City Information
Boka
flygstol -
Queensway
Travel
Airport
Now
called Fraport, Frankfurt airport is 12 km southwest of the city
centre and is one of the world's busiest airports. It is something
of a city-within-a-city, offering excellent and comprehensive
facilities for the business traveller. Many of its 120-plus shops
are open all day, every day. The two terminals are linked by a 3-min
ride on the Sky-Line train. Terminal 1, where the majority of
facilities are found, is divided into three areas (A, B, C) and
Terminal 2 into two (D, E). The several banks have different hours
of opening, but all are open between 0700 and 2130 in A and B. The
post office in B is open Mon to Sun 0700-2100. Left-luggage
facilities are found in both terminals (1B, 2D), open between 0630
and 2200, while the lost property office is in C. There are plans to
add on a new terminal to the west of the present airport site.
Needless to say, the affected towns have set a litigation ball
rolling that could hold things up for a matter of years.
The ACC conference centre in the Airport Centre has 28 rooms, the
largest catering for 220 participants. The 1,036-room Sheraton is
linked to Terminal 1 with space for 1,200.
Opposite the Sheraton Hotel, an above-ground station (AIRail
Terminal, platforms 4-7) specially equipped for high-speed ICE
trains, was opened in May 1999. It is geared to deal with 9 million
travellers per year and has its own terminal hall with check-in
facilities. On average, 90 long-distance trains stop here every day,
shuttling to or from Cologne, Munich, Zurich, Hamburg, Basle,
Hanover, Stuttgart, Dresden and Berlin. The station is reachable via
a direct walkway from the centre of departures hall B of Terminal 1.
A shuttle bus running every 10-15 mins links the station with
Terminal 2. Work is also in progress to construct a gigantic hall
linking Terminals 1 and 2. The station is closed 0030-0530.
Airport
to City Centre
There
is a taxi rank in front of both terminals. The journey to the city
centre takes 20-30 mins and costs about €25-30. For taxi journeys
between the airport and hotels in the city centre, however, a flat
rate of €25 has recently been introduced.
Quicker
and cheaper is the S-Bahn (S8), which runs to the main railway
station from underneath Terminal 1 every 15 mins from 0430 until
just after midnight. It takes 11 mins and costs €3.15. Local
trains to Frankfurt and Mainz also stop at the underground station.
A day ticket including airport and city costs €6.65
Orientation
- Biljett -
Queensway
Travel
No
city so neatly encapsulates Germany's post-war economic miracle as
Frankfurt. The city centre on the west bank of the River Main that
was virtually razed by Allied bombers in 1944 today thrusts skywards
with the self-confidence of Germany's 'Mainhattan'. The jostling
skyscrapers of the Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Main Tower and
spear-like Trade Fair Tower attest to Frankfurt's vitality buoyed up
by banking and stock market activity. Indeed, it seemed the natural
choice as the headquarters of the European Bank.
Haphazard construction over the past half-century has meant that the
city has no real focal point, although the nearest equivalent is the
Römerberg with its reconstructed half-timbered houses and town
hall. The main shopping area is Zeil, leading from the Hauptwache, a
characteristically carbuncular German pedestrian precinct, although
the shops are pretty good.
Business
travellers are most likely to visit two areas: the financial
district located between the decrepit 'station quarter' red-light
district and the Alte Oper, or the Messegelände, Frankfurt's
sprawling exhibition grounds just a 10-min walk from the railway
station. Nestling roughly between the two is the posh residential
suburb of Westend. Heading East from the Alte Oper, you can find
interesting speciality shops in and around Grosse Bockenheimer
Strasse. South of the river is Sachsenhausen, an area of smart
residential streets and coruscating nightlife. What little industry
there is in Frankfurt is confined to the outskirts of the city.
The
199.5-metre-high Main Tower on Neuer Mainzer Strasse just pips the
Commerzbank (190 metres) as the tallest office building, although
the latter's antenna makes it slightly higher. Rising 56 storeys and
the home of the Helaba Bank and several media companies, it is
topped by a two-storey restaurant and observation platform that
makes it into a must-see attraction. It is the only high-rise
building open to the public. Virtually next door, the planned
Eurotheum will be the first Frankfurt skyscraper with apartments
that will be offered fully furnished and with complete doorman
service.
What
to see
- Resebyrå -
Queensway
Travel
Museum
Bank or Museumsufer: This is the colloquial name for the
Schaumainkai which runs along the south bank of the Main in
Sachsenhausen. It is lined with museums, including the Städel, the
Liebighaus (sculpture) and museums of Architecture, Ethnology, Film,
and Decorative Arts.
Goethe's
House and Museum: Although obliterated in the war, Goethe's
birthplace has been authentically reconstructed and is now an
interesting museum of his life and work.
Old
Opera House: The famous Alte Oper once attracted the cream of
Frankfurt society, many of whom helped pay for its construction in
the 1880s. It was badly damaged by Allied bombing in 1944 and
rebuilt in its original style in 1981. Still a venue for
blockbusting concerts and an elegant conference centre catering for
up to 2,450 delegates.
Jewish
Museum: This elegant mansion, once the home of the Rothschild
family, contains displays and documents charting the rise of the
city's Jewish community.
Börse:
The most important stock exchange in Germany, opened in 1558.
Admission to the visitors' gallery is free on weekdays between 1100
and 1300.
The
Palmengarten: Frankfurt's botanical garden is the city's loveliest
park, tucked away between Westend and the diplomats' quarter. Admire
the exotic plants in the elegant glass greenhouses (one with
tropical butterflies), stroll through the magnificent and
ever-changing outdoor garden, or rent a rowing boat for an hour on
the pond.
Where
to walk
Start
at the Römerplatz, in front of Frankfurt's city hall, and walk past
the imposingly modern Schirn Museum (changing exhibitions) and
medieval excavations to the fine Gothic Cathedral where German
emperors were once crowned. The Cathedral has an interesting museum
in the cloisters. From here, it's just a few paces to the Museum of
Modern Art, the so-called 'slice of cake' which is justly
Frankfurt's best loved contemporary building. Cut back down Berliner
Strasse to the Paulskirche, the meeting place of Germany's
first-ever parliament in 1848, before again passing across Römerplatz
and crossing over the Main via the Eiserner Steg pedestrian bridge.
Head into Old Sachsenhausen, a medieval district of narrow streets
and 16c and 17c town houses that miraculously survived Allied
bombing. This a good place to sample Frankfurt's lethal apple wines
and ciders sold in myriad Ebbelwoi pubs. The main street is Neuer
Wall, a bustling place of street musicians, garish disco-bars, cheap
eateries and fusty old pubs that serve German home-cooking and
gallons of hock. Work your way back to the Museum's Ufer for a walk
along the river, and cross back over the river on the new pedestrian
bridge.
City
Map
