MY MAINHATTAN

Calling Frankfurt Mainhattan is the same as calling some stinking canals Little Venice or a range of mounds a bit higher than a molehill Switzerland. Everything is relative, as no other German city has more high-rise buildings than Frankfurt (which has 50 in the centre) and the city lies on the banks of the river Main, Mainhattan it is.

What do people associate with Frankfurt? Most can only come up with the international airport and banks (they own most of the high-rise buildings), some may be able to add Stock Exchange and City of the Euro which goes in the same direction. There are more than 400 banks which are responsible for the city's other nickname Bankfurt'. The other day I read that 70% of all visitors come for business and only 30% are real tourists who want to visit the city as such, the people responsible for tourism work hard to make Frankfurt more attractive to visitors, they don't have to exert themselves too much in my case as I travel to Frankfurt occasionally for a day out, I want to take you with me today and show you what there is to see.

We arrive at the central train station (Hauptbahnhof), let's not rush out at once but look around a bit, it's one of the most beautiful train stations in Germany (there is a ranking list); it was opened in 1888, the track hall and the reception hall have neo-renaissance features, the outer hall which was added in 1924 follows the style of neoclassicism, when you look at the eastern faade you can see a large clock with two symbolic statues for day and night. Considering that every day 350.000 passengers move through it the station is surprisingly clean. Stepping off the platforms one comes to an area with shops, the tourist information office is in the outer hall, at the end on the right side, friendly staff (they speak English) give you a small map of the city (50 cent) with a red line meandering through the centre suggesting a walk which touches the important sights.

As Ive been to Frankfurt before, I know what I want to see and dont follow the red line obediently, I dont use the underground as the centre isnt too far away from the station, my first destination is the Main Tower, about 15 minutes away on foot. I wont give you precise directions all the time, the map is really easy to follow.

The Main Tower was completed in 1999, the first European high-rise building with a faade made entirely of glass, with 200m its only the fourth highest building in Frankfurt but the only

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