Frankfurt Fastnacht Parade

About this event

The parade features around 90 clubs and associations, from long-established Carnival societies to local sports teams and schools. Elaborately decorated floats deliver satirical jabs at local politics, while foot groups and marching bands turn the streets into a lively open-air party. The route winds from Untermainkai through the city centre and reaches Römerberg after about four hours, where the grand finale rolls out with speeches, dance routines, and plenty of cheering. The build-up starts at 11:00 with a pre-parade party at the Römer, complete with music and food stalls, before the first float heads off at 12:21. Sweets and small gifts rain down on the crowd along the 3.5-kilometre route, and the whole city seems to sway and sing together. Costumes are everywhere – from elaborate group outfits to last-minute onesies – so you can blend right in or just enjoy the spectacle. The whole thing feels distinctly Frankfurt: tongue-in-cheek, Hessian, and a little less brash than its Rhineland cousins. If one day of revelry isn’t enough, the more localised “Klaa Paris” parade follows two days later in Heddernheim.