Discover Frankfurt

Why visit Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main is Germany's financial capital and the gateway airport hub for most international visitors — 'Mainhattan', as locals semi-ironically call it, has the only proper skyscraper skyline in continental Europe west of Warsaw, headquartered by the European Central Bank and Deutsche Börse. But the city has more to offer than office towers. The Römerberg, the cobbled medieval main square, was painstakingly reconstructed after wartime bombing and now serves the historic centre with its half-timbered houses, the Römer city hall, and the Old St Nicholas Church. The recently rebuilt New Frankfurt Old Town quarter beside it has restored 35 lost buildings to their pre-war designs — the best post-war urban reconstruction project in Germany. Don't miss the Museumsufer ('Museum Embankment') along the south bank of the Main: a 700-metre strip of 13 first-class museums covering film, architecture, applied arts, world cultures, communication, and the famous Städel Museum's 700 years of European painting. Above the river, the Main Tower's free observation deck (200m up) gives the best skyline view; on the ground, the Sachsenhausen district's historic apple-wine taverns serve Ebbelwoi (Frankfurt's traditional drink) and Handkäse cheese. The Christmas Market in December is one of the country's oldest, running on Römerberg since 1393.