Offenbach

Introduction

Offenbach am Main sits on the left bank of the Main in Hesse, directly bordering Frankfurt and forming part of the Frankfurt urban area and the wider Frankfurt Rhein-Main region. Its position next to a major transport hub makes it an easy base for exploring the surrounding Rhine-Main area.

Before you go

Offenbach is a city on the river Main with more than a thousand years of history, and its story is recorded in detail in the city archive and museum. It grew as a factory city and was once a centre of the leather industry. Despite its size, it keeps a friendly, neighbourly atmosphere, and residents think of it as its own entity rather than a suburb of Frankfurt, even though the two cities sit side by side along the Main. Expect a place shaped by a large foreign-born population, most of whom work in banking and the service industries.

Because both Offenbach and Frankfurt line the Main, the riverside is easy to reach by bicycle, so plan to bring or rent one if you want to move between the two cities. Before you go, read up on the city's history through its archive and museum collections so the leather-industry past and the old town make sense when you arrive.

Getting there

To reach Offenbach, head first to Frankfurt and continue from there by car, taxi or train. Offenbach Hauptbahnhof, the main station, is served by the Regionalbahn RB 33 towards Hanau.

From Frankfurt, several S-Bahn lines run into the city: S8 and S9 towards Offenbach Ost or Hanau, S2 towards Offenbach Ost or Dietzenbach, and S1 towards Rödermark-Ober-Roden. Trams 15 and 16 also connect Frankfurt with Offenbach, running towards Offenbach Stadtgrenze.

Getting around

Offenbach sits right next to Frankfurt, and the two cities are so closely linked that you can treat the city as an easy extension of a Frankfurt trip. You rarely need a car: the S-Bahn, trams and buses knit the city together, and the same tickets that work in Frankfurt work in Offenbach. If you're arriving from elsewhere in Germany, the natural approach is to travel to Frankfurt first and continue by train, car or taxi. Offenbach has its own Hauptbahnhof, served by regional trains such as the RB 33 toward Hanau, but for reaching the city centre the S-Bahn is usually the better bet. S-Bahn lines S8 and S9 (toward Offenbach Ost or Hanau), S2 (toward Offenbach Ost or Dietzenbach) and S1 (toward Rödermark-Ober-Roden) link Frankfurt directly with Offenbach, so you can hop on in central Frankfurt and step off in Offenbach without changing systems. Trams cross the boundary too: lines 15 and 16 run from Frankfurt toward Offenbach Stadtgrenze, giving you another straightforward way to roll into town above ground. From the airport, fly into Frankfurt and continue by train on those same S-Bahn lines, or by car or taxi.

Within Offenbach itself, the bus service is the workhorse and gets you just about everywhere you'd want to go. The main hub for both S-Bahn and buses is Marktplatz, so head there if you're unsure where to start or where to change. Buying tickets is simple: vending machines are found at most bus stations, and you can also buy directly from the bus driver, who can sell you 24-hour tickets, group tickets and tickets valid across the entire RMV network. Because these are RMV-network tickets, a single purchase can cover buses, S-Bahn and trains together — handy if your day involves bouncing between Offenbach and Frankfurt. To plan a specific journey by bus, S-Bahn or train, use the RMV journey planner. The core is compact enough that buses and the S-Bahn, anchored at Marktplatz, cover the ground a visitor is likely to cover; plan on walking for the immediate surroundings of wherever you're staying.

Where to stay

Offenbach has a small cluster of hotels suited to different budgets. For a full-service stay, the Sheraton Offenbach Hotel on Berliner Straße offers a spa, wellness and fitness facilities inside the building, a shopping centre close by, and a connection to the historic Buesing Palais.

• Sheraton Offenbach Hotel (Berliner Straße): spa, wellness and fitness on site, shopping centre nearby, linked to the historic Buesing Palais.
• Winter's Offenbacher Hof (Ludwigstraße): a cosy, friendlier and less expensive alternative, with above-average reception service and a great bar, about five minutes from the central shopping centre.

Food & drink

Offenbach's immigrant population makes eating out here notably international. For kebabs, try Ye Babam Ye on Geleitstraße, one of the city's superb kebab houses. Tri-Am on Biebererstraße serves what the source calls the best Vietnamese food in town, and it is not a take-away fast-food operation. Pizzeria Tevere on Sprendlinger Landstraße turns out very good pizza made by Italians, while Cabana covers Mexican food and Leon Garcia's is a tapas bar.

Restaurant Zo, a trendy café under a glass pavilion next to the Sheraton and directly across from City Hall, serves Mediterranean specialties in a 60s atmosphere and works equally well for breakfast, brunch, dinner or just hanging out. The Wilhelmsplatz square is another reliable area for very good restaurants, and Zur Käsmühle is a German restaurant worth knowing about. For drinking, the Nordring area along the Main is the focus: MTW is a large club with three levels of dancing and music styles that change with the events, and the very hip electro club Robert Johnson sits right next door. Primus Line runs Main Ship Parties from a spot next to the Rowing Club across the river from the castle, with a great view that makes it especially appealing on hot summer days. Hafen 2 on Nordring combines an artistic space, concert hall, café, arthouse cinema and meadow, and sometimes hosts theatre, fashion, debates and readings.

What to see and do

Offenbach's museums reward a slow half-day. The Deutsches Ledermuseum on Frankfurter Straße traces leather as a material across its history, with exhibits spanning shoes and handbags alongside the craft behind them. At the Klingspor Museum on Herrnstraße, the focus shifts to typography and modern book production; its holdings include the Frans Masereel collection given by the collector Paul Ritter, an unusually comprehensive showing of the Flemish artist's work.

• Wander Leonhard Eißnert Park, once known as Waldpark, which grew over the decades and now includes a skatepark and badminton fields.
• Take in a match at the Kickers Offenbach stadium, the city's home of soccer and the club behind the DFB cup win and its fan slogan about preferring Offenbach to Frankfurt.
• Admire the Büsing-Palais on Berliner Straße, along with Schloss Isenburg and the Rumpenheimer Schloss.

Three days in Offenbach

Day one: Start by getting your bearings in Offenbach itself. Arrive at Offenbach Hauptbahnhof, which sits close to the centre, and walk into the city to find the Marktplatz, the central square where the everyday life of the town plays out. From there, head along Berliner Straße, the main shopping street, and look out for the Buesing Palais, a historic building worth a pause. If you need a base, the Sheraton Offenbach Hotel sits on Berliner Straße. In the evening, stay local and eat in the centre rather than crossing the river.

Day two: Use Offenbach as your launch point for Frankfurt. From Frankfurt, the Regionalbahn RB and the S-Bahn make the trip quick, and Offenbach Ost and Offenbach Stadtgrenze give you further options for getting in and out. Spend the day exploring Frankfurt, then return to Offenbach for the evening. Because the two cities sit so close together on the Main, you can treat them as one continuous area without losing time to travel.

Day three: Head east into Hesse. From Offenbach, the RB line runs towards Hanau, while another branch serves Dietzenbach, Rödermark and Ober-Roden. Pick one direction and give it a half-day, then come back for a last wander through Offenbach's centre. Before you leave, check the RMV network for your ticket, since it covers the trams and trains across the region. Expect the weather to be warm and humid in summer and bitterly cold in winter, so plan your walking accordingly.