What to do in Frankfurt: Christmas Garden Light Trail

Posted on by Juliet Frost

I started this little series of Germany blogs yesterday with “what to do in Frankfurt” and not actually talking about Frankfurt. But today we are going to Frankfurt. Kind of. In fact we’re going to a park on the outskirts, next to the stadium and sponsored by Deutsch Banke. This is Christmas Garden.

A selfie in a tunnel made of white, teal and pink lights. I'm wearing a green brioche woolly hat and a circular scarf made in four different colour sections.

It’s a light trail! I love a light trail. They’ve always existed but they really came into their own two years ago, when all our nice warm Christmas events wereen’t allowed to happen inside and we had to go out in the cold. If you had a bit of land, you put some pretty lights on it and charged people to walk around and look at them. Some of those light trails are still thriving two years on because it turns out it’s a relatively cheap and easy way of getting punters in and I love them. When I saw that Frankfurt had one, I immediately booked a ticket. Actually, I went for an open ticket which could be used on any date. I knew if I booked it for a specific date, it would be pouring with rain or I’d be out or it would be otherwise inconvenient.

You can take the U-Bahn out to Stadion but it’s then a 2.5km walk to the gate. Far easier is to take tram 21 from Frankfurt Hauptbahhof which drops you right next to the gate. Then you can either buy your ticket from the box office (I was there about 5pm; it was very much not busy) or show your eticket to security. I did mess up here – I’d printed my ticket and remembered to take it and was feeling very organised, right up until I realised it was my payment confirmation and not my actua ticket. I’ve been very short on mobile data here and the park’s wifi wasn’t working. No way of getting at the ticket in my emails. Box office found my booking, allegedly “briefed”‘ security and my job then was merely to assure security “the nice lady in the box office said I could go through”, which they accepted with an air that made me feel like I’d conned my way in, despite having a valid ticket which the box office had seen.

A snowy tram stop platform. On the tracks on the right is a teal-green tram with its rear lights on. It's dark and the stop is lit by white streetlights although the more distant ones are orange.

The route goes round in two loops. It’s really more of a figure-8 than a circuit. You go down towards the stadium, which joins in the light show, then back up and across and around a second loop. The stadium itself takes a starring role in the light show although I could have done without the sponsor. A colossal blue DEUTSCHE BANK PARK looming over everything isn’t exactly festive.

A path with snow up the sides, lit in very warm white lights, leads up to Frankfurt stadium. THe stadium is mostly lit in blue with pillars lit in orange. On top in huge blue letters are the words "Deutsche Bank Park".

It had been snowing – was it really only that morning? – and although the paths were clear, it had left a lovely backdrop to the lights and made it very cold. I had to keep my scarf over my face just to stop my nose falling off on my way round which of course that just made my glasses steam up. It was a motif on this trip.

Selfie attempt with the Rainbow Path behind me. My scarf is pulled up over my face and my glasses are steamed up.

The first excellent light display was the Rainbow Path. Just a section of tarmac with ever-shifting rainbow stripes dancing across it but it was pretty! I enjoyed Starry Meadows, which I think was the bit with the angels, which didn’t photograph terribly well, the weird not-quite-UV glowing boxes which I think was Caleido Ball and the Carillon, which was a frame filled with strings of lights. That one was popular; it made some amazing photos but on the downside, you couldn’t get people to move on and they had no concept of not striding into someone else’s pictures.

Rainbow Path: a section of tarmac path with wintery trees on each side. The path itself is lit by several sets of lights making stripes across it. These move in sequence but currently is showing a rainbow starting at pink closest to the camera and going through to blue at the far end.

In the trees beside the path, a six-foot angel in a blue dress with white wings blows a bugle. Behind and above, you can see other angels, also with bugles, flying and I think you can just make out a white angel behind the last trees.

An irregular 3D shape, its faces made up of strings wrapped around to leave holes in the middle, more or less circular. It's lit by purple lights but the shape itself is green and blue and the green in particular looks like the strings themselves are glowing.

A network of lights hanging from a rectangular frame. Most of the lights are yellow or green and yet the entire thing is somehow actually lit in pale pink, helped by snow on the ground. There are two or three people standing among the lights. It looks like something from an 80s game show.

Selfie in the Carillon. This time although most of the lights are blue, the overall effect is of a lot of mid-dark blue. However, my face is lit nicely by the white lights and there are more glittering orbs reflected in my glasses.

But my favourite was Miracles Happen. It was just a fountain lit by blue lights. Most people barely spared it a glance. Me neither. But my attention was caught by the area behind the hedge which, under a healthy coating of snow turned out to be an outdoor swimming pool. Then it was caught again, this time by a blast of heat – or at least, that’s what I think I remember feeling. The blue fountain was on fire! I’ve never seen anything like it. How can water be on fire? Flames darted around on top of the fountain, were extinguished twice and engulfed the entire column of water. I was utterly enraptured. Water – on fire!

Behind a hedge covered in warm white lights, a fountain plays, lit very brightly in blue lights.

 
 
 
 
 
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After that, you were mostly just being guided back down to the entrance. There were illuminated trees and enough lights on the field to make it look like an airport and it was all very nice but the highlights finished on a huge high with Miracles Happen.

A field of lights. These change colour constantly but right now they're mostly spring green with the occasional blue light among them. Behind them you can see the yellow-white hedge that surrounded Miracles Happen which is currently dormant.

All in all, there’s plenty to see, plenty of photos to take, places to stop and get drinks and snacks and even a carousel. I’d definitely go again if I happened to be in Frankfurt again next year – or indeed in any of the other cities in Germany and around the world where this event happens – apparently we have it in London, Newcastle & Nottingham. If anyone’s in any of those areas, maybe go and see what it’s like for me? Highly recommended but especially in the snow.

Another selfie in the Carillon. This time all the lights are pink and my face is lit in bright pink too.