I spent about half a day on the German rail system, and touring the fossil park at Messel 'Pit'....about an hour south of Frankfurt (5 km north of Darmstadt).
The 'Pit' was at one point an oil sands type place (late 1800s to the 1960s), and was going to be the garbage landfill of Darmstadt until scientists got involved and noted a massive number of fossils there....dating back to 47 million years ago. There are various digs going on in the valley, and science-wise, I'd give the 'Pit' a four-star rating.
So the locals built a park there, and charge you around 14 Euro for the museum walk, and the pit walk.
If you have some interest in prehistoric times, and fossils....it's worth a trip.
Some advice:
1. If arriving at the Darmstadt station, exit the back (not the front) of the station and find platz 22. The F-U bus will cost 3.20 Euro (one-way). They drop you off eventually about 12 minutes walking from the museum. It's about a 22 minute ride from the train station.
2. Allocate a full-hour for the walk, and 45 minutes for the museum.
3. Yes, there is parking.
4. There is a two-star cafe, if you need essentials.
5. Most of the walking tour ladies are extremely educated on fossils and such, but English isn't typically the language (unless you contact and find a special time slot).
6. Drink lots of water before the walk on a hot day.
7. On the way back into town....the bus does stop in the Centrum and there's plenty of places there to eat.
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