City of charming contrasts: you will like Frankfurt
Frankfurt - Metropolis at River Main
Few cities in Germany are as multifaceted as Frankfurt. The financial Mecca on the River Main attracts guests from all over the world. This colourful synergy radiates a great deal of charm and vitality. Frankfurt casually combines contradictions to create an effortless, irresistible whole. Where else would you find smart half-timber houses next to dizzying skyscrapers? And where else do people know as much about Apfelwein (a German variant of cider) as share prices, or talk shop about the stock exchange and wine jugs? Only in Frankfurt.
Exhibition City with history
Frankfurt, the trade fair city which itself has just over 600,000 inhabitants, welcomes an astonishing 3 million trade fair visitors per year. The city is fond of proclaiming itself "probably the smallest metropolis in the world", and rightly so. But when it comes to shopping, Frankfurt puts even cities with more than a million inhabitants in the shade. The Zeil is a true shopping paradise and Germany's longest pedestrian zone. Night owls love the innovative clubs, the electronic beats and the concentration of bars.
You will be surprised how much Frankfurt has to offer. The 600-year-old city hall is known as the Römer and is situated in the heart of the city. St. Paul's Church is also an important German national historical monument and definitely worth a visit. The first freely-elected National Assembly met here in 1848. It is known as the cradle of German democracy.
Nearby - distances in the city are very short anyway - Frankfurt's Imperial Cathedral looms skywards. Today the Cathedral's Elector's Chapel is a room for silent prayer. German Kings were elected here in former times.
Bankers may shape Frankfurt's cityscape today, but nobody will ever be as famous as this man: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, born on 28th August 1749. The Goethe House and the Goethe Museum are not to be missed. The museum houses the only art gallery dedicated exclusively to Goethe's time. Museum lovers certainly get their money's worth in Frankfurt. More than 13 first-rate museums await visitors on the Main's southern bank, known as the Museum Embankment.
The Museum Embankment Festival at the end of August is a three-day museum celebration. There is commotion and carnival atmosphere on both sides of the Main.
Of course, everything revolves around football for fans of the Bundesliga. The action takes place at the Commerzbank-Arena, home of Eintracht Frankfurt.
It is quick and easy to reach the city centre, the trade fair and the airport from Sheraton Frankfurt Congress Hotel. Nature is even closer. The hotel is situated right next to Frankfurt's largest local recreation area, the City Forest. This is the relaxation and sport oasis for locals and guests alike, right in the heart of the city.
Places of interest of Frankfurt:
- Römer town hall: 7 km
- Paulskirche (St. Paul's Church): 7 km
- Goethe House: 7 km
- Zeil shopping mile: 7 km
- Museumufer (Museum Embankment): 5 km
- Alte Oper (Old Opera House): 7 km
- Commerzbank Arena: 3 km
- Messe Frankfurt (trade fair grounds): 7 km
Cities worth seeing:
- Bad Homburg: 25 km
- Wiesbaden: 35 km
- Rheingau (Rhine District): 40 km
- Heidelberg: 95 km