Travel to Germany

Frankfurt is one of Germany's important cities, being the biggest international financial and trade center of Europe. It's famous for it's skyline - a line of towering skyscrapers which is mostly consisting of banks and other financial institutions. Frankfurt is better known in the country as Frankfurt am Main, since there are 2 cities which are named the same. Main is the river which flows through the city thus the source for the city skyline's nickname Mainhattan.

The metropolis of Frankfurt is not that big. You can easily tour the main attractions in 1 day. But as most cities in Germany, it's normally divided into 2 attractions, the old and the new city. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Frankfurt was heavily bombed during WW2, there's not much left of the old city, but still something worth seeing.

The Roemer - Frankfurt's city hall
One of the most important historical old buildings, housing the election of the former German kings and emperors during the early times. Since 1405, it has been used as the city hall. The area where the Roemer is, the Roemerberg, offers a surrounding of beautiful old houses, used nowadays as stores and restaurants.

The Kaiserdom - Emperor's Cathedral
As the name says, the Emperor's Cathedral. This church was used as the venue of the coronation of the new emperor or king. In front of this church is an archaeological finding of an ancient sauna used by the Romans when they were colonizing the area.

Paulskirche - Paul's Church
This church was built during the end of the 18th century. From damages during the war, it was rebuilt in the mid 20th century and considered one important attraction of the old city.

Goethe's House
Frankfurt is the home of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, one of the world's most famous poets. The house of Goethe is located in the inner city and is open for public viewing. The Goethe Museum is just right next to it, housing a very rich Goethe collection.

A Walk Crossing the River Main
From the old city, you can walk down to the river then cross a pedestrian bridge called Eiserner Steg (iron bridge). From the other side of the bridge, you can properly see the skyline. The road parallel to the river is called Museumufer - Museums on the river bank - lining up a variety of museums. You can walk more until you arrive at another pedestrian bridge called Holbeinsteg. After crossing that bridge, look for the Nizza Garden. This garden is unique because it contains tropical plants and palms in an open German climate.

The NEW CITY
This won't be that difficult to find, just follow the new buildings. Towering banks and offices is a sight you won't miss in Frankfurt. Some bank buildings are combining both new and old architecture. You would see for example Dresdner Bank having an old building and two skyscrapers next to it. Around the new city, you can see modern arts like the hammering man and the inverted necktie, representing the city's trademarks, banking and trading.

Shopping in Frankfurt
There are several good shopping opportunities in Frankfurt but probably the most famous area to shop is the Zeil. If you're going for posh shopping then Goethestrasse is the right one for you. This street is lined up with boutiques from Chanel to Tifanny & Co.

Enjoy your stay in Frankfurt!

Germany is situated in Europe's central western part. It is surrounded by nine European countries and has direct exit to the Baltic and North Sea. From an economic way of looking, Germany is one of the most solid and most powerful in the world. The landscape is rich, and there are all types of landscape: plateaus and mountains (the Alps, Harz system Renan, Suaba Jura, Bohemian Forest, Black Forest) and plains (North German Plain, Bavaria Plateau, Danube Valley).

Germany has a temperate climate with an average annual temperature of 9° C. Temperatures in January range from -6° C to 1° C, while July temperatures alter between 16° C and 20° C. Moisture is greater in the southern part of the country. Germany is a stimulating country, with varied castles, religious communities and essential centers in Weimar, Leipzig and Dresden. It is one of the most popular traveler destinations, and although is mostly rebuilt after the war, it offers a landscape unchanged for centuries, and its reputable castles retain their medieval air.

Berlin, Germany's capital, has royal residences, parks, forests and is enclosed by canals, with the famous Brandenburg Gate with its notorious Quadriga crown, with over 170 theaters, art galleries, operas and museums, over 7000 pubs and restaurants, a restless night life, Ku'damm famous boulevard with lots of retail stores. Annualy, the International Film Festival in Berlin gathers some of the most famous actors, who come here in order to win "the Golden Bear."

Bavaria, the largest and well-known region of Germany, offers a great trial: Alpine setting and roads so beautiful that leave you panting, well-known thermal resorts, historic towns, natural attractions like Zugspitze and Passau, the place where the Inn, Danube and Ilz come across at the same point, traditional festivals and celebrations. Bavarian preparations, along with one of the best beers in the world, are enough to choose holidays in Germany.

Munich is a sought tourist goal, being called the incognito capital of Germany. Marienplatz Square (named after its renowned central column), with the new and the old City Hall, features beautiful medieval views. Peterskirche is the most aged church in the center. However Frauenkirche cathedral is the most acclaimed church in the city center, thanks to its spectacular old-fashioned construction. The peak of its towers, 99 m, limits since 2004 the new buildings of the city.

As a tourist you will find a vast assortment of hotels, from modest to pretentious. Mark Hotels is the ideal choice for everyone looking for comfort and recreation while visiting the select country of Germany.

If you like contrast, go to Bremen, Germany, which is both the country's smallest state as well as one of its larger cities, with a population of around 660,000. For Bremen's appeal lies in its surprising blend of old and new, where historic neighborhoods filled with charming, age-old buildings are juxtaposed with newer high-tech sites that typically draw a wired, younger crowd.

And for first-time visitors to Bremen, here's a primer, the top five attractions of the city that one should not miss.

1. Bremen's Marktplatz

This should be at the top of any visitor's list. Located in the heart of Bremen, this historic square is dominated by the city's huge Rathaus (Town Hall), considered to be one of the loveliest civic buildings in Germany. Originally a Gothic building dating from 1410, it nevertheless features a Weser Renaissance facade that was worked in during the 17th century. The statues here are of Charlemagne and the seven electors, and an 18-foot (5.5-meter) one of Roland, believed to be the tallest of the 26 statues of Roland still in existence in Germany. There is also a 1951 Gerhard Marcks bronze here, the 'Street Musicians of Bremen'.

Worth visiting at the Rathaus too, with its entrance at west wing of the building, is the 600-year-old Ratskeller (Council Cellar), with its magnificent vaults, ancient wine vats and quaint drinking cubicles, which sells exclusively German wine. The cellars are open daily from 11 in the morning to midnight.

2. St Petri-Dom

The St Petri-Dom (St Peter's Cathedral), with its tall spires, is also located on the Marktplatz and predates the Rathaus. It was originally built in the 11th century and subsequently altered, a bit at a time, in the 13th, 16th and 19th centuries. However, much of its interior is original, and it houses a small Gottfried Silberman organ that is the only such piece outside Saxony. As an added attraction, the cathedral's Bleikeller (Lead Cellar) has eight well-preserved mummified bodies in glass coffins.

3. Bottcherstrasse

Bottcherstrasse is a 330-foot (110-meter) pedestrian street that heads off from the Marktplatz and leads to the River Weser. Transformed between 1923 and 1931 by Ludwig Roselius, inventor of decaffeinated coffee, it boasts architectural surprises that run the gamut from local styles to the more audacious Expressionist ideas of Bernhard Hoetger which were used to create Art Nouveau and Art Deco masterpieces. 

 

The Nazis, it is believed, hated the gaudy displays as they considered it to be degenerate art, but the street was largely spared the Nazi wrath. There is a church of interest here, St Martini-kirche, located at the end of the street, which is actually a 1960 replica of the 1229 original that was destroyed during the war; as well as two museums, the Roselius Museum, filled with period furniture and works by Lucas Cranach, and the Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, dedicated to works of the artist.

4. Schnoor Viertel

Okay, if it's the old, gabled, characteristically 'Bremen' buildings you wish to see, this is the place to see them. Schnoor Viertel is the oldest surviving neighborhood in Bremen, where most of the buildings date from the 15th and 16th centuries. And typically, it is filled with artists' studios and galleries, and cafes and restaurants. One of its centerpieces is the Kunsthalle Bremen (Art Museum) on Wall Street, where you can see an astonishing array of works, from the old masters to the post-war and even more contemporary collections that include German and French Impressionists of the 19th century.

Another museum to be recommended here, not far from Schnoor Viertel, at Schwachhauser Heerstrasse 240, is the Focke-Museum which has an impressive display of exihibits depicting Bremen history, all the way from the prehistoric period to the present.

5. Beck's Brewery

And finally, there's Beck's Brewery, one of Germany's largest and most famous breweries, located at Am Deich 18 in Bremen. The brewery offers two-hour guided tours of its premises, which include both a visit to its beer-making facility as well as its tasting room where you can sample a half dozen Beck beers, notable among them the Hakke brand that is available only in the Bremen area. The tours are 7 euros per person, and well worth it.