The direct flights from Frankfurt to lesser known US cities this summer
Frankfurt is home to Germany's busiest airport which is also among Europe's biggest air travel hubs.
As such there is no shortage of direct flights from there to major cities in the US. If you want to fly to New York, for example, there are five direct connections between the two cities every day. Chicago and San Francisco also get at least four direct flights from Frankfurt each day.
But what if your home city, or the US city you want to visit, is further from the biggest fly-in destinations?
Here are some of the smaller US destinations that you can fly to directly from Frankfurt this summer:
Anchorage
If you were planning to visit Alaska this year, you're in luck as there are a few weekly direct flights from Frankfurt that will take you there.
Condor currently offers flights departing Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and starting in June Discover Airlines will operate a weekly flight that departs on Wednesday afternoons. The flight takes nine and half hours.
Fort Myers
There are two weekly flights to this city in Southwest Florida run by Discover Airlines on Thursday and Saturday.
Portland
If you want to find out just how weird the Pacifica Northwest can be, Condor can take you directly to Portland, Oregon on Sundays, Tuesdays or Fridays.
Saint Louis
This city at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers was once known as the "gateway to the West".
Lufthansa flies there from Frankfurt on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
READ ALSO:
9 of the best day trips from Frankfurt with the 'Deutschlandticket'
Minneapolis
Minneapolis is also on the Mississippi River, although quite a bit further north than St. Louis. Believe it or not, this little known Minnesota metropole was ranked among the happiest cities in the world according to an Institute for Quality of Life
ranking
(ahead of London and even sunny San Diego).
If you want to see just how happy it is, Lufthansa flies there four times weekly; on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
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Philadelphia
In Germany Philadelphia is probably best known as a popular brand of cream cheese, but it's also the sixth largest US city.
Flights here are operated by Discover, and they depart most days (except for Saturdays).
LISTED:
The new destinations you can fly to from Germany this spring
Raleigh/Durham
Raleigh is the capital of the state of North Carolina, which is home to its fair share of natural beauty in the form of forests, waterfalls and rolling hills. Raleigh is also home to branches of some major German firms, including BASF and Bayer -- which may explain why the city is served by direct flights to Frankfurt.
Lufthansa serves five weekly flights here; on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays.
Austin
Austin is the capital of Texas, but it's known for having a vibe that is entirely its own. It's also arguably a cultural capital for the southern US with plenty of live music, comedy, festivals and yes, even rodeos to be found.
Lufthansa offers flights here on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
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DW
2 days ago
- DW
How Museum Island embodies Berlin's tumultuous history – DW – 05/30/2025
Initiated 200 years ago, Museum Island was in ruins after World War II. The UNESCO World Heritage site was reborn thanks to a master plan. Berlin's Museum Island uniquely encapsulates Germany's modern history — from the ideas of the Enlightenment to the destruction of World War II, from the Cold War era to its current ultra-modern restoration that has turned the ensemble of museums into a tourist magnet. Standing as a testimony to Europe's architectural and cultural developments, the historical complex of museum buildings was recognized by UNESCO in June 1999 as a World Heritage Site , and this year it is celebrating its 200th anniversary since the first building's foundation stone was laid. #DailyDrone: The Museum Island Berlin To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video A legacy of the Enlightenment During the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), when the French invaded the historic German kingdom of Prussia, many artworks were plundered from its capital, Berlin. When the looted works were returned after the war, Prussian leaders decided to create a museum to showcase the treasures publicly. The Altes Museum (Old Museum) was the first building in the series of five institutions that would later become known as Museum Island. Simply called the "Museum" in its early years, the Altes Museum's foundation stone was laid in 1825, and it opened in 1830. A historic illustration from 1885 shows the Altes Museum, the oldest building of Berlin's Museum Island complex Image: imageBROKER/picture alliance At the time, after decades of war, Prussia was economically and financially ruined, "and yet they invested in such a cultural building, hiring the best architect of the time, [Karl Friedrich] Schinkel," Hermann Parzinger, outgoing president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, tells DW. It's a fact he particularly likes to point out in the current context, as politicians question the importance of funding culture. Amid the ideals of the Enlightenment, education was recognized as a priority. Thinker and statesman Wilhelm von Humboldt viewed museums as an important pillar of the educational reform he developed. "The museum, as a space of the citizen's aesthetic education, was very important to him," explains Parzinger. "So it was more than just building a museum; there was a vision behind it, and art, together with science, played a very central role." A museum ensemble built over 100 years During the colonial era, the collection of ancient artifacts grew, along with leaders' aspiration to showcase German national Romantic artists. More museums were needed in Berlin to house those works. In the century that followed, four more major museums were therefore added to the complex located on the northern part of Spree Island, in the historic heart of Berlin: the Neues Museum (New Museum) opened in 1859; the Alte Nationalgalerie (Old National Gallery) followed in 1876; the Bode Museum (then the Kaiser-Friedrich-Museum) came in 1904; and finally, the Pergamon Museum, designed to house the monumental Ishtar Gate of Babylon, was completed in 1930. The Pergamon was the last museum to be added to the original Museum Island complex Image: Thomas Robbin/imageBROKER/picture alliance Short-lived glory before World War II For a few years before World War II, Museum Island was one of the crown jewels of European culture. The Nazis celebrated the classical and ancient works in the Museum Island collections, which they saw as part of a supposed Aryan heritage. During World War II, museum officials partly evacuated valuable artifacts to underground bunkers, mines and castles across Germany. This move saved many exhibits — including the bust of Nefertiti and large portions of the Pergamon friezes — but also contributed to the dispersal of several other treasures. The bust of Nefertiti is housed in the Neues Museum and is one of Museum Island's most popular artefacts Image: Maurizio Gambarini/IMAGO After the war, when the Soviet Red Army occupied the area in May 1945, art collections throughout Germany were looted as war reparations. So-called Trophy Brigades of the Red Army sent millions of historical items to Moscow and St. Petersburg, with many landing in undocumented private collections. Many objects were later returned to Berlin in the 1950s, particularly during the rule of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, but it is estimated that around a million works of art, more than four million books and manuscripts, and a considerable number of archival materials are still kept in Russia and its neighboring countries. Even though German and Russian institutions developed common research efforts into those contested objects over the past decades, today, "because of the war [in Ukraine], everything is on hold and interrupted — and we don't know when we can resume these contacts," says Parzinger. Rebuilding Museum Island In divided Germany, Museum Island landed in East Berlin, under the control of the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The communist state "simply didn't have the resources for reconstruction after 1945. The buildings were repaired, but not completely renovated," explains Parzinger. Many of the Museum Island buildings are neo-classical in style and feature elegant colonnades Image: Jürgen Ritter/IMAGO The Neues Museum, which had been particularly damaged, was left untouched, as a symbolic ruin of war. Parzinger clearly recalls his own visit to East Berlin as a student, in 1984 — decades before he became, in 2008, the president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which is the government body that oversees Berlin's state museums, including those that are part of Museum Island. His student visit is when he first saw the bombed-out shell of the Neues Museum: "I remember there were huge trees growing out from the stairwell. There was no roof, and you could see the crowns of the trees above the building. It was unbelievable to me." When the Berlin Wall came down, it was therefore essential to completely renovate the buildings and make them fit for the future, explains Parzinger. What's known as the Master Plan outlines the multi-phase restoration of the five museums that make up the UNESCO World Heritage ensemble. Museum Island's five buildings are being renovated as part of a decadeslong, multi-phase plan Image: Jens Kalaene/dpa/picture alliance An outstanding approach to restoration Certainly the most important restoration project was the resurrection of the Neues Museum. British architect David Chipperfield's design was initially met with strong resistance. He integrated the ruins into a new construction, working with the scars of war by leaving bullet holes and missing ceiling frescoes visible; purists opposed, calling for a restoration that would have been faithful to the original neoclassical building. But pushing through with this "magnificent concept" was the only right decision, says Parzinger enthusiastically, adding that he still keeps discovering new details every time he returns to the building. The renovated museum won numerous national and international architecture awards. David Chipperfield's design of the James Simon Gallery echoes the neo-classical style of historic buildings in a modern way Image: W. Wirth/Zoonar/picture alliance Housing the Egyptian museum and the papyrus collection, the Neues Museum's most famous exhibit is the pharaonic bust of Queen Nefertiti. Last year, a petition was launched to have the 3,370-year-old bust returned to Egypt. But for the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, there is nothing to discuss about its return: "Nefertiti came to Berlin as part of a completely legal, well-documented discovery," maintains Parzinger. Nevertheless, Parzinger has been a key figure in the restitution debate, particularly concerning the return of the Benin Bronzes and other objects with colonial histories. After 17 years at the helm of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, he is now retiring and being succeeded by Marion Ackermann. She becomes the new president of the foundation on June 1, just as festivities for Museum Island's 200th anniversary year are launched. "The 200th anniversary of Museum Island is a great opportunity for us to become even more attractive," Ackermann tells DW. As she takes over, the buildings' restoration will continue, as defined by the Museum Island Master Plan. One recent notable milestone in the completion of the plan was the opening of the James Simon Gallery in 2019. As a new addition to Museum Island, it serves as the main entrance, providing orientation to visitors. The Pergamon is currently closed until 2027 as it undergoes its makeover. The Altes Museum will be next. The Pergamon Museum closed in 2023 for renovations; it will reopen partially in 2027 and fully in 2037 Image: K-H Spremberg/Shotshop/picture alliance When all restorations are completed, four of the five historical buildings will then be connected by a handicap-accessible underground ramp known as the Archaeological Promenade, inspired by historic bridges between the museums that were destroyed during World War II. All additions and restorations contribute to further anchor Museum Island's status as Germany's blockbuster equivalent to the Louvre in Paris or the British Museum in London. By giving a new lease of life to the museum complex on the Spree River, Museum Island is set to keep reflecting Berlin's history for centuries to come. Edited by: Brenda Haas
Local Germany
3 days ago
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The German Automobile Club (ADAC) had warned that there would be problems on the roads on Thursday due to Ascension Day and the start of a four-day holiday weekend for many, but no one expected that a Google Maps glitch would exacerbate the problem. Google Maps indicated that multiple sections of motorways around Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, and other major German cities were closed on Thursday, but at the time the roads were open with traffic flowing as expected. Parts of the Netherlands and Belgium were also affected. Social media quickly filled with complaints as commuters detoured for miles, delivery drivers missed appointments, and holiday travellers took to backroads, zigzagging unnecessarily on smaller regional roads. "They can't have closed ALL the motorways," Bild quoted one Facebook user as posting. "Especially because the traffic news isn't reporting anything." Google acknowledged the issue by midday, attributing the false closures to erroneous data feeds from third-party sources. The company urged users to report inaccuracies and promised a swift resolution. By late afternoon, most of the phantom closures had disappeared from the app. 'The information in Google Maps comes from various sources (including) a combination of third-party providers, public sources, and user input,' a spokesperson told N-tv . 'In general, these sources provide a strong basis for comprehensive and up-to-date map material.' Screenshots from the Google Maps app shared by N-tv show red dots that indicate traffic disruptions scattered around Dortmund and Essen, as well as on highways going and coming from Frankfurt. Thursday's incident came at an awkward time for many road users, with traffic already heavy on account of the Ascension Day public holiday. Congestion and delays are expected on the network again on Sunday – as holidaymakers who have taken advantage of the long weekend begin returning home. READ ALSO: Where drivers in Germany can expect the worst traffic around Ascension Day Is Google Maps reliable in Germany? This isn't the first time that Google Maps has created problems for motorists in Germany in recent weeks. At the beginning of the month, the app informed users that motorway tunnels in Thuringia were closed. The complaint was corrected following complaints from the police. Until Google confirms that it has identified and definitively fixed the issues with its software, drivers are advised to double-check their journey plans. Advertisement What are the alternatives to Google Maps? Google Maps is not the only navigation tool available in Germany. HERE WeGo offers robust offline maps and real-time traffic updates. For people who value their privacy and / or prefer open-source solutions, OsmAnd and MapFactor Navigator both use data from OpenStreetMap, as well as community updates.
Local Germany
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Where drivers in Germany can expect the worst traffic around Ascension Day
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