edit Frankfurt Travel Guide

This cool metropolis located on the Main river is often called "Mainhattan" because of its unique skyline. Home to the European Central Bank, Frankfurt is the financial capital of Europe. It is also birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Frankfurt is home to many museums, theatres (among them the first-class "English Theatre"), and a world-class opera. While Frankfurt is not the size of London or Paris, it will not keep you wanting in terms of cultural activities.

edit Highlights

The Main Tower - the only Frankfurt high-rise that is open to the public; gives you a great view of the city.
Museums - Frankfurt is riddled with great museums. Make sure to visit a couple during your stay.
Bornheim A nice residential quarter with a lively market and beautiful medievil houses which survived intact (unlike the city centre).
Palmengarten ("palm garden") - botanic gardens with special exhibitions and events throughout the year.

edit Background

Frankfurt is a city of contrasts. Wealthy bankers, students, and granola drop-outs coexist in a city that has some of the highest, most avant-garde skyscrapers of Europe next to well maintained old buildings. The downtown area, especially Römer square and the museums at the River Main, draw millions of tourists every year. On the other hand, many off the beaten track neighborhoods, such as Bockenheim, Bornheim, Nordend and Sachsenhausen, with their intact beautiful 19th century streets and parks, are mostly neglected by tourism.

Frankfurt am Main is the largest traffic hub in Germany. This is the place where Germany's major Autobahns and railway-connections intersect. About 650,000 people commute to the city each day, not counting the 660,000 people who really live here. With a huge airport—the largest in Europe—it is the gateway to Germany and for many people also the first point of arrival in Europe. Further, it is a prime hub for interconnections within Europe and for intercontinental flights. These prime traffic connections have made Frankfurt the city with the highest percentage of immigrants in Germany: about 25% of Frankfurt's 660,000 people have no German passport and another 10% are naturalized German citizens. With about 35% immigrants, Frankfurt is the most diverse of German cities.

edit Getting Here

Frankfurt is the heart of central Germany and as such, it is the national transportation hub. It has excellent connectivity between railways, airlines and highways. Reaching and leaving Frankfurt is easy.

By plane

Frankfurt's principal airport (IATA: FRA) is among the busiest in Europe. All major airlines and all airline alliances fly frequently to Frankfurt and connects it to every continent and major city in the world. The German flagcarrier Lufthansa is the main airline in Frankfurt and offer the best connections.

By train

Frankfurt has three major train stations, the central station (Hauptbahnhof), the Southern Station (Südbahnhof) and the Airport (Flughafen Fernbahnhof); however, inter-city trains that stop at the airport will usually (not always!) also stop at Hauptbahnhof. Frankfurt has connections to most German cities - and some international destinations - via InterCity and high-speed InterCity Express trains. There is no problem to get a connection to any train destination from Frankfurt.

Be aware that Frankfurt train stations (other than at the airport) are very large, confusing, labyrinth-like places for newcomers. Allow plenty of extra time to locate the boarding area of your train. It's likely you'll have to ask someone for help the first time.

By car

Frankfurt is connected to several autobahns and can be easily reached by car. Try to avoid rush-hour and especially snowy days, as car traffic can easily break down. Parking is definitely a problem in most areas. Especially during big conventions—such the Internationale Automobilausstellung (International Automobile Exhibition) in September, or the Frankfurter Buchmesse (The Frankfurt Book Fair) in mid-October—you should consider using the well designed park-and-ride system.

By bus

Frankfurt is serviced by various trans-European buslines like Eurolines (http://eurolines.com/). The main terminus is the central station (Hauptbahnhof). If you are on a tight budget, this will be a good way to reach Frankfurt.

By boat

edit Getting Around

Don't overestimate the scale of Frankfurt. It is entirely possible to explore the downtown area on foot. Still, if you don't feel like walking a lot, there are many alternatives to get around town.

By Car

By Mass Transit

By Foot

edit Weather And Climate

The summers tend to be sunny and warm around 25 degrees celsius. Be prepared, however, for very hot summer days around 35 degrees as well as for light rain. The winters can be cold and rainy (usually not lower than -10° C), but there is hardly any snow inside Frankfurt itself.

edit Health And Safety

Police

Fire Department

Hospitals

Crime

Although Frankfurt has one of Germany's highest crime rates, violent and armed crimes are unlikely, and the city is still very safe compared to most.

Smoking

edit Things To See And Do

edit Shopping

The Zeil is the main shopping area of Frankfurt. Various large department stores compete for customers here. You can spend a lot of money here on perfumes, clothes, jewelry, or really anything else you desire. While the Zeil itself is mostly populated by generic shops, nearby streets also house more exclusive - and much more expensive - stores of all kinds. To reach the Zeil, take the subway to Hauptwache or Konstabler Wache, but you can easily walk from the central station.

If you like shopping centres, take the subway U1 direction Ginnheim and get off at the station Nordwestzentrum. It is one of the biggest malls in Germany. Not the biggest but one of the oldest (1971) Mall is Hessencenter which resides at the U7 towards Bergen-Enkheim station Hessencenter.

South-east of the Zeil is the Goethestrasse (Goethe Street), which covers the exclusive and designer shops. If you are a foreign visitor, remember to ask for tax free shopping and ensure that you receive a "tax free" envelope for the customs officer. You will get your value added tax money back when you leave the country (16% in 2006, 19% as of 2007). Often the store staff can speak English, other languages may be available.