Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Visitor Guide & Things to Do Nearby

The Alte Oper (Old Opera House) is a Renaissance-style concert hall on Opernplatz in Frankfurt, Germany. Opened in 1880, wrecked in the Second World War and rebuilt as a concert hall that reopened in 1981, it is one of the city's best-loved landmarks and a good place to start a walk through the Westend and the banking district.

The story behind it

Frankfurt's Alte Oper was paid for largely by the city's wealthy citizens, who donated money for a new opera house and in return secured the right to buy orchestra and box seats. It was inaugurated on 20 October 1880 in the presence of Emperor Wilhelm I. The facades follow the style of the Italian High Renaissance.

A bombing raid in 1944 destroyed the building, and for decades the ruin stood in the middle of the city while people argued about what to do with it. Reconstruction began in 1976. The facade was restored, while the inside was rebuilt as a modern concert hall. The Alte Oper reopened on 28 August 1981, Goethe's birthday, which ended the long debate.

What to look for

• Read the inscription across the front, "Dem Wahren Schönen Guten" (To the True, the Beautiful, the Good), which sums up the ambition of the founders.
• Study the richly decorated Renaissance facade, with its arched windows, columns and sculpture, and notice how it differs from the glass towers a few streets away.
• Look at the Lucae Fountain on Opernplatz, named after Richard Lucae, the architect of the opera house, and a popular meeting spot with the building behind it.
• Walk to the edge of the square and look back along the avenue, where the old stone building and the banking skyline sit side by side.

Tips for your visit

• Allow 15 to 30 minutes for the exterior and the square, longer if you stop for a coffee at the cafes around it.
• The building is a working concert venue, so you can usually go inside only for a performance or an event. Check current opening hours and tour options before you go.
• Evening is a good time, when the facade is lit and concertgoers gather on the steps. Daylight shows the stone carving best.
• The Taunusanlage park, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange area and the restaurant street Freßgass are all a short walk away, so it fits easily into a wider stroll.

See it on a quest

The Sex, Money & Murder: The Rosemarie Nitribitt Tour in Frankfurt passes the Alte Oper as one stop of a longer route on foot through the city. The app tells you about each place as you arrive and sets a puzzle based on what is in front of you, so you look at the facade and the square far more closely than a passing glance allows. It is a paid quest, and one ticket covers the whole group. You can start whenever you like, with no guide and no group to join.