Of all of Germany’s cities Frankfurt is among the most vibrant. Here are just a few ideas of nocturnal things that you can do and see on your visit there.
Top of many peoples lists of things to do when visiting Frankfurt is the nightlife. This is legendary, and the scene here was instrumental in creating the roots of techno music, acid house and trance. There are a huge range of nightclubs in which to dance the night away. A word of caution though, many of the more popular clubs have very strict, and sometimes arbitrary, rules about who can get in. If at all possible go with Germans in order to increase you chances of admittance, and to get guidance about the different dress codes.
For lovers of techno, or just those looking to get a flavour of Frankfurt’s unique contribution to modern culture, U60311 us a hot club to check out. Also highly recommended is the Cocoon Club in Fechencheim. The combination of pounding hallucinatory techno and stunning day-glo visuals will leave you reeling. If a more mainstream disco vibe is more your thing then you may prefer the King Kamehama Club.
Every year the ‘Nacht der Clubs’ or Night of the Clubs offers the chance for the intrepid to sample a huge range of cities nightspots. For a ticket of around €12 you can gain admittance to twenty or so venues. These nights typically have a more relaxed dress code than usual, meaning that you are more likely to be able to get in, even if you are a foreigner. Buses run between the venues meaning that you won’t have to spend half the night trying to flag down cabs!
There are actually quite a number of festivals held in Frankfurt throughout the year. Many visitors choose to have their trips coincide with one or more of them. The concepts behind the festivals range widely. For instance the Luminale festival is simply the illumination of a huge number of private and public buildings in the downtown area. It is actually a remarkable sight – only held every two years due to the fantastic cost and logistical difficulties, if you get the chance to see it try to seek out a good vantage point for some unforgettable photos.
Another festival which take the architecture of Frnakfurt as its starting point is the Skyscraper Festival, or Wolkenkratzer Festival as the Germans would call it. No other city does anything like it – quite literally throwing the doors of the city’s tallest buildings open to visitors. Normally these towering edifices of glass and steel are either closed to the public completely or with visiting restricted to the viewing decks. For two days however all comers can have a glimpse of the interior life of these working buildings. It is massively popular, regularly attracting well over a million visitors who are also treated to fireworks, laser shows and death defying basejumping daredevils.
Put on your raving shoes, get onto a flight to Frankfurt and feel the rhythm of the night.
