Aschaffenburg

Main River city near Frankfurt, dominated by red sandstone Johannisburg Palace and Schönbusch Park.

Aschaffenburg sits on the Main river at the point where Bavaria meets Hesse, about 40 km southeast of Frankfurt. The city is dominated by the imposing red sandstone Johannisburg Palace, one of the finest Renaissance palaces in Germany, which contains a remarkable collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings. The surrounding Schönbusch Park is an English-style landscape garden on the opposite bank of the Main — the combination of palace, park, and riverside makes for a very pleasant day out from Frankfurt.

The old town centre, though partly rebuilt after wartime damage, has some good streets for walking, and the local wine from the Mainviereck region is worth trying.

Guide

Getting There

Aschaffenburg is on the main Frankfurt–Würzburg rail line and has very frequent IC and regional services from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (30 minutes by ICE, 40 minutes by regional). It is one of the easiest day trips from Frankfurt and is well within range of a morning departure and afternoon return.

By road, the A3 motorway runs past the city; from Frankfurt the drive is about 40 km. The city centre is compact and the main sights — palace, Pompejanum, Stiftsbasilika — are within easy walking distance of the railway station, so a car is unnecessary once you arrive.

Guide

Things to Do

The Johannisburg Palace dominates the town with its massive red sandstone bulk above the River Main. Inside, beyond the Dutch and Flemish paintings, is the extraordinary Cork Model Collection — miniature reconstructions of ancient Roman monuments made entirely from cork. Across the river, the Schönbusch Park is one of the finest English-style landscape gardens in Bavaria. The Stiftsbasilika St. Peter und Alexander in the old town dates to the 10th century and contains works from Romanesque to Baroque.