Five years ago, the city of Frankfurt introduced the culture and leisure ticket (KUFTI) – a small yellow card that gives children and young people free access to cultural institutions. Now the programme is celebrating its anniversary and is being expanded to include additional offers.
Culture for all – without admission barriers
Around 30,000 young people in Frankfurt have applied for a KUFTI in recent years. The ticket is free for schoolchildren, nursery children and anyone under the age of 18 from households with a net income of less than €4,500; for everyone else, it costs €29 per year. It is already valid for 43 museums, archives, memorial sites, the zoo and the Experimenta Science Centre. From the end of September 2025, the Dialogmuseum will also be included. "With the KUFTI, we have been able to send a strong signal for cultural participation," says Ina Hartwig (SPD), Head of the Department of Culture. She refers to the legacy of the former Head of the Department of Culture, Hilmar Hoffmann, who shaped Frankfurt's museum landscape with his credo "Culture for all".
New partners and four vouchers
To mark its fifth anniversary, all KUFTI holders will receive four additional vouchers that can be redeemed for visits to cinemas, theatres or music and literature events. New applications submitted by November 2026 will also include the vouchers, which are valid until the end of 2026. New partners include the three arthouse cinemas Harmonie, Eldorado and Cinéma, the Mousonturm, the Junges Literaturhaus and the Frankfurt Opera. A total of 24 other institutions are also participating.
A successful model since its introduction
Admission to municipal museums had already been made free for children, young people and students in 2017. With the KUFTI, the offer was extended in 2019 to include institutions run by foundations such as the Städel and the Senckenberg Natural History Museum. The response was overwhelming: in the first month alone, more than 5,000 young people in Frankfurt applied for the card. Since March 2025, free admission has also been available to trainees.
More than just admission: education and activities
The ticket is part of a broader strategy for cultural education. Information is provided in simple language and in several languages, families are specifically targeted and young people are more strongly involved as a target group. Since 2021, a mobile campaign stand has also been touring the city's districts, supplemented by creative formats such as the board game "Auf ins Museum!" (Off to the museum!).
The annual KUFTI Day at Frankfurt Zoo, where museums offer workshops and hands-on programmes, is also popular. This year it falls on Sunday, 14 September.
Networks and collaborations
KUFTI has initiated new collaborations between museums, libraries and social institutions. Projects such as "Das reisende Museum" (The Travelling Museum) and holiday camps on the Museumsufer (Museum Embankment) have created additional educational and leisure opportunities. Young people with KUFTI can now also attend the "Night of Museums" free of charge.
The city is thus pursuing a strategy of participation that sees culture as a natural part of growing up – and is now underlining this with an expanded programme to mark its anniversary.
