What's New In The Frankfurt Rhine-Main Region For 2018

Cultural events and jubilees not to miss out on, the new old town of Frankfurt and one of the top culinary destinations in Bavaria - 

Historic cultural events in Dreieich

The beautiful half-timbered old town of Dreieichenhain, the historical Hayn Fortress, and several other cultural gems worth discovering are all distinctive features of the city of Dreieich, just a 25 minutes’ drive from Frankfurt. Although it is small, the cultural events on offer throughout the year are flourishing. The “Burgfestspiele Dreieichenhain” (Dreieichenhain Fortress Festival) is held in the historic ambience of the fortress from July 5 to August 19. Furthermore, the “Hayner Burgfest 2018” will enchant visitors with its theme, “The Celts – swords of steel and cult of fire”, from September 7–9. This festival is all about the Middle Ages and the period’s fascinating arts, with live fire artists, jugglers, and knights giving visitors the feeling of traveling in time. The main features include real medieval jousting as well as a handcrafts market with numerous stalls. And let’s not forget the culinary delights! Read more about Dreieich and its highlights here.

 The culinary delights of Miltenberg in Bavaria

The city of Miltenberg has received a major award for its culture and cuisine: the “100 Genussorte Bayern” award. This award means that Miltenberg is not only one of the top 100 cultural and historic destinations in Bavaria, but also one of the major culinary cities in the country. And the best thing about it is that visitors to Miltenberg can participate in the culinary traditions and experience them very interactively. Why not join a creative beer tour and brew your own beer? Or learn how to bake traditional bread made with beer and wine from a professional bread sommelier? Or even participate in coffee and espresso workshops with a coffee sommelier? Does it sound like fun? It definitely is! The city has various offers on for families and visitors from all over the world. Take a look at the city’s promotional video for more inspiration, and read more about the city’s features here.

Celebrating the 800-year jubilee of Goldbach in Spessart

This month, something very special is going on in the region of Spessart: The city of Goldbach (meaning “the golden stream”) has planned a grand celebration for its 800-year jubilee on June 8–17, 2018. Musicians and artists, including Paul Pott, Max Giesinger, and Beatrice Egli, will make this an event that should not to be missed. The musical activities will be complemented with culinary temptations and smaller, more local events. Goldbach is situated close to tourist magnets like Aschaffenburg, not far from Frankfurt and Darmstadt, and famous for its Schloss Johannisburg, one of the most significant Renaissance castles in Germany. There are several other recommendable attractions in the Spessart region, including the previously mentioned city of Miltenberg and the beautiful moated castle of Mespelbrunn, located only a half-hour drive away, to mention but a few. This area is also perfect for outdoor activities. Don’t hesitate to contact us for more information about the Spessart region and its highlights.

New museum in the art city of Aschaffenburg

The city of Aschaffenburg has a lot to offer in terms of cultural highlights: Schloss Johannisburg Castle and the Pompejanum, for instance. It is an important city for art in the region. A major addition to the museum district in Aschaffenburg will be a brand new museum showing the works of the famous German artist Christian Schad, opening at the end of this year. Schad was an important proponent of Verism, a period at the beginning of the 20th century. Anther exhibition highlight in Aschaffenburg is the “Divine X Design. Das Kleid der Antike” exhibition, held at the Pompejanum, a replica of a Roman villa. This exhibition illustrates the dialog between ancient works of art and fashion of the same period. The fashion designs were created by fashion undergraduates to demonstrate the power of fashion even back in the day: Already then, people chose suitable clothing for the various occasions, with hair, make-up, and accessories being an important part of the look. The exhibition will be open until October 31, 2018. The entrance fee to the Pompejanum is €5.50 (€4.50 for visitors under 18) or, combined with entrance to Schloss Johannisburg, €7.00 (€5.00 for visitors under 18). Please click here for further information about the Pompejanum, and here for general information about Aschaffenburg.

Get a new perspective on things at RESTAURANT 360° in Limburg

Not only is the city of Limburg situated an hour’s drive north of Frankfurt a great place for outdoor activities like hiking, biking, or canoeing on the idyllic Lahn River, it is also a great place for historic and culinary discoveries. Apart from the beautiful half-timbered houses of the old town, Limburg Cathedral, sitting on top of a hill just like a king, is a top city and regional attraction. It dates back to 1235, making it a major historic treasure. An insider tip: View the city of Limburg from Alexander Hohlwein’s RESTAURANT 360°. Situated on the third floor of the “WERKStadt” shopping mall, it provides a magnificent view of the city and its treasures. It’s terrace can seat up to 35 guests (or events of up to 100 guests) and includes the restaurant’s own herb garden. Alexander and his restaurant received a Michelin star for their great work. His partner and sommelier Rebekka Weickert will guide you in pairing the best wines on your culinary journey. Take a virtual tour of beautiful Limburg here.

The new Frankfurt old town is now open

The old town of Frankfurt, which has been embellished with 15 buildings based on original plans and a further 20 new constructions, including shops, restaurants, and apartments, is now ready and open for guests. The grand opening will take place on September 28–30, 2018. This will be one of the most spectacular inaugurations in Europe and an absolute must-see, along with the many other features of this beautiful city on the Main. New guided tours are available in English. Take a virtual tour through the beautiful new heart of the city here. The “Safe Cities Index 2017”, a report by The Economist Intelligence Unit, lists Frankfurt, the only German city in the ranking, 11th. This means that Frankfurt is currently considered one of the safest of 60 cities in the world to visit, with Tokyo being number one. This is just one of many reasons to visit Frankfurt and the surrounding region, where several historic and culinary delights await you.

Top 10 Reasons To Visit Bavaria

High-tech and traditional, conservative and innovative, quaint and quirky – there’s much more to the Free State (as Bavaria is known) than the stereotypical Lederhosen and felt hat image.

World-class museums, thigh-slapping beer halls, speedy cars, Alpine vistas, dreamy castles, belly-filling food, top-notch beer…there are hundreds of reasons to visit Germany’s southeast corner – here we list the ten most compelling.

1. The Alps

Geography may have handed Germany’s south a mere sliver of the Alps, but the region certainly makes the most of its peaks, many of which are but a short train ride from central Munich. The ski resort of Garmisch-Partenkirchen is the place to head for the best fun in the snow, as it sits under Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze, the top of which can be reached by train.

Pin this imageThe Bavarian Alps in winter © canadastock / Shutterstock Images

Surrounded by Austria on three sides, the Berchtesgadener Land in Bavaria’s far southeast keeps all the region’s clichéd Alpine promises, providing dramatic mountain scenery, great hiking and Germany’s prettiest lake, theKönigssee.

2. The beer

Munich has often been called 'the city of art and beer’, and when you are done with the art by day, the evenings belong to the 1L steins of frothy brews in typical beer halls such as the Hofbräuhaus, the Augustiner Bräustuben and the Weisses Brauhaus. Of course the best time for disciples of the hop to make a pilgrimage to the Bavarian capital is during Oktoberfest (annually late September to the first weekend in October), during which around six million litres of beer are slurped. Outside Munich the beer is just as good, better in fact, according to drinkers in Franconia(Bavaria’s northern region), where countless village breweries pump out an astonishing variety of Landbier (small-scale regional beers) not available anywhere else.

3. The castles

Every Bavarian town and hilltop seems to host a medieval noble pile or two, but it’s to three 19th-century follies commissioned by Bavaria’s King Ludwig II that most outsiders flock. Rising out of Alpine forest near the town ofFüssen, Schloss Neuschwanstein is Germany’s most popular tourist attraction, its dreamy turrets and dramatic location having inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. Ludwig’s other two sugary creations are theHerrenchiemsee, a Versailles-inspired palace on an island in the Chiemsee, Bavaria’s biggest lake, and compactLinderhof in a remote Alpine location near Oberammergau.

Pin this imageSchloss Neuschwanstein, King Ludwig II's towering masterpiece © canadastock / Lonely Planet

4. The cars

Bavaria is home to some of the highest-octane names of the motoring world – BMW in Munich and Audi inIngolstadt. Munich’s space-age BMW Welt (BMW World) is a petrolhead’s dream come true, a huge free exhibition of the company’s latest models which can be sat in, fiddled with and admired from the driver’s seat. Next door is the excellent BMW Museum, and intriguing tours of the nearby factory can be easily arranged.

5. The traditions

From the world-famous Oktoberfest and Christmas markets to Oberammergau’s once-a-decade Passion Play and the glass-blowing traditions of the Bavarian Forest; from the beer-brewing monks of Andechs and folk-costumed bashes in Alpine taverns to Bayreuth’s Wagner obsession – Bavaria is a place where culture and traditions form an easily accessible link with a colourful, folksy past.

Pin this imageGolden glass and crystal Christmas ornaments on sale at Christkindlesmarkt, Nuremberg © AnkNet / Lonely Planet

6. The museums

You could devote many months to Bavaria’s exceptional museums, some of which rank as the best of their kind inEurope. It would be easy to while away a week ‘doing’ Munich’s art museums alone, including the world-class Pinakotheken (Alte Pinakothek, Neue Pinakothek and Pinakothek der Moderne). The Deutsches Museum is a highly enjoyable repository of the technical past, while Nuremberg boasts the Deutsche Bahn Museum, Germany’s top railway museum, and the Nationalmuseum, the country’s most comprehensive exhibition of Germanic culture. Of course, Bavaria witnessed one of the most sinister chapters in European history – the rise of the Nazis – and many places such as Berchtesgaden’s Dokumentation Obersalzberg and Nuremberg’s Reichsparteitagsgelände – where the largest Nazi rallies were held in the 1930s – relate that dark story.

7. The shopping

Traditional Bavarian folk costume makes for a truly unique souvenir. Central Munich’s Loden-Frey sells the real deal, but those on a budget should head for Holareidulijö which sells second hand outfits. Nymphenburg porcelain is another popular take-home item, best sourced at the Porzellan Manufaktur Nymphenburg factory shops. Glassware from the Bavarian Forest area, Nuremberg gingerbread and new and antique beer steins are other mementoes to take home from a Bavaria trip. More unusual shopping experiences are provided by Käthe Wohlfahrt shops, where you can source your Christmas decorations all year round, a surreal experience in July when the mercury is pushing 30ºC.

Pin this imageIntricate porcelain can be bought at Nymphenburg Porcelain factory shops © Michael Zegers / Getty Images

8. The lakes

Between Munich and the Alps, many picturesque foothill lakes reflect quaint villages and onion-domed churches in their glassy waters. Easily accessible by S-Bahn from Munich, the Fünf-seen-land is an area of five lakes including the pretty Lake Starnberg, a popular, gentle retreat for stressed out city folk and the place King Ludwig II mysteriously drowned in 1886. Southeast of Munich, the Chiemsee is a great place to mess around in boats, but top marks among the region’s lakes must go to the Königssee, Germany’s most stunningly beautiful body of water, which is cupped by alpine slopes. Take an electric boat along its length.

9. The food

Bavarian cuisine may not enjoy worldwide renown, but the region’s meat-heavy menus are the perfect accompaniment to the unsurpassed beer. Eating out is not all about soaking up the beer, however. Munich has a thriving culinary scene, with vegetarian, vegan, Asian and Michelin-starred gourmet restaurants, and boasts more Italian eateries than most cities in Italy. Out in the sticks things are more traditional, though there’s still a lot of variety, especially where tourists congregate in numbers.

10. The romance

Running along the western edge of Bavaria, the Romantic Road is Germany’s most popular tourist route, extending for 350km from Würzburg in the north to Füssen in the south.

Pin this imageThe impossibly quaint Rothenburg ob der Tauber © CALLE MONTES / Getty Images

It’s a ribbon of quaintness punctuated by perfectly preserved walled towns such as Rothenburg ob der Tauber,Dinkelsbühl and Nördlingen. The route is travelled by millions of visitors over the summer; go in winter when a blanket of snow adds some authentic romance to these special places.

by Marc Di Duca , www.lonelyplanet.com

Travelore News: Public Internet Anywhere In Bavaria - Coming Soon

Tourists visiting the largest German state Bavaria after 2020 won't have a problem to use expensive cell phone capacity to go online.

Bavarias Finance minister Christian Söder wants to drag Bavaria online with an ambitious plan for far-ranging public internet access by 2020.

The Münchner Merkur reported that Söder wants to install free wifiat 60 offices and buildings belonging to the state finance ministry – including publicly-owned lake tour boats and remote rural castles.
By 2016 all Bavarian official buildings should have free wifi, he said.
A third step to the plan would have free wifi access points in every municipality by 2020.

But Söder doesn't mean that the entire area of Bavaria – including forests, fields, and mountains - should be blanketed with free wifi.
With most routers having a range of around 12 metres, that would be impossibly expensive.

The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) nevertheless mocked the plan, saying that people needed wifi more in city centres than in castles.

Söder also announced eight “BayernLabs”, regional IT centres with the fastest-available internet access, to be opened to schools, businesses and municipalities.