Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main (pop. ~760,000 city, ~5.8 million metro) defies every expectation visitors bring to Germany. As the continent's undisputed financial capital—home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (founded 1585)—its cluster of glass-and-steel skyscrapers rising above the Main River has earned it the affectionate nickname 'Mainhattan,' making it the only city in Germany, and one of very few in all of Europe, with a true high-rise skyline.

Yet step just a few hundred meters from the banking towers and you plunge into an entirely different world: the Römerberg, Frankfurt's painstakingly reconstructed medieval square, where half-timbered houses painted in ochre and terracotta frame the Römer town hall that has served as the city's seat of government since 1405. Nearby, the Kaiserdom (Imperial Cathedral of St. Bartholomew) stands as a monument to a grander political past—Holy Roman Emperors were elected here from 1356 and crowned from 1562 to 1792 within its Gothic walls, a fact that gives Frankfurt a historical gravitas most visitors never anticipate.

The city's cultural wealth is staggering: the Museumsufer (Museum Embankment) stretches along both banks of the Main, concentrating over 26 museums within walking distance—the Städel Museum houses 700 years of European masterworks from Botticelli to Gerhard Richter, the Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK) showcases one of Europe's finest contemporary collections, and the Senckenberg Natural History Museum ranks among the continent's largest with its towering dinosaur skeletons. Literary pilgrims head to Goethe-Haus, the modest baroque townhouse where Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was born in 1749 and wrote early drafts of 'The Sorrows of Young Werther.' For panoramic views of this unlikely skyline, the Main Tower observation platform at 200 meters is the only skyscraper in Frankfurt open to the public—on clear days the Taunus hills roll to the horizon. Cross the Eiserner Steg footbridge into Sachsenhausen, the southern bank neighborhood that is the undisputed home of Apfelwein (apple wine, known locally as 'Ebbelwei'), served in distinctive diamond-patterned glasses called Gerippte at centuries-old taverns where communal wooden tables, hearty platters of Handkäse mit Musik (pungent hand cheese with vinegar-onion dressing), and the clatter of Bembel stoneware jugs define the quintessential Frankfurt evening.

Grüne Soße, the city's beloved green herb sauce made from seven fresh herbs (parsley, chives, chervil, cress, sorrel, borage, and burnet), accompanies hard-boiled eggs or schnitzel and inspires near-religious devotion—there is even a Grüne-Soße-Festival each spring. The Palmengarten, one of Europe's largest botanical gardens at 22 hectares, offers a lush escape from the urban pace, while the Kleinmarkthalle indoor market (open Mon–Sat) is Frankfurt's culinary heart, packed with over 150 stalls selling local specialties, international delicacies, and fresh produce. Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) is one of Europe's busiest rail hubs, placing the Rhine Valley wine villages, Heidelberg's romantic castle, and the medieval university town of Marburg all within 1–2 hours by train.

Every October, the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair) transforms the city into the global center of publishing, drawing 300,000+ visitors from over 100 countries—the world's largest and most important trade fair for books. With its seamless S-Bahn and U-Bahn network, compact walkable center, top-tier museums, surprisingly affordable Apfelwein taverns, and position as a gateway to the Rhine and beyond, Frankfurt rewards travelers who look past the banking façade to discover a city of deep culture, fierce local pride, and flavors found nowhere else in Germany.