what do you like to do? interests of the kids? budget? train or car?

what do YOU want to do?

Well a great day trip from Frankfurt goes to the nearby Rhine Gorge - the best part of the Rhine and your kids will love taking the K-D boats that ply the river regularly between Rudesheim and Koblenz - giving commentary in English and other languages en route on this very pretty stretch of river.

www.k-d.com - take a train from Frankfurt to Rudesheim, take the boat to Koblenz and take the train from there back to Frankfurt.

Really great for kiddos.

Are you looking suggestions for 5 day trips from Frankfurt or do you have 5 days to spend in or outside of Frankfurt?

Along the Rhine are plenty of castles, including Marksburg. Maybe Rothenburg ob der Tauber?

www.marksburg.de/english/frame.htm

www.loreley-info.com/eng/rhein-rhine/castles.php

www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121

This Forum is fantastic, thank you for responding so fast.

Annhig - I would like to spark my childrens interest in history and architecture, learn to appreciate how building where erected without modern technologies. We live in Mexico City son we have very little exposure to nature. Thank you for your comments

PalenQ - that sounds like a lot of fun, I'll check on it -Thanks for you ideas

Pja1 - I have 5 days available to travel from Frankfurt, I'm not much interested in a big city. Castles are a great sight for my kids and perhaps take the train once since we have never travelled by train - I really appreciate you help

The Middle Rhine Gorge is surely top of the list.

Let me add two more:

Marburg. Traditional university town, intact old town on the hillside just like froma picture book (think cobblestone alleys and half-timbered houses and everything), and the palace on the hilltop. One hour by train from Frankfurt, easy to reach. Are your children familiar with the fairytales by the Brothers Grimm? Here they spend their study years, this is the area where they collected their stories.
Here is their page: http://www.marburg.de/en/24695
And here is my travel page over on VT: http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/f86bd/9a93/

Hessenpark, an open-air museum village in the Taunus hills near Neu-Anspach. The museum assembles historical buildings from all over the regions, houses and farms and workshops and a church - buioldings that were to be demolished in their original place but have instead being taken down carefully and transferred to the museum village. All these are fully furnitured and equipped, you can walk into them all, see how people used to live in former times, watch crafts demonstrations... Should be the perfect place for your purposes! It is a bit tricky to reach by public transport, having a car for that day makes sense.
http://www.hessenpark.de/index.php?id=english

Another idea. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is a) quite far and b) a hotspot of mass tourism, hence rather crowded. It is by far not the only walled old town in Germany although it is the only one the usual overseas tourist knows about. There is an option much closer to Frankfurt and without the crowds which I'd like to recommend as an alternative: Büdingen.
http://www.buedingen-touristik.de/en.html

Thank you QUOKKA that is very helpful.
You seem to know the area very well
Does it sound good to you like this?
Hassenpark, Marburg, Budingen, Loreley, Koblenz->-Koln (KD Cruise)back to Frankfurt
Is it enough for five days? Would you recomend switching hotels or stay a few days in the same place, where?

You could do all these as day trips from Frankfurt. No need to pack and unpack and change hotel every day. Maybe for the Rhine and Cologne part an overnight stay or two make sense. The first three, however, are within easy reach from Frankfurt. All these together are surely enough to fill five days.

A word about the Rhine cruise. Don't do the part from Koblenz to Cologne. The best part of the Rhine valley is further South, between Bingen respective Rüdesheim and Koblenz. Doing it all by boat takes quite long, it is best done with a combination of boats and local trains. Stop in some of the small towns and at some castles on the way. The best website about the Middle Rhine Gorge has not yet been mentioned: http://www.welterbe-mittelrheintal.de/index.php?id=318&L=3 (English version)

From Cologne back to Frankfurt you could take your children on the highspeed ICE train that travels at 300 kph and covers the distance in a bit more than one hour.

Yes I think I know the area a bit. I spent 11 years of my life in Marburg and another year in Hanau!

Annhig - I would like to spark my childrens interest in history and architecture, learn to appreciate how building where erected without modern technologies. We live in Mexico City son we have very little exposure to nature. Thank you for your comments>>

MB - that sounds wonderful and you have received loads of good advice here. I have loved all our trips to Germany, which is sadly underrated by many travellers to europe. i hope you have a lovely trip.

quokka

Yes I think I know the area a bit. I spent 11 years of my life in Marburg and another year in Hanau!

They both seem to be very nice places to live.
Do youn hink Offenbach is a good place to stay and use as base, is it nice to walk around and have dinner there after our day trips? I found a Sheraton that seems good and reasonably priced there.

planq
How do you do the K-D boats, I mean do you see the sights from boat only or do they stop to let you visit some sights?

I'd advise against staying in Offenbach. It doesn't qualify as nice place but is a top candidate for the title of Ugliest City in Germany. Next-door Hanau is a promising competitor, by the way. If you don't want to stay in Frankfurt itself (which would be easiest), check the smaller towns Northwest of the city towards the Taunus hills, like Bad Homburg, Oberursel, Kronberg, Friedrichsdorf, Bad Soden, Eschborn etcetera.

The boats on the Rhine go their scheduled way just like a bus or train would, stopping for a few minutes at the designated stops to let people disembark and board. You can break your journey and then continue on a later boat if you want to see a place along the way.

quokka
LOL, wsithout your help I would end at he worst places, thanks for helping I will check those places you mention and I dont have a problem with Frankfurt proper, all I want is to be able to have nice walks around the hotel and decent meals

Consider the Central part of Frankfurt with the Adina Apts. or the Spener Haus, or the Westend of Frankfurt with the Savigny Hotel, Beethoven Hotel, Villa Florentina, or Hotel Goelz. For the other side of the river, look at Hotel am Berg for a unique B&B or Linder Hotel. With the kids, you might like to be in Bornheim at Alexanders Hotel. The Zoo and many parks are near-by and transportation is easy here.

Mainhattengirl
Thankyou , I'm looking at Hotel am Berg it looks attractive and offers free parking and free Internet

If you want to spark an interest in architecture and history, you might consider exploring Mainz, an easy trip on the S-bahn from FRankfurt. In addition to the impressive Romanesque cathedral, you could show your kids Chagall stained glass windows in the Gothic St. Stephan zu Main. There are museums with Roman ruins and the Gutenberg Museum and a pleasant Altstadt