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Downtown, I saw everything from French and Italian to Turkish, Indian and Chinese.

What to see:

By all means, get into the city center. I took a tram across the river with a friend, and we alighted at the Roemer, an old town hall with traditional architecture, facing a plaza surrounded by similarly historic buildings. Towering behind them was the spire of the Dommuseum, the city's oldest cathedral, now a museum. From there, we followed a pedestrian mall past Paulskirche to the Zeil, another pedestrian mall where many popular (and expensive) brands have stores.

We walked along the Zeil past Katharinenkirche and Alte Oper, then down through a series of parks, past statues of Beethoven and others, until we emerged at the plaza of the European central bank, home to what has to be the world's largest sculpture of the Euro currency symbol. From there it was just a few blocks over to Hauptbahnhof, the central rail station, where we had a bite to eat, did a little shopping, and caught a tram back.

Where (and more importantly, when) to shop:

Frankfurt is a financial center, so visitors may be surprised by the difficulty of spending money on evenings weekends. A good proportion of shops are closed even on Saturdays, and on Sundays even more are. Most things don't stay open, and 24-hour convenience stores like those found in America, Britain or Singapore are virtually unknown.

During opening hours, though, Frankfurt looks like an excellent place to go shopping, since there are many stores featuring popular brands, and many more small ethnic stores selling wares from different countries and cultures around the world.

Getting out:

For a few Euros, the S8 or S9 train will take you directly back to Frankfurt International Airport. From there, everything seems fairly easy, aside from the staff at the security checkpoints wanting to check nearly everyone with hand-held wands and a thorough pat-down.

Learn more about this author, Dan Birchall.
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