I had wanted to visit Mainz, Germany on a Frankfurt stopover for many years now. When we made it through, we discovered what a pleasant city and Alstat area it has. It would be a preferred choice for stopovers in the Frankfurt area thanks to its easy train connections to and from the airport.

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City Visit: Walking through Mainz, Germany

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I had always wanted to explore Mainz, Germany having passed through Frankfurt, Germany so many times while travelling on Lufthansa. Indeed it turned out to be a much more interesting and attractive town than Frankfurt Am Main.

Mainz is located just around the corner from Frankfurt. It’s located (along with Frankfurt) in the Western part of Germany and is readily accessible from many cities thanks to excellent road and train connections.

After arriving to the hotel by train, it was a short 10 minute walk to the Alstat (downtown) and a lovely village. There were a few German tourists on business but not many international tourists by any means. 

We enjoyed a great dinner at a Schnitzel Restaurant in town, followed by a relaxing walk along the Rhine River. Being Sunday, many of the commercial stores (but not restaurants) were closed. There were still lots of people wandering around the Alstat so it was not totally deserted.

In addition, Mainz is on the Rhine river as well, making it a pleasant place to walk. 

It was certainly a more pleasant stopover than Frankfurt Am Main was thanks to its less urban vibe and deeper personality. It certainly felt more authentic than my last usual urban experience in Frankfurt Am Main.

What I thought of a stopover in Mainz:

This was a fantastic stopover for us and we’d definitely return on another stopover. It was worth taking the extra 20 minutes from the airport to get to Mainz to get a bit of authentic Germany. Okay – so Frankfurt Am Main (city) is also Germany – but it’s full of skyscrapers and business centers that make it seem less like Germany and more like another anonymous city near you. Mainz was Germany as you would imagine it, with convenience to the airport as well. Make it a stopover on your next journey.

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