Frankfurt Attractions

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Romerberg © Paul Micallef

Well of Justice (Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen )

The 'Well of Justice', Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen, was built in Frankfurt's central square of Romweberg in 1541. About 70 years later the wells received stone interiors and the Statue of Justice watched over them. In 1612, when Kaiser Matthias was crowned, it was not water, but wine that flowed freely from the stone lions' mouths. In 1887, the wells were renovated and the stone figures copied. The original sandstone statues were moved to the Museum of Local History.

Address: Römerberg, Frankfurt

Eschenheimer Turm © www.frankfurt.de

Eschenheimer Turm

The Eschenheimer Turm is one of the few remaining towers of the medieval fortifications that encircled the city of Frankfurt. The 154-foot high (47m) gothic tower was built as part of the Medieval wall which encircled the city in the 15th century when approximately 60 towers surrounded the city. Citizens used build high walls and watchtowers to protect Frankfurt from danger.

Address: Eschenheimer Tor 1; Telephone: (069) 292 244

Goethe-Haus © www.flickr.com/photos/vippe

Goethe-Haus

The house where Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's world-famous poet and writer, was born in 1749 is now a shrine to his memory, preserved as an example of how the well-to-do lived in the late Baroque era. The house, which is a reconstruction because the original was destroyed during the Second World War, consists of two neighbouring half-timbered houses in Grosser Hirschgraben, and is sited next to the Goethe Museum, which contains a huge library of books, documents and graphics relating to the poet.

Address: Großer Hirschgraben 23-25; Telephone: (069) 138 800; E-mail: info@goethehaus-frankfurt.de; Website: www.goethehaus-frankfurt.de; Opening time: 10am to 6pm daily; Admission: Adults €5; students €2.50; children 7-18 €1.50

Frankfurt Botanical Gardens © www.frankfurt.de

Botanical Gardens

The well ordered and interesting Botanical Garden in Frankfurt is administered by the University. The gardens are designed to take visitors on a journey through different areas of the plant kingdom, from the hardwood forests of North America to the barren savannah of Africa. The gardens cover more than eight hectares (20 acres) and contain more than 6,000 different botanical species, from exotic rainforest flowers to European weeds.

Address: Siesmayerstrasse 61; Telephone: (069) 2123 3939; E-mail: info.palmengarten@stadt-frankfurt.de; Website: www.palmengarten-frankfurt.de; Transport: Entrance Palmengartenstraße: trains U6, U7 or buses 32, 33, 50 to Station Bockenheimer Warte; Opening time: Daily 9am to 6pm between March and October, with earlier closing during winter months; Admission: €5; €7 for special events including festivals and certain exhibitions. Concessions available

Liebieghaus © www.frankfurt.de

Liebieghaus

Situated on the south bank of the river Main, the Liebieghaus was built in 1896 for Czech Baron Heinrich Liebieg, but today is the home of Frankfurt's Museum of Sculpture. Exhibits include sculptures from ancient times, such as Sumeria, Egypt, Greece and Rome to more modern Baroque, Rococo and Renaissance examples. A range of Egyptian and Asian pieces also feature in the range as well as a few works of some world-renowned artists.

Address: Schaumainkai 71; Telephone: (069) 2123 8617; Transport: Tram 15 or 16 to Otto-Hahn-Platz; Opening time: Tues and Thurs-Sun 10am-5pm; Wed 10am-8pm (last entrance is at 4:30pm even on Wednesday); Admission: Adults €4; children €2.50. Concessions available.

German Film Museum © www.frankfurt.de

German Film Museum (Deutsches Filmmuseum)

One of Germany's finest film museums, the Deutsches Filmmuseum shows old films from its collections continuously. These can be viewed on the second floor of the museum while the downstairs rooms tell the story of Germany's filmmaking history while exhibits are also on display, including models illustrating how special effects are shot as well as Emile Reynaud's 1882 Praxinoscope and Edison's Kinetoscope from 1889.

Address: Schaumainkai 41; Telephone: (069) 212 388 30; Transport: U-Bahn Schweizer Platz; Opening time: Tues, Thurs-Fri, and Sun 10am-5pm; Wed 10am-8pm; Sat 2-8pm; Admission: Adults €2.50, children €1.30; Film screenings €5.50 adults, €2.30 children. Concessions available.

Historical Museum (Historisches Museum)

The Historical Museum (Historisches Museum) has many permanent exhibitions on display featuring objects and works of art ranging from the Middle Ages to present day. The museum's changing exhibitions covers a range of themes such as cultural history, art history and general history. Collections feature examples of gold and silver crockery and jewellery; pottery and porcelain; paintings, photographs; and scaled-down models of the Altstadt at various periods of its development. The Children's Museum, which lies adjacent to the Historical Museum, features a variety of special offers and exhibitions for youngsters of all ages.

Address: Saalgasse 19; Telephone: (069) 212 355 99; E-mail: info.historisches-museum@stadt-frankfurt.de; Website: www.historisches-museum.frankfurt.de; Transport: U-bahn Römer; Opening time: Tues, Thurs-Fri, and Sun 10am-5pm; Wed 10am-8pm; Sat 1-5pm; Admission: Adults €4, Children over 6 years €2. Concessions available

Städel Gallery

Frankfurt's most important art gallery is the Städel Gallery, containing a fantastic collection of most European schools of painting. The first floor features the works of German painters of the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as famous French Impressionists such as Renoir and Monet. The second floor offers visitors the pleasure of viewing an outstanding collection of Flemish primitives, 17th-century Dutch artists, and 16th-century German masters such as Dürer, Grünewald, Memling, Elsheimer, and many others with one of the most impressive paintings being Jan van Eyck's Madonna (1433).

Address: Schaumainkai 63; Telephone: (069) 605 0980; Website: www.staedelmuseum.de; Transport: U-Bahn Schweizer Platz; Opening time: Wed-Thurs 10am-9pm; Tues and Fri-Sun 10am-5pm; Admission: Adults €6; children €5 (age 12 to 16). Concessions available

Frankfurt Zoo

The Frankfurt Zoo, located in Ostend, was nearly totally destroyed in the Second World War when only 20 animals survived. It was rebuilt in the early 1950s and since then one of the most recent additions to the zoo is the Big Cat Jungle. Frankfurt Zoo features 3200 animals and 600 species and is renowned for keeping them in environments that most closely resemble their own natural habitats. It has a reputation as one of the most attractive, pleasant and popular to visit in Europe and features two restaurants as well as a Zoo terrace to enjoy in the summer months. A major draw card for the zoo and one of its most unique features is Grzimek House which houses nocturnal animals who think it's night-time during the day. The Exotarium houses fish, insects, reptiles and penguins, all kept in their natural surroundings.

Address: Alfred-Brehm-Platz 16, 60316; Telephone: (069) 212 33735; Website: www.zoo-frankfurt.de; Opening time: Open daily from 9am to 7pm in summer and daily from 9am to 5pm in winter; Admission: Adults €8, children €4. Concessions available