Justin Bunch | CityscapeTravel
Frankfurt is not an especially pretty city. If you find yourself trapped here, asking, "What can I do?" the best answer is to go somewhere else. I aim to give you a list of places to visit within roughly 60-90 minutes by regional train from Frankfurt Central Station. The destination needed to have a direct or otherwise easy train connection to qualify. Likewise, it also requires an old town with enough things to do to fill at least half of a day.
Kleuske -
The Marksburg is the only medieval castle to have survived undamaged on the Rhine. Its shining white appearance and soaring white towers make it one of the most iconic images of the Rhine valley and one of its most historically immersive. This hike is about walking around the ridge of the surrounding valley to get the best views of the castle from a distance.
Justin Bunch | CityscapeTravel
One of Germany's truly hidden gems is the Nahe Valley and the dramatic gorge that the river carves through the landscape. The Rothenfels or the Red Cliffs is a sheer vertical massif that rises from the otherwise flat landscape of the Palatinate. This hike takes you to the two main sights, the beautiful Red Cliffs and the ruined Artillery Bastion on top of them.
Muck
The Renaissance Palace of Lichtenberg in the Fischbachtal Valley is one of the few preserved Renaissance estates of the Hessen Dynasty. Though only a few interiors have survived to the present (and can be visited on request), the castle's exterior is remarkably intact, without additions or modifications from the Baroque or Romantic periods. The hike takes you around the town of Niederhausen to get the best views of the castle, and following that, it takes you through some of the beautiful landscapes of the Odenwald.
Peter Schmelzle
The Breuberg Castle is the Odenwald's largest and most visually striking fortification. Built on a pinnacle of Basalt and Sandstone, the castle dominates the surrounding valley with its Renaissance bastions. This hike tries to walk between the best viewpoints of the castle from a distance. The proposed route is long because I wanted to catalog the best viewpoints in one spot. Pick and choose the ones most interesting to you.