Frankfurt's shopping is as varied as its cityscape. The skyscraper-dominated skyline contrasts with historical Römerberg square by the town hall, while the nearby Braubachstrasse is popular with lovers of art and antiques. The town centre and the neighbouring shopping streets are all within walking distance.

An international city you can explore on foot
The shopping boulevard of "Zeil" is characterised by its huge department stores, selling a stunning array of international brand goods, cosmetics and fashions under one roof. Nestling between are boutiques, jewellery shops, shoe stores and electronics emporiums. Goethestrasse is lined with international designer-label shops, and Kleine Bockenheimerstrasse is affectionately known as the "Fressgass“ (literally: "Glutton Lane"), because of its long-established delicatessens.

Goethe House, birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, provides a fascinating insight into upper-middle class life in the mid-18th century. Of all Frankfurt's buildings, St. Paul's Church has perhaps played the greatest historical role: this is where Germany's first freely elected parliament met in 1848. Römerberg square and the old town hall, known as the "Römer", are the very heart of the old quarter.

On the Sachsenhausen stretch of the main embankment there are 16 museums that were renovated or built from scratch between 1980 and 1990 by acclaimed architects. The Städel Institute of Art, the German Film Museum, the Museum for Applied Arts, the Museum of Ethnology and the Communications Museum are particularly highly regarded. On Römerberg square there is also the Schirn Kunsthalle, one of Europe's leading art galleries.