Frankfurt Airport to Sachsenhausen
About 12 km from FRA; the S8/S9 to Lokalbahnhof or a tram from the centre, around 20 minutes for €5.35–6.90.
The district across the Main from the centre, with the Museumsufer galleries along its embankment and, behind them, the cider taverns that Frankfurt drinks in.
Every way to get there
Our verdict: for Sachsenhausen, a private transfer is the easiest door-to-door option (from €48).
What it costs for your group
The bus is charged per person, while a taxi or private transfer is one price for the whole car — so the more of you there are, the better door-to-door value looks.
| Group | Private transfer | Best value |
|---|---|---|
| Solo · 1 traveller | €48 | Private transfer |
| Couple · 2 travellers | €48 | Private transfer |
| Family of 4 · 4 travellers | €48 | Private transfer |
Which option should you choose?
| If your priority is… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest price | Cheapest fare | From €5.35, though slower with a change in the city. |
| Speed & comfort | Private transfer | Door-to-door, fixed price, a driver waiting for you. |
| A group of 3–4 | Transfer or taxi | One flat fare splits cheaper than several bus tickets. |
| A late-night arrival | Transfer or taxi | Both run 24/7 when buses and the tram have stopped. |
By transport mode
Train
Twenty minutes. Alt-Sachsenhausen, the tavern quarter, is a short walk from either — a knot of narrow streets that is quiet by day and busy by nine.
Where to catch it: Stay on past the central stops to Frankfurt Süd, or change to a tram at Hauptbahnhof and cross the river.
Best for budget travellers near a stationTaxi
Apfelwein — cider, served in a ribbed glass and often cut with water or lemonade — is the local drink, and the taverns that make their own are the reason people come over the river.
Where to catch it: Metered run across the river. The tavern streets are narrow and partly pedestrian.
Best for small groups in a hurryPrivate transfer
The Museumsufer runs along the embankment here — the Städel, the film museum, the architecture museum and half a dozen others within a kilometre of each other.
Where to catch it: Sachsenhausen has a good share of the city's smaller hotels and guesthouses, several on residential streets.
Best for families, groups & late arrivalsCar rental
Not recommended. The district is walkable, the trams are frequent, and the whole point of an evening here is that you are not driving afterwards.
Where to catch it: Residents' parking dominates and visitor spaces are scarce.
Best for travellers who want to exploreSachsenhausen & Frankfurt in photos
Buying tickets in Frankfurt
Frankfurt has two railway stations and the difference decides your journey. The Regionalbahnhof under Terminal 1 handles S-Bahn and regional trains: the S8 and S9 reach Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in 11 minutes for about €5.35–6.90, every 5–10 minutes, continuing to Hauptwache and Konstablerwache for the old town. The Fernbahnhof, a short covered walk away, is a full long-distance station where ICE services stop — Cologne about an hour, Stuttgart an hour and a half, Munich three, without ever entering the city. That is why many passengers here never take a taxi at all. From Terminal 2, ride the free Sky Line people mover to Terminal 1 first. Buy RMV tickets from the platform machines or the app. There are no ticket barriers, which misleads visitors: inspections are frequent and travelling unticketed carries a real fine. Westbound, the same S8 runs direct to Mainz and Wiesbaden in about 30 minutes — both no further in time than central Frankfurt.
Taxi scams & safety in Frankfurt
Frankfurt is a regulated, low-friction airport: taxi fares are metered on a published municipal tariff (about €3.50 to start, €35–45 into the city), the trains are municipal, and there is no meaningful touting. Three practical points matter more than any pricing risk. First, the ticket barriers do not exist — German transport runs on trust plus inspection, and a ticket bought but not valid for your zone counts as no ticket at all. Second, Frankfurt's centre is an environmental zone requiring a Umweltplakette sticker; hire cars carry one, but confirm it at the desk if you are collecting a car. Third, this airport fills completely during the big trade fairs — the Book Fair in October, the Motor Show, the Christmas market weeks — when hotel rates multiply and transfer availability tightens across the whole Rhine-Main region. Book accommodation before flights in those windows. The station district around Hauptbahnhof is also noticeably rougher after dark than the rest of the centre, which is worth knowing when choosing where to stay rather than a safety warning about the journey.
Getting from FRA to Sachsenhausen
Sachsenhausen is the other side of the Main, and it does two things Frankfurt is not otherwise known for: it holds the city's museums in a line along the embankment, and it drinks cider in taverns that have been doing it for two hundred years. Twelve kilometres from the airport, twenty minutes by S-Bahn.
Getting there
The S8 or S9 to Frankfurt Süd or Lokalbahnhof, or into the centre and then a tram across the river. Twenty minutes and €5.35 to €6.90 on the airport ticket. A taxi is €35 to €48.
The Museumsufer
Thirteen museums along a kilometre of the south bank, created deliberately in the 1980s by converting a row of villas and adding new buildings behind them. The Städel is the major one — old masters through to contemporary, with an underground extension lit by round skylights set into the lawn. The film museum, the architecture museum and the applied arts museum are all within a few hundred metres.
Apfelwein, properly
Frankfurt's cider is dry, sharp and an acquired taste. It comes in a ribbed glass called a Geripptes, poured from a blue-grey stoneware Bembel, and it is commonly cut with sparkling water or lemonade if you find it too austere. The ribbing is functional: it gives a grip to a hand slippery with the stuff.
The taverns
Alt-Sachsenhausen, a knot of narrow streets inland from the river, holds most of them. The ones that make their own cider are the ones to look for — several have been in the same family for generations and press their own apples in autumn. A green pine wreath over the door traditionally means new cider is ready.
What to eat with it
Handkäse mit Musik — a translucent sour-milk cheese served with raw onions and vinegar, the "music" being the digestive consequence. Grüne Soße with potatoes and eggs. Schnitzel with green sauce. It is plain, regional food and the taverns take it seriously.
The area's two halves
The embankment is museums and expensive apartments; Alt-Sachsenhausen behind it is bars and, on weekend nights, a good deal of noise. They are five minutes apart and entirely different in character. Where you stay determines which Sachsenhausen you experience.
The Eiserner Steg
The iron footbridge from 1868, rebuilt after the war, connecting Sachsenhausen to the Römerberg. It is covered in padlocks, it takes three minutes to cross, and it gives the standard view of the skyline with the old town in front of it.
The Saturday flea market
Held along the Museumsufer embankment on alternate Saturdays, and one of the larger ones in Germany. It runs from early morning to early afternoon and is genuinely a local event rather than a tourist one.
The Museumsuferfest
A weekend in late August when both banks of the river close to traffic for a festival with music, food and the museums open late. Something like three million people attend across the weekend, which for a city this size is a considerable number.
Staying here
Sachsenhausen has more small hotels and guesthouses than the centre and rates are lower. It is a ten-minute walk or one tram stop from the old town, and it is quieter at night than the Bahnhofsviertel — except in the tavern streets, which are not.
Getting back to the airport
Frankfurt Süd is on the S-Bahn network with direct services to the airport, so the return does not require going into the centre first. Twenty minutes, and the trains run from early morning.
The name, and the older village
Sachsenhausen was a separate settlement across the river until 1318 and kept a village character for centuries after — the timbered houses in the old tavern streets are what survives of it. The embankment villas came much later, built by nineteenth-century merchants who wanted the river view and the distance from the city.
Practical note on the trams
Trams 15, 16 and 18 cross the river and connect Sachsenhausen to the centre and the station, running frequently and included in the same RMV ticket system as the airport train. For anything within the district itself, walking is quicker.
FRA to Sachsenhausen — FAQ
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