Book a Flight to Frankfurt from €50

Römerberg: Since the 9th century the heart of the mediaeval Old Town has beaten in beautiful, cobbled Römerberg Square. Here you will find the famous fountain, known as the Spring of Justice (Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen), the Church of St. Nicholas, the City Hall (1405) and some delightful timber houses from the 15th century.
Address: Römerberg, 60311 Frankfurt

Goethe House & Museum: The house where Germany’s national poet was born and spent his early years is now a wonderful museum, with an impressive library and a large collection of 18th and 19th century art. On the third floor is the poet’s study (Dichterzimmer) where he composed such masterpieces as Faust and the Sorrows of Young Werther.
Address: Großer Hirschgraben 23-25, 60311 Frankfurt, www.goethehaus-frankfurt.de

Städel Museum: One of the most important art galleries in the world, the Städel is home to treasures of seven centuries of European art – from the early 14th century to the present day – covering the Renaissance, the Baroque period and classical modernism. The collection features works by Rembrandt, Renoir, Rubens, Botticelli, Durer, Holbein, Vermeer, Monet, Cezanne, Picasso, Francis Bacon and many other great artists.
Address: Schaumankai 63, 60596 Frankfurt, www.staedelmuseum.de

Botanical Gardens (Palmengarten): This is the largest botanical garden in Germany, opened in 1868, and home to more than 6,000 plants from all over the world, arranged in an impressive complex of open-air, themed gardens and greenhouses. At the heart of the complex is the historic Palm House (1869), an elegant steel and glass construction 18m high, housing a tropical forest of palm trees. In the Tropicarium visitors can admire tropical and sub-tropical plants laid out in eight different habitats.
Address: Siesmayerstr. 61, 60323 Frankfurt, www.palmengarten.de

Frankfurt Zoo: One of the oldest zoos in the world (1858), home to 500 different species and more than 4,500 individual animals, housed in open-air theme parks. Visit the impressive Grzimek Haus, the largest colony of nocturnal animals in Europe.
Address: Bernhard-Grzimek-Allee 1, 60316 Frankfurt, www.zoo-frankfurt.de

Kaiserdom (Emperor’s Cathedral): The impressive Gothic Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew was built in red limestone between the 13th and 15th centuries, and soon became the official site for coronation of the Holy Roman Emperors. It has sustained much damage over the years, and was fully restored in its current form in the 1950s. There is an enchanting view of Frankfurt from the top of the cathedral, 95m above the city.
Address: Domplatz 1, 60311 Frankfurt, www.frankfurt-tourismus.de

Museum of Modern Art: This is one of the city’s landmark buildings, a post-modern masterpiece by Hans Hollein, home to one of the most important collections of modern art in the world (from 1960 to the present day). The collection includes more than 5,000 works of art (painting, sculpture, cinema, photographs and performance art) by leading international artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Joseph Beuys and many others.
Address: Domstraße 10, 60311 Frankfurt, www.mmk-frankfurt.de

Natural History Museum Senckenberg: From the Big Bang to the emergence of mankind, from Tyrannosaurus Rex to Egyptian mummies – the Frankfurt Natural History Museum offers an impressive account of the evolution of life and the biodiversity of our planet from the prehistoric era to the present day. One of the most popular exhibits in the museum is the largest collection of dinosaurs in Europe.
Address: Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, www.senckenberg.de

Alte Oper (Old Opera House): Built in 1880 in the Italian Renaissance style, the superb Old Opera House, with its remarkable acoustics, is one of the most important features of Frankfurt’s cultural heritage. After being destroyed in the Second World War, the ‘most beautiful ruin in Germany’ was restored in line with the original architect’s drawings and reopened in 1981. It now hosts more than 300 concerts and events each year.
Address: Opernplatz 1, 60313 Frankfurt am Main, www.alteoper.de

Jewish Museum: Nine centuries (12th-20th) of the history and culture of the Jews of Frankfurt – the second largest Jewish community in Germany – are narrated in the former palace of the Rothschild family, through objects, photographs, paintings and historical documents.
Address: Untermainkai 14-15, 60311 Frankfurt, www.juedischesmuseum.de

Frankfurt’s main shopping street is the pedestrianized Zeil, home to the major German department stores (Kaufhof and Karstadt), as well as the ultramodern mall Zeilgalerie. Two other excellent malls worth visiting are the Nordwest Zentrum and the Schillerpassage. From here you will make your way to Goethestrasse, the city’s answer to Fifth Avenue, with exclusive designer boutiques and major jewellery stores. For gourmet experiences you should make for Grosse Bockenheimer Strasse (also known as Fressgasse), which has the finest local and international delis and wine cellars, as well as the Kleinmarkthalle. For fresh local produce, there is a big farmers’ market every Sunday and Thursday in Konstablerwache Square, a paradise for foodies. Other areas worth exploring are the neighbouring Schillerstrasse and Steinweg (for bargain buys), the trendy, youthful Schweizerstrasse (in the Bohemian Sachsenhausen district) and Bergerstrasse (in the Bornheim district), which has lots of bargains in design, fashion and vintage items. Sachsenhausen is also home to the city’s biggest flea market (every Saturday), with endless choices in vintage clothes and gift items.

The gastronomic scene in Frankfurt is as lively and multicultural as the city itself. You won’t need to search far to find superb restaurants serving international and ethnic cuisine for every budget, but the city also has its own local food and drink culture which is worth exploring. The traditional Apfelwein restaurants of the Bohemian Sachsenhausen quarter are the ideal place to try local delicacies like Handkäs mit Musik (cheese marinated in oil and vinegar) and Frankfurter Grüne Sosse (traditional onion sauce made with yoghurt or sour cream, boiled eggs and 7 varieties of fresh spices, served with boiled meat). Of course, no meal here is complete without a few glasses of the famous Ebbelwoi, the local cider served in big glass tankards with a little mineral water added. Other locales for gourmets include the fashionable Westend district, Fressgasse, and for more casual dining out the Kleinmarkthalle food market, where you can enjoy not only typical German food but also Greek and Italian dishes. Frankfurt offers a cosmopolitan nightlife, with a huge variety of choice: classic bars, modern techno discos, atmospheric nightclubs and luxurious lounge bars. For a really unforgettable night out, join the colourful crowds in Sachsenhausen and make your way into one of the many cider pubs which adorn its maze of narrow streets. The best jazz bars are to be found around Kleine Bockenheimer Strasse, also known as Jazzgasse (Jazz Alley).

• Wäldchestag (Forest Day): Every year for centuries now, on the Tuesday after Pentecost, the inhabitants of Frankfurt have poured out of the city into the woods for a four-day feast. This is an occasion full of local colour, with funfairs, concerts, food and oceans of cider!
• Opernplatzfest: A musical festival which brings together fine food and music against the wonderful backdrop of Frankfurt’s Opera Square. For ten days (24 July – 3 August) visitors have the chance to sample selected dishes from cuisines around the world, and to enjoy live music – from jazz to pop – on the open-air stage in front of the Alte Oper building.
• Mainfest: With live music, funfairs with imaginative rides, carousels and shooting galleries and abundant cider, this traditional 4-day (31 July – 3 August) festival transforms Romerberg Square and the banks of the River Main into an endless carnival of fun. The festival was established by fishermen and boatmen in the 14th century as a Thanksgiving Feast, and nowadays culminates in an impressive fireworks display

Transport from the airport

Aegean Airlines flights land at Flughafen Frankfurt Airport, 12km from the city centre. This is the largest airport in Germany, and the third busiest in Europe. It has lots of duty free shops, banks, bureaus de change, ATMs, ethnic restaurants, cafes, bars, a post office, smoking areas, showers (for a charge), a dry cleaner’s and free WiFi (no charge for 24 hours). There is also a range of personal services, like a beauty parlour, themed children’s play areas, personal shoppers speaking three languages (Russian, Chinese and Japanese), a casino and gaming machines. There are separate chapels and prayer rooms for the three main faiths. The quickest way to get to the centre of the city is by line S8 or S9 on the S-Bahn from the airport station (Frankfurt – Flughafen Regionalbahnhof) to Offenbach Ost or Hanau Hbf. It’s about a 14-minute journey.