Germany / Frankfurt & Heidelberg / Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Skyline City and Germany's Main Air Gateway

1 dayIdeal stay₹9,590From / night₹3,200Food / day₹1,700Entry

Germany's financial centre and its biggest airport, where most flights from India land (Lufthansa and Air India non-stop). The rebuilt old town round the Römerberg and the New Old Town, the cathedral, the Main Tower viewing platform, the riverside museums (the Städel), and apple-wine taverns in Sachsenhausen. A good first or last night: the airport has its own long-distance station, the Rhine villages are 1.5 hours away and Heidelberg an hour. Indian groceries and restaurants are near the main station. Trade fairs (the Book Fair in October and others) send hotel prices up sharply.

Highlights

Römerberg and the New Old Town
Main Tower viewing platform
Städel Museum
Apple wine in Sachsenhausen
Walk along the Main
Goethe House

Things to do

Römerberg, New Old Town and the cathedralMorning · 2h 30m
Main Tower viewing platformAfternoon · 1h
Städel MuseumAfternoon · 2h 30m
Sachsenhausen apple-wine tavern eveningEvening · 2h 30m

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: May – September, December

Heads up

Christmas: Shops and Sights Close 24-26 December

Christmas Eve afternoon, Christmas Day and 26 December are Germany's quietest days: shops, most museums and many restaurants close, the Christmas markets end on or before the 24th, and trains run a holiday timetable. Plan arrivals and sightseeing around them. Shops are closed every Sunday too.

Heads up

Summer Heat and Few Air Conditioners

Heatwaves of 30-35°C come most summers, and many German hotels, flats and older trains and trams have no air conditioning. If you sleep badly in the heat, filter for air-conditioned rooms when booking for July and August.

Heads up

Book Fair: Frankfurt Hotel Prices Jump

The Frankfurt Book Fair in mid-October and the city's other big trade fairs fill hotels across the city and send prices up by half or more for that week. If your dates clash, stay in Mainz, Darmstadt or Heidelberg and come in by train.

Christmas markets across Germany — From late November to about 23 December almost every town holds a Christmas market: Rothenburg's Reiterlesmarkt in its medieval square, Berlin's many markets (Gendarmenmarkt, Charlottenburg Palace), Lübeck's and Hamburg's by their town halls, Stuttgart's large market by the old castle. Opening days vary by town and most close on or before Christmas Eve: check before you plan a December trip around one.

Getting there

Fly into Frankfurt (FRA)

Search flights to FRA from your city ↗

Flights from India

From Delhifrom ₹22,000
From Mumbaifrom ₹21,000
From Ahmedabad (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Kolkata (1 stop)from ₹26,000
From Kochi (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Bengalurufrom ₹24,000

Fly into Munich (MUC), 305 km away

Then: Train · 3h 30m (ICE high-speed train)

Search flights to MUC from your city ↗

Flights from India

From Delhifrom ₹23,000
From Mumbaifrom ₹22,000
From Kolkata (1 stop)from ₹27,000
From Bengalurufrom ₹25,000
From Chennai (1 stop)from ₹25,000
From Hyderabad (1 stop)from ₹25,000

Fares from India: one way, per person; typical fares, not live prices.

Entry rules

Your passport

Visa needed before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹12,100

Apply for a Schengen short-stay (type C) visa at any VFS Global Germany centre in India (New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and others), 4-8 weeks before you fly and about 8 weeks ahead for May to September, when appointments are scarce (no earlier than 6 months). Apply to Germany if it is your only or longest stay in Schengen. The fee is €90 (charged in rupees at the mission's rate, about ₹10,100; €45 for children 6-11) plus the VFS service charge of about ₹2,000, and none of it is refunded if the visa is refused.
At the appointment give your fingerprints and photo (skipped if you gave them for a Schengen visa in the last 59 months). Processing takes up to 15 working days after the day you submit, and longer in summer and over Christmas.
If you have lawfully used two Schengen visas in the last three years, ask for a multiple-entry visa: under the EU's 2024 cascade rules for Indians you can be given a two-year visa, then a five-year one.
On your first arrival in the Schengen Area your fingerprints and face are scanned at passport control (the EU Entry/Exit System, in full use since April 2026) instead of a stamp. Allow extra time at Frankfurt and Munich.

Carry: Passport issued within the last 10 years, valid at least 3 months after you leave the Schengen Area, with two blank pages; Completed visa application form (VIDEX) and two recent biometric photos (35 x 45 mm); Travel insurance with at least €30,000 medical cover, valid in every Schengen country for the whole trip; Return flight booking and a day-by-day itinerary; Hotel bookings for every night, or an invitation from your host (a formal letter of obligation if they are paying); Bank statements for the last 3-6 months, income-tax returns, and a leave letter from your employer (or business or college papers).

One Schengen visa covers Germany and every other Schengen country (France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands and more) for up to 90 days in any 180. ETIAS is only for visa-free travellers, so it does not affect you. Sources disagree on which German mission decides applications from your state, but VFS takes them at any of its Germany centres: check visa.vfsglobal.com for appointments and the current charges before you book flights.

Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.

Also in Frankfurt & Heidelberg

🏰 Heidelberg · Castle Ruins over the Neckar and Germany's Oldest University

Plan a trip to Frankfurt

Flying in from elsewhere? Start at Frankfurt (FRA)