City walks

Please find the topics and dates of our public tours and city walks in the event calendar.
Our visitor service will be happy to advise you on booking group tours.

Information and registration

Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Tel. ++49 (0)69-212-35154
Fax ++49 (0)69-212-42078
Email: besucherservice.historisches-museum(at)stadt-frankfurt.de

or use our inquiry form for guided tours.

Das Foto zeigt einen Ausschnitt aus einem Altstadtmodell. Im Zentrum steht eine Nachbildung der Paulskirche, andere Gebäude drumherum.

Altstadtmodell. Ausschnitt von Nordwesten mit Paulskirche, Römer und langem Franz. CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF, Foto: Uwe Dettmar

Das Foto zeigt das Historische Museum und den Römerberg in Frankfurt aus der Vogelperspektive.

Vogelansicht des HMF und des Römerbergs. CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF, Foto: Robert Metsch

The Old Town Drama. The backgrounds of the HMF.

The new Old Town of Frankfurt extends between the cathedral, the Römer, the Schirn and Braubachstraße.

Since 2012, after the demolition of the Technical Town Hall, 35 new builldings have been erected on the cleared area the size of a football field. They all stand on historical ground plans, i.e. where Frankfurt's old town was situated before the Second World War. 15 of the houses were reconstructed as historical old town houses. At the initial point of the museum you will learn from historical and current models how complicated and controversial the path to the new Old Town has been and which compromises were made. On site, you will discover what is behind the façades, the total cost and you can decide for yourself if this form of reconstruction enhances the tangibility of city's history.
Duration: approx. 90 minutes

Book your city tour here.

Das Bild zeigt die Kaiserkrönung Karls des Sechsten im Bartholomäus-Dom in Frankfurt.

Kaiserkrönung Kaiser Karl VI. im Bartholomäus-Dom in Frankfurt 1711, CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF, Foto: Horst Ziegenfusz

Das Bild zeigt das Festessen der Reichsstädte bei der Kaiserkrönung Franz des Ersten im Frankfurter Römer

Festessen der Reichsstädte bei der Kaiserkrönung von Franz I. im Römer am 4. Oktober 1745 CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF, Foto: Horst Ziegenfusz

"The Emperor makers" in Frankfurt

Following in the footsteps of elected and crowned heads, this tour takes you from the historical imperial palace in the Saalhof, where you will learn about the imperial insignia, via the imperial cathedral as the site of elections and coronations, along the old coronation route to the Römerberg (with a (possible) visit to the Kaisersaal).

From the beginnings under Charlemagne to the electoral rules established in the Golden Bull of Emperor Charles IV regarding the rituals and ceremonies of the coronation and the post-coronation celebrations, the tour follows in the footsteps of the electors and takes a look on the "arch offices" (the highest court appointments) they held.

Book your city tour here.

Das Bild zeigt einen Nachdruck der Titelvignette der Franckfurter Mess aus dem Jahr 1696.

Nachdruck der Titelvignette Die Franckfurter Mess im Jahr 1696, CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF, Foto: Horst Ziegenfusz

Das Bild von Christian Georg Schütz zeigt eine Ansicht des Römerbergs.

Ansicht des Römerbergs, Christian Georg Schütz CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF

Frankfurt the exhibition city – trade and congress from the Middle Ages to modern times

The vivid tour retraces Frankfurt’s rise from a small, rural town to the European exhibition and trade city of the Middle Ages through to the modern period, from the old Frankfurt port at the Rententurm (Toll Tower) to the Leinwandhaus via the Domhügel and back to the Römerberg.

Not only did trade and exchanging of money take place between exhibition stands and patrician houses during trade fairs, this ritual also offered people the chance to experience new things from around the world and indulge in the spectacle. People from all walks of life came together from all over Europe, from beggars and prostitutes to middle-class citizens, patricians and merchants.

Book your city tour here.

Das Gemälde zeigt die verfassungsgebende deutsche Nationalversammlung in der Paulskirche 1848

Friedrich Carl Alexander Lill Verfassungsgebende deutsche Nationalversammlung in der Paulskirche 1848, CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF, Foto: U. Seitz-Gray

Das Gemälde zeigt eine Sitzung des deutschen Fürstentages.

Johann Schäfer Sitzung im Palais Thurn und Taxis anläßlich des Deutschen Fürstentags, CC-BY-SA 4.0: HMF, Foto: Horst Ziegenfusz

1848 – revolution in Frankfurt

The city tour passes important places of German politics and Frankfurt relations from 1848.

Vormärz (pre-March) and bourgeois revolution: Between St. Paul’s Church and the reconstructed Thurn und Taxis Palais, not only the role of groups and people – particularly the participation of Frankfurters, the work of the National Assembly and the reasons for its failure can be traced; the places where barricades or shootings took place or the literary Frankfurt and the salon of Clotilde Koch-Gontard are also part of the tour. The tour through the city can be extended by a trip to the Frankfurt Main Cemetery (U5) and the graves of those killed in action in 1848.

Book your city tour here.

Inquiry form for guided tours

You can book tours here with one click of the mouse.

Highlights tour

You will find the tour programme here