City of Charlemagne, coronations and commerce

The business capital of Germany and pipped at the post by Bonn for national capital of the former Federal Republic, Frankfurt exudes authority. Its skyscraper skyline does little to dissuade visitors from hightailing it outta town once the deal is clinched; nor do the city’s glib nicknames of Mainhattan and Bankfurt. But Frankfurt’s business and cultural districts remain divided, by the river Main, and a city unfolds of restored medieval remains, rich in culture, cuisine and regal heritage.
From the 12th century, Frankfurt was the coronation site of German kings. Commerce and trade fairs flourished, with the first book fair taking place in 1480. Today, the Frankfurt Book Fair (www.frankfurt-book-fair.com) is the world’s largest.
The Altstadt is where Charlemagne built his fort, the old town of today centrepieced by the market square of Römerberg. Römer, the restored town hall originating from 1405, was where coronations were held. Nearby is the neoclassical Paulskirche, St Paul’s Church, where Germany’s first parliament sat in 1848. The Dom with its lovely 15th-century Gothic tower was one of the few structures undamaged by World War II; in front of it is a sunken area with exposed Roman and Carolingian foundations.
The city centre also contains the Museum of Modern Art (Domstrasse, +496921230447, www.mmk-frankfurt.de), with works by Warhol and Beuys; the Goethe-Haus&Museum (Grosser Hirschgraben 23, +4969138800, www.goethehaus-frankfurt.de), birthplace of Germany’s most revered poet; the Historisches Museum (Saalgasse 19, +496921235599, www.historisches-museum.frankfurt.de) and the Saalhof, imperial buildings including a remaining chunk of Frankfurt’s old city wall. On the edge of the old town the Jüdisches Museum (Untermain-kai, +496921235000, www.juedisches-museum.de) chronicles the local Jewish community from the Middle Ages to World War II.
Another cultural hub lies south of the Main in Sachsenhausen. The Museum Embankment running along Schaumainkai houses a handful of museums: the Städel Art Institute (No.63, +49696050980) has a superb collection of old masters.
The rest of the city is given over to commerce and relaxation. There’s excellent shopping along Zeil and Goethestrasse, and a well-financed cultural agenda. The Alte Oper (Opernplatz, +496913400, www.alteoper.de) is a reconstruction of the opera house that once rivalled any in Europe and now is a concert hall; for operas visit the new Schauspielhaus (Neue Mainzerstrasse 17, +496921237333, www.schauspielfrankfurt.de).
Away from the busy city centre, the botanical gardens Palmengarten (Siesmayerstrasse 61, +496921236689) have a pond for boating, nature reserves and bird sanctuaries