Frankfurt has more than three quarters of a million inhabitants, and even though its Old Town, where most of the sights can be found, is small and compact, you probably still can't do without public transport - for example, on the way from FRA Airport.

You can travel around Frankfurt on the city's S-Bahn, the classic U-Bahn metro, trams and buses.

Top 10 hotels in Frankfurt city centre

Within the historic Altstadt, however, walking is the most efficient mode of transport.

Public transport tickets Frankfurt

All transport in the city is integrated into one RMV system and you can use one ticket for all public transport.

Frankfurt and its wider surroundings are divided into price zones.

Tourists most often use tickets either for one zone only, which includes the whole of Frankfurt, or for 2 zones when travelling to/from FRA.

Prices and ticket types

In the city, you will mainly use the following tickets:

• Single - valid for one journey, you can change trains but you must take the fastest route to your destination.
  • It has no official time limit, but cannot be used for a return journey, for example.
  • 3,80 eur within Frankfurt
  • 6,60 eur from the airport to the city centre or vice versa
• All day - valid for a given calendar day, not for 24 hours
  • 7,40 eur within Frankfurt
  • 12,90 eur for Frankfurt + airport zone
• Group full day for up to 5 people - valid for the calendar day, not for 24 hours
  • 14,10 eur within Frankfurt
  • 21,40 eur for Frankfurt + airport zone

Other ticket types such as weekly or monthly tickets and detailed information can be found on the official website rmv.de/c/en/tickets.

Ticket validity

Warning. In Frankfurt, you cannot buy advance tickets in advance, even paper tickets.

The ticket will be valid from the moment it is printed from the ticket machine or purchased via the mobile app.

Where to buy tickets?

There are several ways to buy tickets.

• at a vending machine (located at all metro and train stations, most tram stops and major bus stops
  • you can pay with cash or card
  • the ticket becomes valid as soon as it is printed
• via the RMVGo mobile app (available at: Google Play / App Store)
  • you must first register and create an account (takes about 5-7 minutes)
  • the ticket becomes valid at the moment of purchase
• Contactless payments with your own credit card are not yet available in Frankfurt

How to use the tickets?

As you cannot buy tickets in advance but they are always valid from the moment of purchase, there are no turnstiles or validators in Frankfurt.

The ticket is already marked by printing it in the machine and you just show it to the inspectors who randomly walk through the inside of the public transport cars.

Maps and connection finders

Clear maps of all connections can be found on the official website of the RMV: rmv.de/network-maps.

Connection searches are available on the official rmv.de website, where you can always just enter your departure and arrival stop and it will automatically find the fastest connection.

The search engine is also available on the RMVGo mobile app (available at: Google Play / App Store).

You can also reliably find connections in Frankfurt via Google.com/maps.

U-Bahn and S-Bahn

Frankfurt operates both a classic underground (U-Bahn) and a very extensive S-Bahn urban rail network, which is well suited not only for transport to neighbouring cities such as Mainz, Wiesbaden or Hanau, but also for transport around Frankfurt city centre.

As metro systems are generally the most used transport, detailed information on travelling by metro and S-Bahn can be found in the separate chapter Metro in Frankfurt.

Trams

The tram network in Frankfurt has 8 lines and covers the entire city centre and the outlying districts very well. The trams run on average once every 8 minutes in the morning and afternoon, and once every 10 minutes during midday and evening.

Boarding and alighting is always possible through all doors.

Buses

Buses in Frankfurt will take you to all destinations. However, it is good to keep in mind that the intervals of many bus lines are quite long, ranging between 10 and 30 minutes.

You can get on and off at all doors, and you don't mark your ticket in any way - the validity time is already marked when you buy it from the machine.

Taxi / Uber / Bolt

In Frankfurt, you will only encounter conventional taxi services and the mobile apps Uber and Bolt are also available. Within the city centre, you'll come across taxis at all tourist spots and at major stations in large numbers.

They are always strictly metered. The basic boarding rate is 3,70 eur and then you ride for 3,70 eur for the first kilometer, or 2,20 eur for the 2nd to 5th kilometer and 1,60 eur for each additional kilometer.

Significantly lower prices are offered by ride-sharing apps Uber and Bolt, which works well in Frankfurt.

It's always worth comparing prices on both apps - it's impossible to say which is generally cheaper.