5/E451) in northern direction is "Raststätte Wetterau". It is usually a very good spot for long rides. Twice Wukk found a ride after 5 minutes, one straight to Hamburg, one to "Wetterau".

User trt tried here in July 2011, and found almost every car was heading West, not North onto the A5. Not an ideal place to hitch North from (But apparently great to hitch west).

North (Kassel, Hannover, Gießen, Marburg) Bundesautobahn 5 number.svg

The "Friedberger Landstrasse" (Friedberger Street) is often used to leave the city towards the Autobahn A5 (North). From the "Konstablerwache" (city centre), walk (2 km) or take the tram 18 / bus 30 till the stop "Münzenberger Str.". Hitchhike on this road just before the entrance of the supermarket Lidl (Map). You definitely need a sign with "A5" on it because many cars go to other (uninteressant) directions. It is a perfect spot to get a ride to the Autobahn A5 (for instance to the rest area "Wetterau").

2nd option (Rest area Gräfenhausen - in the south of Frankfurt): Take suburban train (S-Bahn) S3 (indicating: Darmstadt) to the stop "Erzhausen", leave the station and walk through the town Erzhausen on "Bahnstraße" and "Hauptstraße" westward until you can hear the Autobahn A5. Then, cross the fields till you arrive at the Rastanlage Gräfenhausen Ost (Map). It takes 50 minutes from the city center of Frankfurt until "Rastanlage Gräfenhausen". There is plenty of long distance traffic 24 hours a day at this spot, a restaurant as well as a small supermarket!

South (Karlsruhe, Strasbourg, Freiburg) Bundesautobahn 5 number.svg

Go by subway (U-Bahn) line 6 to the last stop "Heerstraße", continue walking the path along the rail-track on the left side northward. Walk over the fields until the Autobahn and cross via the underpass. You´ll see a small steep footpath on the right. Go there and you are on the rest area "Taunusblick" on the A5. The whole journey takes not more than 25/30 minutes from the city center (10 minutes walking only). Attention: There is no exit or entrance for cars going north on A5/E451! You can only use the rest area Taunusblick to travel South!

2nd option (Rest area Gräfenhausen - in the south of Frankfurt): Take suburban train (S-Bahn) S3 (indicating: Darmstadt) to the stop Erzhausen, leave the station and walk through the town Erzhausen on "Bahnstraße" and "Hauptstraße". Cross the Autobahn via the bridge, walk lefthand through the forest on Erzhäuser Weg until the relais [Map. Hitchhike on the Rastanlage Gräfenhausen West.

East (Würzburg, Nürnberg, Czech Republic) Bundesautobahn 3 number.svg

<map lat='50.08661105760373' lng='8.706235885620117' zoom='14' view='3' float='right' />

Take subway (U-Bahn) line 1, 2 or 3 from the DB main train station to the final stop "Südbahnhof" (there are also many other ways to reach Südbahnhof = just pick one of them!) Take bus number 30 or 36 from the station to the stop “Sachsenhausen - Hainer Weg”. Bundesstraße 3 ("Babenhäuser Landstraße") is right at the busstop, there is a restarea which you can reach by crossing the road. This is a hitchhiking spot par excellence - lots of cars passing it all the time and it is easy to pull off there. Attention: Think twice if someone offers you a ride to the petrol station nearby, by taking it you will lose this spot and might end up waiting for hours.

I was at this spot in July 2010 and im not sure how great it is, one of the workers on the ground behind actually drove us to to the Service station further down the autobahn (which was excellent), because he said he saw a couple wait a whole day for no lifts the week before.

West (Köln, Dortmund) and East (Würzburg, Munich) Bundesautobahn 3 number.svg

To leave Frankfurt in the direction of Köln or Ruhrgebiet westward - as well as Würzburg, Passau, Vienna or Munich (via Würzburg) eastward, you should consider hitchhiking from "Rastanlage Weiskirchen". From Frankfurt DB main train station, you should take suburban train (S-Bahn) S1 (indicating: "Rödermark Ober-Roden") to the stop "Weiskirchen". Wander through the town on "Bahnhofstraße", "Schillerstraße" and "Pommernstraße", later through the cropfields first in east- then in northward direction until you can see the Autobahn. There is two sides of "Rastanlage Weiskirchen", north and south. A roadbridge over A3/E42 (east of the station) connects both sides. From Frankfurt you can reach this place in around 60 minutes.

2nd option (Rest area Niedernhausen - west of Frankfurt): An alternative, if you want to leave Frankfurt for Köln and further north or west, is the rest area Niedernhausen along the Autobahn A3. Take the S-Bahn (S2) towards Niedernhausen (final stop, about 30 minutes). You'll hear the Autobahn once you are there. Walk 1.5 km (20 min) northwestwards. There is a tiny footpath through the woods leading all the way to the motorway rest area, and if you try to stick close to the Autobahn, you shouldn't miss it. You'll walk past a shooting range, and when you reach a 100m diameter clearing in the woods, you're there. Most cars here go at least to Köln/Bonn if they don't go to Koblenz, since there isn't much else on the way.

From the airport

File:Frankfurtairportcarparkexit.jpg
Craig stood in front of that traffic sign (waiting times: 10, 40 mins)

There are two good spots at the car park. Go to the arrival level in front of Terminal 1. You can now enter a throughway beneath the brownish Sheraton building that is opposite to Terminal 1 Part C. You should be able to spot the main car park exit. You can follow the cars further down some 100 meters to find a spot in the sunlight. Note that most traffic will go south!

Craig found it easy to get a lift south but rather tough to find a car going in direction north along the A5.

If you're a Frankfurt university student...

...then you probably have a Semesterticket giving you free rides on RMV transport. If you're going long distances, then use your Semesterticket to get yourself as far on your journey as possible! This also applies to anyone with a Hessenticket.

  • For all destinations North eg. , Hamburg, Bremen, Denmark, and East eg. , , , Berlin, Poland, first take a train to Alsfeld, and use the service station near there (journey time 90–120 minutes from Frankfurt, but can be well worth it).
  • For all destinations South eg. , Strasbourg, Switzerland, first take a train to Bickenbach, and use the service station near there (journey time also 90–120 minutes from Frankfurt, not such a wonderful place as Alsfeld but it can still help).

Food

  • Take U-Bahn line U6 or U7 to “Leipziger Straße” to find a cheap selection of market stalls, restaurants, fast food, supermarkets, international callshops, and shops selling small but useful items like knives or umbrellas.
  • Nearby (also U-Bahn line U6 or U7, and Straßenbahn line 16 or 17) is “Bockenheimer Warte”. Here is the university – ask students at the library (“Uni-Bibliothek”) to give you free internet access. The university cafés serve cheap, healthy food and are open to everyone – look young, confident and busy, and you won't have to show a pass to get a student discount.
  • Take Bus 36 from "Konstablerwache" to Adlerflychtplatz. Just next to the Bus-Stop is the "Aroma" an israeli Falaffel Store. For 3.80 you will get the best Falaffel Sandwich in the world. Or at least in Frankfurt.

Internet

Many cheap options (1-1.50 EUR per hour) on the streets around Hauptbahnhof.

Public Transport

You definitely need a Ticket for Public Transport.

  • User trt rode the tram in July 2011 and encountered Controllers. They were easily spotted in white shirts, black pants, and some wore grey vests. They also barely glimpsed at the tickets, so a used ticket could easily pass.
  • Quarim can confirm this - there are many controllers in Frankfurt public transport and you will be checked often. Even the tricks like buy a ticket for childs under 12 and make the stupid tourist when controleld didn't work for him