Travel blog - Tips to explore the world on a budget: Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main is Germany’s fifth-largest city, known for its dense cluster of skyscrapers called “Mainhattan” and its rebuilt medieval old town. With over 1,200 years of history, it was once the coronation city of the Holy Roman Empire and is the birthplace of Goethe. After WWII bombings destroyed much of the city, Frankfurt carefully restored the half-timbered buildings in Römerberg. Today, it is a major financial center with 760,000 residents (2.5 million in the metro area), home to the European Central Bank, major banks, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The city’s heritage lives on in the reconstructed guild houses at Römerberg, the Gothic St. Bartholomew’s Cathedral, the Goethe House museum, traditional Apfelwein taverns in Sachsenhausen, and the Museumsufer galleries along the Main River. Free walking tours show how Frankfurt grew from Charlemagne’s settlement in 794 and an imperial election site to a modern financial hub, balancing its history with contemporary life.