On the last weekend in August, Frankfurt will once again celebrate its culture and museum landscape. In addition to well-known highlights such as the dragon boat race and fireworks, there will also be an artist market and concerts on the program. What you need to know about the Museumsuferfest 2024.
It is not only a fixed part of the late summer programme for the people of Frankfurt: with around one million visitors every year, the Frankfurt Museumsuferfest is one of the largest cultural festivals in Europe.
From Friday to Sunday, the banks of the Main River will once again be transformed into a party mile. Regional and international bands and DJs will play and perform on a total of 14 stages, food stalls will offer culinary delights from all over the world – and the museums will entice visitors with special events and unusual insights. What is particularly worthwhile and what should you know? The most important questions and answers:
- When and where will the celebration take place?
- Is there an entrance fee for the Museumsuferfest?
- Which museums are participating?
- What are the program highlights?
- When will the fireworks over the Main take place?
- What does the Museumsuferfest offer for children?
- What is the best way to get there?
When and where will the celebration take place?
The Museumsuferfest always takes place on the last weekend in August on the northern and southern banks of the Main, this year from Friday, 23 to Sunday, 25 August. The opening hours are: Friday from 3 p.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Sunday from 11 a.m. to midnight. The music program ends one hour before the end (two hours on Sundays).
Culture, concerts, culinary delights: that’s what the Museumsuferfest offers.
How much does the entrance fee cost Museumsuferfest?
The Museumsuferfest itself does not cost an entrance fee – but the museums do. Unless you get the Museumsuferfest button for seven euros: This allows free entry to all participating museums for the duration of the festival. The button is available at the museum ticket offices or at the tourist information office on the Römer.
Children and young people up to and including 18 years of age have free admission to all municipal museums. These include, for example, the Historical Museumthe Institute for Urban Historythe Jewish Museum and that Museum of Applied Arts. Appropriate proof must be presented at the entrance.
Which museums are Museumsuferfest included?
This year, 27 museums are participating and offering (special) exhibitions, workshops and guided tours, including the Archaeological Museumthe Bible House Adventure Museumthe Caricatura Museum of Comic Artthe German Film Institute and Film Museumthe MOMEM Museum of Modern Electronic Music and that Frankfurt Museum. You can find an overview here.
What are the highlights this year?
In addition to the museum programme, visitors can expect 14 stages with more than 100 programme items, nine cultural projects such as the antiquarian book mile and the traditional dragon boat race, arts and crafts stalls and an organ and choir mile. You can find an overview of all events here. These are our highlights:
The dragon boat race takes place on Saturday and Sunday.
- The Caricature Museum organized Festival of Comedy has long been an integral part of the Museumsuferfest. For three days, the Weckmarkt in front of the museum is transformed into a satirical stage. Cartoon shows, music and readings are planned. For the first time, an entire book will be read aloud: “How Painting Disappeared” by Hans Traxler will be presented by, among others, theatre maker Michael Quast and the Frankfurt writers Eva Demski and Martin Mosebach.
- It is the festival within the festival: For the third time, the “The European Quarter” with live music, DJ sets, an international food court and creative workshops in the Metzlerpark of the Museum of Applied Arts insteadAt night, the ground floor of the museum also becomes an electro club. This year, however, the focus is also on the (near) future: under the motto “Let’s design how we want to live”, visitors are invited to submit their ideas for the program of the World Design Capital Frankfurt Rhein-Main 2026 to contribute.
- The Bibelhaus is moving its location from Frankfurt to Jerusalem for the duration of the Museumsuferfest – at least virtually. Virtual reality makes it possible to travel back in time to Israel 2,000 years ago. With VR glasses, you can visit the Temple Mount and view 3D models of ancient coins from all sides. The exhibition also includes “real” exhibits from the collection of the Institute for Classical Archaeology in Tübingen and the Israel Antiquities Authority.
When will the fireworks take place?
The final fireworks display is planned for Sunday evening: it is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. between the Holbeinsteg and the Untermainbrücke.
The fireworks over the Main River mark the end of the Museumsuferfest every year.
What does the program offer for children?
- Im Archaeological Museum Children aged six and above can, for example, get creative themselves and work with a perennial favorite among materials: iron wire. Pendants, bracelets, necklaces and rings made from it were already popular in the Bronze Age, according to the museum. Young and old can try their hand at grinding stones, pliers, hammers and anvils on Friday and Saturday. The participation fee is five euros.
- How did Levi, the house spirit, come to the museum? Children aged eight and over can answer this question in Jewish Museum The story of Levi and the house mite Fanny serves as inspiration for a comic workshop in which the kids can create their own picture story. The event is free and takes place several times on Friday and Saturday.
- Around the world in 77 hops: The Struwwelpeter Museum turns the dice game “Around the World in 77 Days”, developed by Heinrich Hoffmann in 1880, into an XXL edition. The visitors themselves are the game pieces. The museum promises not only a giant playing field, but also great fun for adults too.
Where is the best place to park?
The event locations are centrally located in Frankfurt. Some streets will be closed and routes diverted for the Museumsuferfest. The city therefore recommends traveling by public transport. Subways, trams, buses and S-Bahns run more frequently and for longer periods during the weekend – sometimes even all night.
The following stops are particularly suitable: Schweizer Platz, Schweizer-/Gartenstraße, Otto-Hahn-Platz, Stresemannallee/Gartenstraße, Willy-Brandt-Platz, Hauptwache or Konstablerwache. The Main is also within easy walking distance from the main train station.
Whoever has the Auto can use the surrounding public parking garages, for example the Döm/Römer parking garage, the Alt-Sachsenhausen parking garage, the Am Theater parking garage or the Hauptwache parking garage. Textorstraße is closed.
There are designated parking areas for bicycles and e-scooters, for example in front of the Historical Museum. Riding bicycles, e-scooters, skateboards, Segways and similar vehicles on the festival grounds is not permitted.
