Städel Museum

The Städel Museum at Schaumainkai 63 on the Sachsenhausen bank of the Main is one of the most important art museums in Germany and the anchor of Frankfurt's Museumsufer. It grew out of the foundation of the banker and merchant Johann Friedrich Städel, who left his art collection and fortune to the citizens of Frankfurt in 1815, making it among the oldest museum foundations in the country. The collection covers roughly 700 years of European art, from the early Italian Renaissance and the German and Flemish masters through the Dutch Golden Age to Impressionism, Expressionism and the twentieth century. Works by Botticelli, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Monet, Picasso and Max Beckmann are among the highlights, and Vermeer's The Geographer is one of the best-known paintings in the collection. The historic building houses the old masters and nineteenth-century art, while contemporary art is shown in the underground garden halls added in 2012, lit by a field of round skylights set into the lawn above. Visitors usually need two to three hours for a satisfying visit, and a full circuit can fill a half day. The museum is busiest on weekends, on Thursday evenings when it opens late, and during blockbuster special exhibitions, so weekday mornings are calmer. The garden above the underground halls is a pleasant place to rest, and the Main embankment outside is a short stroll from the Eiserner Steg and Holbeinsteg bridges. Photography for private use is generally permitted in the permanent collection but not always in special exhibitions, so signage should be checked. Admission is EUR 19 for adults, with a reduced rate on Tuesday afternoons, and the museum is closed on Mondays. The Städel also makes a good starting point for the wider Museumsufer, where neighbouring institutions such as the Liebieghaus sculpture collection and the Deutsches Filmmuseum are within walking distance.