Our first Regional of the 2026 Season is just around the corner!

As we return to Regulation H and remember what we might have to face during the tournament, preparations can prove to be quite challenging. But preparing for a Regional includes more than just figuring out what team to play and what your hard trick room matchup is …

So while we cannot save that mess inside your teambuilder, we want to make sure you at least get to the venue on time and find the best food to celebrate (or commiserate) on Saturday evening. We’ve also picked out some fun stuff to do for Friday or Sunday and some tips on how to navigate Frankfurt’s public transport cost-efficiently!

The Venue

Messe Frankfurt, Hall 12
Ludwig Erhard Anlage 1

60486 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
https://www.messefrankfurt.com/frankfurt/de/locations/hallen/halle12.html

Entrances

The Messe has multiple entrances, some of which are very far from Halle 12, so you might have to walk quite a bit depending on which direction you’re coming from. 

• ‘Portalhaus’ (West)
  • located on the street ‘Straße der Nationen’ and right next to Halle 12, definitely recommended. The closest bus station is ‘Europagarten/Messe West’ (line M46) and you will also pass by a supermarket if you want to get some snacks on the way.
• ‘Torhaus’ (South)
  • located on the overpass of the S-Bahn Station ‘Messe’, so if you’re taking the S-Bahn, this one is for you. It directly connects to Halle 12, but if you’re not coming straight from the S-Bahn but a nearby hotel, getting to the entrance is quite the hassle, so ‘Portalhaus’ might be easier to reach.
• ‘Galleria’ (North)
  • located on a big road and unintuitive to reach. You will also have to pass through a few other halls to reach Halle 12.
• ‘City’/‘Ludwig-Erhardt-Anlage’ (East)
  • If you are taking the U-Bahn or tram to ‘Festhalle/Messe’, this is where you will end up. It’s on the complete opposite end of the Messe compared to Halle 12, so be ready for a brisk walk through the entire venue.

Food

Hall 12 offers four different self-service Restaurants, two on the ground floor and two on the 1st floor, so you’ll have several options if you want to grab a bite between rounds (though we don’t know if all of them will be accessible for us Regional-goers). There’s also various supermarkets in the surrounding areas, but remember this is Germany, so they will be closed on Sunday!

Public Transit

Getting to the venue

Frankfurt has a variety of public transport (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, tram and busses) and it’s your best bet to get virtually anywhere in the city. The easiest way to get to Halle 12 with public transit is the S-Bahn, as the entrance ‘Torhaus’ is located directly above the station ‘Messe’. Be sure not to mix this up with the tram and U-Bahn station ‘Festhalle/Messe’, which will have you end up on the wrong side of the venue!

Tickets

The same tickets are used for all types of public transport, but there is no swipe-to-pay, so you’ll have to choose a specific type of ticket in advance. You can buy them at machines at stations except for bus stations, from bus drivers directly upon entering, or using the RMV app. If you are traveling to and from the venue using public transport or plan on going out to eat, we definitely recommend a day ticket!

• Single trip ticket – 3,80 €
  • Standard ticket for a single trip to anywhere in Frankfurt (not including the airport)
• Day ticket – 7,40 €
  • Worth it if you’re planning 2+ trips in a day
• Group day ticket (up to 5 people) – 14,10 €
  • Worth it with 4+ people for 1 trip, or 2+ people for 2+ trips
  • Only use this it if you’re consistently traveling with the same group of people. You’ll have to write everyone’s names on the ticket, so you can’t re-combine groups!
• Short trip ticket – 2,35 €
  • If your trip is shorter than 2 km (usually 1-2 stations), it might be eligible for a short trip ticket. There is a list of applicable stations at every station and the discount is applied automatically in the app, but you cannot find this out in advance easily
  • Unless you’re really short on cash, it’s not worth the hassle in our opinion.

Food and Drinks

We’ve compiled a list with a bunch of restaurant and bar recommendations from Frankfurt locals for you to check out on Google Maps: https://maps.app.goo.gl/sfGdgkAiQzpWAMRX6

If you are in a group of more than 4, we definitely
recommend calling in advance or reserving a table online!

Did you have a look? If you already found something that looks appealing, you can just skip this section! Otherwise, here’s a little overview by general area:

• Near Messe
  • Obviously there are quite a few restaurants around the area to cater to Messe guests. Some of these, like Ramen Jun, are very popular, so we would definitely recommend reserving a table in advance. They might also be a tad expensive since business people are their main audience, but not outrageously so. Nana’s Ramen is our personal recommendation for vegan ramen!
• Leipziger Straße (Bockenheim)
  • Bockenheim is home to the University’s old campus, so there’s slight hipster vibes going on here. Along the street, there’s restaurants of a lot of different cuisines and while I haven’t tried all of them, this might be the place if you’re still undecided on Saturday evening and want to go window-shopping. From the venue, take any S-Bahn to ‘West’ or the U4 to ‘Bockenheimer Warte’, or an extended walk.
• City Center
  • While certainly none of them are a ‘secret tip’, there are of course a lot of restaurants in the city center as well. It’s easily reachable from the venue by taking any S-Bahn to ‘Hauptwache’ or ‘Konstablerwache’. A nice bonus is the short walk down to the river or the opportunity to go across the bridge and party in Altsachs afterwards.
• Altsachs
  • South of the river, this is where most of the students we surveyed go to party. You could also check out one of the more traditional establishments for dinner and try out some ‘Grie Soß’, but don’t expect them to speak great English or take anything but cash.

Places to visit

While the competition may be the main reason why you’re traveling to Frankfurt in the first place, spending an entire weekend inside a venue can be mentally draining. Regardless of how the tournament goes, it’s one of the few chances we get to meet some of our closest friends from around the world and check out a new city together!

Museums

If you’re looking for some relaxing, 2-3 hour long indoor activities, Frankfurt has several top-class museums you can check out. For example, the Städel is considered one of Frankfurt’s most exquisite art museums. If that isn’t your cup of tea, there is a bunch of other museums along the river for you to choose from, like the Museum for Communication or the Historic Museum. A very honorable mention also goes to the Naturmuseum Senckenberg, which, while located in a totally different area near Bockenheimer Warte, has dinosaurs!!!

City Center

Frankfurt’s City Center is super compact, so you can see all the main spots in one short walk. If you get off at ‘Hauptwache’ (almost any S-Bahn or U-Bahn will take you here), this will bring you right to the Zeil shopping street. Turn south towards the river to reach the Paulskirche, a symbol of early German democracy, followed by the old city center: the Römerberg with the town hall, the cathedral and the new Old Town. A few steps more and you end up right on the Main river promenade.

If you arrive early on Friday and have a few hours to kill, there are a lot of shops to do some window-shopping, and even on Sunday you can still get some ice cream or food or visit some of the historic sites.

Zoo

Does that one friend of yours still believe they could take on a Gorilla? A trip to the Frankfurt Zoo might finally put an end to that debate. They have a huge variety of large and small animals and at 11:00 and 14:45 they feed the penguins (highly recommended!). Part of your entrance fee also directly supports different animal protection projects in Germany and abroad. 

Thank you for reading all the way. We put a lot of effort into compiling a neat little guide to Frankfurt, so if you liked it, please share it with your friends!

Most importantly, no matter how you choose to spend your weekend, we hope you have a great time!