Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main is a city of contradictions that rewards the curious traveller. Germany's financial capital — home to the European Central Bank and a skyline of glass towers that earned it the nickname "Mainhattan" — sits alongside one of the most beautifully restored medieval old towns in Germany. The Römerberg square, destroyed in WWII and painstakingly rebuilt with its original half-timbered architecture, is one of the most photographed squares in the country. The cobblestones and gabled facades look as though they have been there since the Holy Roman Empire — and the story of Frankfurt largely has been.

The Main River divides the city and defines its character. The north bank is the city of banks and business; the south bank (Sachsenhausen) is the city of apple wine taverns, antique dealers, and the Museumsufer — a remarkable concentration of nine major museums along a kilometre of riverside path. The Städel, one of Germany's great art museums with 700 years of European painting, anchors this cultural mile. Frankfurt's museums punch above the city's weight in world terms.

Beyond the city, Frankfurt is one of Europe's best base cities. The Rhine Valley — with its castle-lined gorge, wine villages, and the Loreley rock — is 60 minutes away. Heidelberg, with its romantic ruined castle above the old town, is an hour. The Taunus hills, with their spa towns and forest walks, begin at the city's doorstep. And Frankfurt Airport, Europe's third busiest, connects the city to every major destination on Earth — making it as much a gateway to the continent as a destination in itself.