Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof
Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof (usually abbreviated to Hbf = main station in German) is a impressive terminus at the centre of the busy city of Frankfurt, a beautiful station dating from 1888, although the halls either side of the main hall were added in 1924. It's central position in Germany makes it a transport hub, and you'll often find yourself changing trains here, for example when travelling between Amsterdam & Switzerland, Brussels & Vienna or Copenhagen & Munich. Sometimes the booking system will suggest a change at Frankfurt Flughafen station (Flughafen = airport) just outside Frankfurt instead.
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Frankfurt (Main) Hbf facade & main entrance, dating from 1888. Immediately inside the entrance is the main station hall. Immediately beyond the main hall are the concourse and platforms.
Which platform for your train?
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf has 25 mainline platforms, all lined up in a row and numbered 1 to 24 from left to right as you look towards the trains (there's also a platform 1a, hence 25 platforms in total).
You can walk between any two platforms in just 2 or 3 minutes. For example, you can step off a train arriving at platform 1 and be on board a train leaving from platform 24 just 3 minutes later.
There is free, open & level access between all platforms and the concourse and the street outside, meaning there are no ticket checks, barriers, ticket gates or steps to negotiate, you just step off one train, walk to the other train and step on. So no problem at all changing trains with wheeled luggage, a wheelchair or kids.
You can check which platform your train arrives at or goes from usingreiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/bhftafel.exe/en and entering Frankfurt (Main) Hbf. You'll also see the planned platform numbers when you book or enquire at the German Railways websiteint.bahn.de.
Trains to/from Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam typically use platforms 17, 18, 19 or 20, but the odd one uses platform 3.
Trains to/from Munich typically use platforms 5 or 7.
Trains to/from Switzerland typically use platforms 2, 4, 6, 8 or 9.
Trains to/from Vienna typically use platforms 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9.
Just check the various station departure screens around the station on the day.
However, even though you can switch trains in less than 5 minutes, I'd want to have at least 25 minutes between trains in Frankfurt, ideally a bit more, just in case of delay. Although on a through ticket (even a cheap train-specific one) you have a cast-iron legal right to later onward travel at no charge if a delay means a missed connection,as explained here. That even includes the right to a hotel if you miss a last train!
Tip 1: Get ahead of the game by checking the actual platform number for your onward train on your phone as you approach Frankfurt usingreiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/bhftafel.exe/en, entering Frankfurt (Main) Hbf. Any changes to the normal scheduled platform will be highlighted in red. If you un-tick S & NV it'll remove local trains from the search results making your onward ICE/IC/EC train easier to spot. You can also run a check with arrival selected to see what platform your inward train will arrive at.
Tip 2: If you're sitting at the rear of an arriving train and need to change platforms quickly, you don't have to walk all the way forward to the station concourse. Half way along each platform there's a stairway down to an underpass between all platforms. It's easy to miss, but if you know it's there and look out for it, it can save a minute or two if you're in a hurry.
Just to complete the picture, there are 4 S-bahn (suburban) platforms underground, in addition to the 24 above-ground mainline platforms. There is also a U-Bahn (metro) station underneath the station, accessed via the steps down in the main hall.
For an excellent 3D plan of the station go to www.bahnhof.de and search for Frankfurt (Main) Hbf.
The main station hall, inside the main entrance. Taken facing the station exit, with my back towards the trains.
L = Entrance to left luggage office & lockers. U = Uddin's bar, good for a beer. S = Starbucks.
T = Doors into the main DB ticket office, marked Reisezentrum. DB = Doors to the stairs up to the DB Lounge.
The main station concourse, looking across the width of the station, with the platforms lined up on the right.
The arrow indicates the main station information desk, opposite platforms 12 & 13. You pass either side of this desk into the main hall towards the station exit. There's a smaller desk near platform 4.
In the foreground you can see stairs & escalators to the underground S-Bahn (suburban) platforms, marked with a S in a green circle. Most visitors are unlikely to need the S-Bahn platforms.
Information desk, opposite platforms 12 & 13. If you have an enquiry or a problem with connections, ask here. Either side of this desk (under the Commerzbank signs) is the way into the station hall and from there out into the street.
Concourse & platforms...This is a view of platforms 6, 7, 8 & 9 taken from the DB Lounge on the first floor. You can see that there are no barriers or ticket gates, there is free & easy level access between concourse and all platforms.
Frankfurt (Main) Hbf, end of the train shed. Taken from platform 24.
Something to eat or drink
There are many food kiosks & eateries around the station, including all the usual suspects: MacDonalds is on the main concourse opposite platform 22. Burger King, Dunkin Donuts & a Nordsee fish restaurant are in the food hall opposite platform 14. Kiosks for Asian noodles, Haagen Daas ice cream or crepes are dotted around the concourse.
For a decent beer, try Sam's sportsbar (www.samssportsbar.de) at the far platform 24 end of the concourse, it's nice & quiet there, or Uddin's bar in the main hall just inside the main station entrance, a much busier location but great if you like people watching. There is a Starbucks next to Uddin's.
To stock up for your journey, there's a Spar Express minimarket in a kiosk in the centre of the concourse opposite platform 2.
Luggage lockers
There is a staffed left luggage office & lockers in various sizes in the main hall, on the left if you walk into the main hall from the concourse and platforms, marked with an 'L' in the photo of the main hall above.See the left luggage locker page for prices.
If these lockers are all in use, don't worry, there's lots more lockers on platform 24 and another set in a locker room opposite platform 19. Lockers there are almost always available.
Buying tickets & information desk
The main station information desk is opposite platforms 12 & 13, with another one opposite platform 4. This is where to ask if you have an enquiry or problems with connections.
To buy tickets or make reservations, go to the spacious DB travel centre (Reisezentrum), accessed from the main hall, which you enter opposite platforms 12 & 13.
Alternatively, there are self-service DB ticket machines at various locations all over the station. It's best to use a red DB-branded machine for DB mainline tickets, rather than the green RMV local transit machines even though the RMV machines can also sell DB tickets.
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Entrance to DB travel centre (Reisezentrum) in the main hall. | Inside the Reisezentrum. Taken from the stairs up to the DB first class lounge, which is located on the floor above. |
DB first class lounge
In the unlikely event that you have an expensive 1st class Flexpreis ticket for a long-distance train run by DB & partner railways (for example, a 1st class Flexpreis ticket for an IC, ICE or EC train) you can use the DB first class lounge before or after your journey. It's open 06:00-22:00 weekdays, 07:00-22:00 weekends. You cannot use the lounge with advance-purchase Sparpreis or Super Sparpreis tickets even if they're 1st class, or with an Interrail or Eurail pass, or with tickets for Nightjet sleeper trains or regional trains.
The lounge offers armchairs, free WiFi, and complimentary wine, beer, soft drinks and sandwiches or soup. Staff take your order at your seat and bring it to you. The lounge is on the first floor, overlooking the main concourse and platforms.
The entrance to the DB Lounge is in the main hall. After arriving on a train, head for the information desk opposite platforms 12 & 13, walk past the desk into the main hall, and the entrance to the lounge is on the right, the third set of large double doors with a big 'DB' on the glass above them, opposite Uddin's bar. You go through the double doors and up the stairs. Staff at the entrance to the lounge will invite you to scan your ticket in the scanner on the reception desk and if it gives you the green light they'll direct you to the first class part of the lounge, shown below.
The DB Lounge.
Hotels near Frankfurt (Main Hbf)
Stay overnight in Frankfurt. Hotels next to the station with good or great reviews include theFlemings Express Hotel &Hotel Hamburger Hof, both of which I have stayed at and can recommend, I'd go with Flemings Express on balance, for carpeted rooms and a good breakfast buffet. Both hotels are just across the road from the station's northern (platform 24) side exit. You could also tryThe Frankfurt and the inexpensiveHotel Topas.
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Hamburger Hof (left) & Flemings Express (right). | A spacious standard room at the Flemings Express Hotel. |
Sometimes the booking system will suggest you change trains at Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof (Frankfurt Airport Long-Distance station), located at the airport just outside Frankfurt instead of at Frankfurt (Main) Hbf in the city centre.
Changing trains here is easy as the station has just two island platforms, numbered 4 & 5 (on the left in the photo below) used by southbound trains and 6 & 7 (on the right in the photo below) used by northbound trains. Changing trains here generally means either staying on the same platform and waiting for a following train to come in, or just walking across the island platform to the other side.
Tip: If you see a platform shown as Frankfurt Flughafen Fern 4, 5, 6 or 7when using the German Railways website bahn.de, Fern simply means platforms 4, 5, 6 or 7 at the Fernbahnhoflong-distance station, as opposed to Frankfurt Flughafen Regio platforms 1, 2 & 3 which are located at the separate Frankfurt Flughafen Regiobahnhof regional train station a short distance away.
Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof platforms 4 & 5 (left) and 6 & 7 (right). Taken from the escalators up to the station hall. The station is modern, built at the southern end of the Frankfurt-Cologne high-speed line and opened in 1999.
Frankfurt Flughafen station hall, directly above one end of the platforms. Here you'll find a ticket office, ticket machines, shopping centre and access to the airport terminals. There's a separate station for regional trains nearby, these are cheaper than using long-distance trains if all you need is transport between the airport and Frankfurt city centre.
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