Accommodating more than 2.2 million overnight visitors from over 180 countries every year, Frankfurt offers everything expected of a cosmopolitan city. Historical buildings, a renowned museum landscape, superb exhibition venues and countless sightseeing attractions, combined with numerous cultural highlights, international sporting events, superb nightlife locations and excellent shopping opportunities, ensure that Frankfurt visitors will not suffer even a minute of boredom – regardless of whether they are in town for business or pleasure.

It’s hard to tell whether Frankfurt gained its significance as a financial centre because of its airport, or whether the airport grew to such dimensions because of the city’s continual financial activities. Either way, Frankfurt International Airport, now trading under the name of “Fraport AG” since its début on the share market in 2001, has the largest number of aviation travellers in continental Europe (48.4 million in the year 2003). Every year, more than 4,200 flight routes from 102 airline companies can be used to reach 286 destinations in 105 countries from Frankfurt, or “FRA”, as it is known in international airline code.
The Frankfurt airport in particular shows how closely integrated train, air, rail and street networks can be. Right next to the airport’s runways is Frankfurter´s motorway intersection (Frankfurter Kreuz), Germany’s busiest autobahn (motorway) intersection. In 1956, the Frankfurt autobahn intersection was built next to the airport to connect the A3 autobahn (west-east) with the A5 motorway (north-south). In the year after the intersection was opened, over 47.000 cars and trucks used the autobahn intersection each day. Today more than 300.000 vehicles pass through the Frankfurt intersection, and over half of these use the intersection to change motorways.
Thanks to the International Automotive Exhibition (IAA), held every two years on Frankfurt’s expo grounds, the city has become a Mecca for automotive enthusiasts. In 2003, for example, 800.000 visitors made their way to the IAA. Because such a high number of visitors automatically means that logistical regulation of autobahn usage is stretched to the limits, the Frankfurt motorways are frequently used to test traffic control measures and devices that will later be employed all over the country. Examples for this are lane-changing signs with variable arrows, and variable speed-limit signs that suggest appropriate speed limits to drivers to ensure traffic flows smoothly even at times when traffic is dense and to avoid accidents in bad-weather conditions.

Frankfurt´s premier landmark is the three-gabled facade of the time-honoured “Römer”. This beautiful patrician´s house has been serving as the town hall of the City of Frankfurt am Main since 1405 and is to this day the official seat of the city´s lord mayor. Trade shows were held in both the town hall´s spacious “Römerhallen” and on the “Römerberg”, the large marketplace in front of the Römer, as early as the Middle Ages. Today, the Römerberg represents the heart and soul of Frankfurt´s historical old town, and is perhaps the city´s most popular sightseeing destination. The Römerhallen are still used to stage special events of every variety.

The recently built MainTower offers visitors a spectacular bird´s eye view of Frankfurt and its surroundings some 200 metres above the city streets. Its observation platform is accessible to  the general public, making the MainTower the first Frankfurt high-rise to allow private individuals and visitor groups to access its rooftop. The supreme view of the skyline is most definitely worth the visit.