Ich liebe Mainhattan

Frankfurt is commercial capital of Germany and among the world's foremost finance centres.Most of the leading banking houses are headquartered out of Frankfurt. It is situated on the banks of river Main, a home to largest airport of Europe and busiest train station of Germany.More than 40,000 flights from 110 airlines arrive at and depart from Frankfurt International Airport, or 'Fraport', as it is referred to in trade circles, every week, servicing a total of 290 destinations in 109 countries.

A further 350,000 travellers frequent Frankfurt's main train station every day; more than half of all ICE passengers use Frankfurt as their port of arrival or departure. In 1998, Frankfurt was chosen as headquarters for the European Central Bank (ECB), which takes over from the European Monetary Institute located at Willy Brandt Platz.

Germans call this city as 'Frankfurt am Main'(Frankfurt-on-the-Main) as there is one more city with the same name exists in the German state of Brandenburg, known as Frankfurt(Oder).According to Liverpool University, Frankfurt was the wealthiest city in the European Union in 2001 as measured by GDP per capital.It is also listed as one of nine Alpha world cities.

The center of this city was completely destroyed during the World War II.Saint Paul's church faced worst damage and reconstruction took many years to restore the originality of the structure.The skyline of Frankfurt gives you an impression of some of its twin city in US and sometimes referred as 'Mainhattan'.The tallest skyscrapper is Commerz Bank Tower which is situated 259 mt tall, it was tallest structure of Europe till 2005.

Other major skyscrapers are:

1. Kronenhochhaus (DZ-Bank) with its "statue of liberty" like roof structure.
2. MesseTurm — Europe's tallest building (1990–1997)
3. Maintower, among others "Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen" (HeLaBa)
4. Silver Tower Trianon (Frankfurt am Main).

The main shopping area of the city is known as 'Zeil' which is very close to Hauptbahnhof(Central Railway Station) and metro stations 'Hauptwache' and 'Konstablerwache' are main access points to this area.The Zeil houses some of the leading super markets of Germany like 'Galleria Kaufhof','Kardstadt' and 'C&A'.You can shop for all leading international brands of various commodities here.

The main attractions of this city are:

In City Center:

Dom

Dom:
It was originally built as a parish church in 1235।All German emperors were coronated here
after 1356, thus conferring cathedral status upon the church। The cathedral was rebuilt several times over the years: after a devastating fire in 1867 and after World War II.The tower contains a masterpiece of the early Renaissance period - a sculpture by Hans Backoffen portraying a scene from the crucifixion।

Römer

Römer(means Roman):
It has been the city hall or Rathaus of Frankfurt am Main for 600 years and the middle-age building is one of the city's most important landmarks।A Roman merchant family sold it to the city council on March 11, 1405 and it was converted for use as the city hall,mainly as a civil registration office।

Justitia(The Roman Goddess of Justice) facing Römer is a personification of legal system across the globe.

Saint Paul's Church

Frankfurter Paulskirche/Saint Paul's Church:
It is an important political symbol of Germany.It was opened as a Protestant church in 1789 and in 1848-1849 it became the Frankfurt Parliament, the first democratically elected body of Germany. In World War II, the church was nearly destroyed along with much of the Frankfurt Innenstadt(inner city).It was rebuilt in Frankfurt after the war, reopened on the 100th anniversary of the Frankfurt Parliament.It is now used as a center for various displays and events. The most well-known is the annual awarding of the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade during the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Alte Oper Frankfurt (Old Opera House):
It is a former opera house in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The building was inaugurated in 1880 and was almost completely destroyed by World War II bombing in 1944.
It consists of:

• The Grosse Saal (Large Hall) which has seating for an audience of 2,500.
• The Mozart-Saal with 700 seats.
• Smaller halls used for conventions.
  

Goethe Haus:
Goethe was born here on August 28 1749, is a fine example of how the well-to-do lived in the late baroque era. In 1733 Goethe's family acquired two neighbouring half-timbered houses in Grossen Hirschgraben. The family sold the property in 1795, by which time Goethe himself had already moved to Weimar. Adjoining Goethe Museum is also worth taking a visit, which is recently renovated and contains both a library and a bookshop.

Frankfurt Zoo:
Zoo was opened in 1858 and home to 4800 animals of 565 species.It is next metro station from Konstablerwache on U6(Underground Direction: Frankfurt (Main) Ostbahnhof ) and U7(Underground Direction: Frankfurt (Main) Enkheim).

More on transport of Frankfurt, click here.