10 Best Museums in Frankfurt

Städel Museum (Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie) is dedicated to the arts in all forms and functions, offering some of the most important German collections around. In addition, you’ll find European art from at least 7 countries, ranging from the early 14th century to the modern era. You’ll see masterworks of the Renaissance, late Gothic, Baroque, Victorian and contemporary eras. The museum is situated in a historic building and was established in 1817, making it Frankfurt’s oldest museum.

The collection showcases over 3,000 paintings, more than 650 sculptures, over 100,000 prints and over 4,000 drawings and photographs in a 4,000-square-metre space. It’s in the heart of Frankfurt’s city centre.

Goethe House (Goethe-Haus) is the home of the famous Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, author of Faust, and today stands as a writer’s house museum, lovingly restored to its original condition. Following its restoration in 1863, it was destroyed during World War II before being restored again between 1947 and 1951.

It gives you an insight into what a wealthy city resident was like in the 18th century. It is situated next to and is part of a museum dedicated to the era and works of the celebrated writer, including Gotz von Berlichingen, The Sorrows of Young Werther and Faust. The museum and house are in the heart of the city centre.

The German Film Museum (DFF - Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum) preserves and showcases the history of film in Germany, where some of the most important films were made. Here you will explore a wide range of permanent and rotating temporary exhibitions and special screenings in the on-site cinema. A highlight is the permanent Filmic Vision exhibit, which showcases the development of lighting and optical effects. Another exhibition explores the interaction of film and games in recent years.

More than just a space to house artefacts, this museum seeks to be a treasure house of important information regarding the art and craft of film and media entertainment. It’s in the Museumsufer district in the city centre.

The Senckenberg Natural History Museum (Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum) is among Germany’s largest, with thousands of extraordinary artefacts, documents, images and ephemera. In addition to its tens-of-thousands-strong collection, it also engages in new study and research of palaeontology, geology, biology and history. Here you’ll see exhibitions on everything from the solar system’s birth to the history and evolution of life on earth. You will also learn about Grube Messel, a UNESCO world heritage site of extreme importance.

Of course, kids and adults alike will love seeing the full dinosaur skeletons on site. This museum is located about a 15-minute drive northwest of the city centre.

Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt is an exhibition hall in the city centre Altstadt district offering regular rotating exhibitions in conjunction with many international museums covering all aspects of art and culture. This hall is among the most highly regarded and famed in Europe, and the building itself is an architectural work of art designed by famed architects Architekturbüro BJSS. It opened in 1986 and since then has held exhibitions on art movements ranging from Expressionism to Surrealism, Dada to Weiner Jugendstil and many others.

If you are interested in any modern or contemporary art movement, this is a space to visit. It’s connected to the world-famous Museums of Modern Art in New York City and the Centre Pompidou Museum in Paris.

Experimenta Science Centre (Experimenta ScienceCenter) is an interactive museum in the city centre comprising around 130 hands-on exhibits offering touch-and-learn experiences for kids and adults alike. Here you’ll learn about maths, computer science and technology, natural science, engineering and more. The stations are split among 9 themes, including movement, force, energy, environment and others.

As you work through the centre, you’ll learn about the connections between these various things and how internal and external influences affect actions. It’s a brilliant way for the next generation of kids to learn through play and to inspire their creativity and passion for the STEM fields of education.

Frankfurt Historical Museum (Historisches Museum Frankfurt) is dedicated to preserving and showcasing the history and development of Frankfurt and the whole of Germany and is housed in a historic building. It was built in the late 19th century, but the museum was founded in 1955 and expanded in 1972. The exhibitions in the permanent collection are displayed in chronological order.

Exhibits cover everything from the medieval period to the Middle Ages, the Renaissance to the 19th century. In addition, the museum showcases rotating temporary exhibitions throughout the year. It’s located in the Museumsufer district in the heart of the Frankfurt city centre.

The Museum for Communication Frankfurt (Museum für Kommunikation Frankfurt) showcases exhibits tracing the entire history of communication from the telegraph to instant messaging and far into the future. Here you’ll see how the telegraph evolved into the telephone, how mail developed as a touchstone of society, and the creation and importance of radio and television media throughout our history, the dawn of the computer, and the digital age. From Edison to Android, you’ll explore all the myriad ways technology has connected us.

The museum opened in 1958 as the National Postal Museum and expanded to take on its current form by 1990. It’s located right in the heart of the Frankfurt city centre.

MMK Museum of Modern Art (MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst) is one of Europe’s most impressive modern and contemporary art museums, with over 4,500 works in its collection. The art on display covers everything from the 1960s to today and showcases German artists and international works. The museum’s goal is to showcase diversity, quality and uniqueness and covers every media, including paintings, drawings, photographs, videos and other forms of media.

It even offers an online catalogue where you can learn more about the works you’ll see and the artists who created them. MMK Museum für Moderne Kunst is located right in the heart of the Frankfurt city centre.

Museum of World Cultures Frankfurt (Weltkulturen Museum) is a massive ethnology museum spread over 3 adjacent buildings along Schuaminkai. The museum showcases over 65,000 items in its permanent collection, which come from every continent worldwide, including famous works by African, Indian, Indonesian and Oceanian artists.

It’s also a calm, relaxing space with a serene vibe, and many people come here for relaxation. Others come for education or research, while others just want to see the artefacts and ephemera on display. The 3 buildings are located right on the shores of the Main in the heart of the Frankfurt city centre.