Where to stay in Frankfurt: the best neighbourhoods for 2025

Best for: Urban explorers with a taste for grit and glitter

If you’re arriving by train, Bahnhofsviertel is likely your first taste of Frankfurt – and it doesn’t hold back. The area’s gritty reputation comes courtesy of its notorious red-light district and open drug scene that’s mostly clinging to the Taunusstraße area. Efforts to clean up the area in recent years have shown some effect, and the electric neighbourhood boasts some of the city’s best late-night dives (Pik Dame), cult-fave eateries (Club Michel), and cool-kid cafés (Plank). The main drag, Kaiserstraße, is a once-grand boulevard still flaunting its faded 19th-century facades with just enough edge to keep things interesting.

Stay here: Just a strut away from the station lies the ever-hip 25hours Hotel The Trip – complete with bikes, a Mini you can borrow, and the vibey Bar Shuka downstairs to kick off your night.

Best for: (Not so) quiet luxury lovers

Just a stone’s throw from Bahnhofsviertel but worlds away in vibe, this genteel neighbourhood is home to bankers, diplomats, and anyone with deep pockets and a taste for turn-of-the-century villas. Nestled between the grand Alte Oper opera house and the lush Palmengarten (home to an extensive tropical plant collection), Westend is all leafy boulevards, old-money elegance, and quiet charm. Stroll past stately homes built during Emperor Wilhelm II.’s reign, then look up – way up – to spot the Messeturm or Trade Fair tower, which, at 63 storeys, is the second tallest building in the EU.

Stay here: Hotel Beethoven is a serene spot on a sleepy street – part historic villa, part skyline lookout (check out that roof terrace). It’s just a 20-minute stroll to the trade fair grounds.

Best for: Suit-watchers and skyline-chasers

Welcome to the Bankenviertel, where Frankfurt does its best impression of Manhattan (minus the bright yellow cabs). Not officially a district, but very much a state of mind, this is the city’s financial power zone – home to glass-and-steel giants, luxury hotels, and a sea of suits hustling from boardroom to rooftop bar. Big money, big architecture, and big egos – but with just enough cosmopolitan polish to make it cool. In between meetings and mergers, you’ll find sleek cafés, minimalist lunch spots, artful boutiques and cocktail bars where deals keep flowing after dark. And the best skyline views? Right here – especially as the sun sets and the towers start to glow.

Stay here: Kimpton Frankfurt is the global chain’s first foray into Germany – tucked inside the shimmering new ‘Four Frankfurt’ high-rise cluster. Behind a restored 1950s facade, you’ll find Bauhaus-inspired design, and a rooftop bar with serious sundowner energy.

Best for: Apple wine fans and late-night wanderers

Sachsenhausen is Frankfurt’s cosy, boozy soul – and when the sun sets, its wild side comes out. By day, it charms with winding lanes, timber-framed taverns, and endless Ebbelwoi – the city’s famously tart apple brew, served in chunky grey Bembels. Some of Frankfurt’s oldest buildings still stand here, in what’s also its most populated district. But come nightfall, especially in Alt-Sachs, the narrow cobbled streets explode into a raucous party strip packed with pubs, shots, and slightly questionable dance floors. Every second Saturday, a riverside flea market brings vintage treasures and weird trinkets to the Museumsufer, where world-class museums (shoutout to the Städel) cluster along the riverbank.

Stay here: Libertine Lindenberg is part boutique hotel, part artful commune – with vinyls to borrow, community kitchens, and rooms that feel like your coolest friend’s apartment. Perfect if you like your city break with a side of soul.

Best for: Families, chill creatives and Sunday strollers

Relaxed, a little boho, and buzzing with low-key charm, Bornheim is Frankfurt’s cool-without-trying quarter. The district’s backbone, Berger Straße, runs 2.9 km of cobbled wanderlust – lined with brunch spots, bars, and boutiques made for wandering (and people-watching). In summer, the café sprawl spills into the street, giving it full Euro-flair. Every Wednesday and Saturday, the Bornheimer Wochenmarkt farmer’s market takes over parts of the street, with fresh flowers, crusty bread and gossip. Green spaces like Günthersburgpark and the elegant Holzhausenpark (technically in neighbouring Nordend, but spiritually in Bornheim) offer picnic spots galore.

Stay here: Family-run for over 150 years and tucked inside one of Frankfurt’s last historic half-timbered houses, Hotel Schmärrnche is a true gem. The antique-filled 22-room guesthouse oozes old-world charm, but couples should book fast – only four of the rooms have double beds.

Best for: Foodies, flâneurs, and barefoot-in-the-park types

Locals swoon over Nordend – and it’s easy to see why. Gründerzeit architecture, leafy boulevards and a parade of prams and pups on every corner. It’s the kind of place where you’ll stumble upon artisanal bakeries, zero-waste shops, and vintage stores without even trying. The area where Eckenheimer Straße meets Glauburgstraße is your go-to for stellar restaurants that won’t break the bank, while Oeder Weg is basically one long café crawl. Come Friday, Friedberger Platz erupts into a full-blown block party. Need a breather? Head to Bethmannpark, home to a serene Chinese garden complete with pagodas, footbridges and a low-key dragon. Or visit the moated Holzhausenschlösschen villa, one of Nordend’s most impressive landmarks.

Stay here: Combining the charm of a boutique stay with a conscience, Bio-Hotel Villa Orange is Frankfurt’s first – and only – certified organic hotel. The property is close enough to all the buzz but far enough from the hustle to sleep with the windows open.