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Frankfurt is a metropolis full of contradictions, and the inner-city district of Westend reflects this better than none. Thirty years ago, this exclusive area was dubbed "Wild Westend," as property developers and police fought pitched battles with students and squatters protesting about the demolition of the area's old town houses. The character of the neighborhood has slowly changed over the years, as families have moved out and young professionals have moved in. Today, modern business buildings exist side by side with 19th-century town houses and villas.
Dom & Römerberg
A few hundred meters down Berliner Straße is the Dom (cathedral). The building is not actually a proper cathedral—as Frankfurt was never a diocese—but the title was bestowed on it because it has been used as the coronation site for German kings and emperors since 1562. Crossing Braubauchstraße, we reach the Römerberg—Frankfurt's main landmark. Mentioned in documents dating back to the 9th century, this was a court and the venue for the first international trade fairs. Destroyed during World War II, the square was rebuilt in the original style, with mixed results. The buildings next to the reconstructed Rathaus (town hall) ooze fifties practicality, while the Ostzeile von Römer (the Römer's eastern wing) boasts an intricate "wedding-cake style" facade. The center of the square is dominated by the Fountain of Justice.
Alte Oper & Palmengarten
Our walk begins at the Alte Oper opera house on Opernplatz. Walking the length of Oberlindau Straße, we pass the monumental IG-Farben-Haus before reaching a row of narrow town houses built in 1880. One of these houses used to be the home of painter Wilhelm Steinhausen and now hosts a private museum. Neurologist Heinrich Hoffmann—creator of the classic children's book Shock-headed Peter—once lived in the neighborhood, as well as the composer Engelbert Humperdinck. Today, these buildings stand in the shadow of the Hochhaus am Park, one of the many skyscrapers which now dominate Frankfurt's cityscape. Those looking for a bit of peace and quiet could pop into the Grüneburg Park and the Palm Garden, which are situated just behind the high-rise. As you stroll down Freiher-vom-Stein Straße, pass by the Synagogue Beth-Hamidrasch, the only surviving Jewish place of worship in the city, and head into Eppsteiner Straße to take a look at house no. 47, which was the first building to be occupied by students in the 1970s to help save it from demolition.
Bankenviertel
Turning left into Schumannstraße, we enter an area known as the "composers' quarter." Highlights here include the Struwwelpeter Museum and a splendid turn-of-the-century building in Lindenstraße, which used to be a meeting place for unmarried daughters of the aristocracy, and which was used as the Gestapo headquarters during the Nazi era. Following Kettenhofweg to the Pferdestall, a magnificent building erected in 1880, we can look out over the skyline of the city's financial district, the Bankenviertel. From the corner of Küblerstraße, we get a breathtaking view of the terracotta and glass skyscrapers rising high above a row of 19th-century villas.
University & Zeil
This tour begins at Frankfurt's Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, one of Germany's most important cradles of learning. Walking along Bockenheimer Landstraße, we soon reach the Palm Garden, home to a wonderful landscape park and dotted with pavilions containing some amazing botanical specimens. Jumping on the underground (line 6 or 7) to Konstablerwache, we cross the shopping thoroughfare Zeil, passing the huge Galeria Kaufhof department store, to reach Café Hauptwache, an impressive Baroque building dating from around 1730. Once a guard post and prison, the Hauptwache is now home to a popular restaurant.
Across the River
Crossing the River Main on the famous Eiserner Steg bridge, we admire the fantastic views of the Frankfurt skyline. The skyscrapers are so reminiscent of New York that locals ironically refer to their city as "Mainhattan!" On the other side of the river is Museumsufer, home to world-class museums such as the Städel Museum and the National Film Museum. Heading down Schweizer Straße to the district of Sachsenhausen, our trip ends in one of Frankfurt's traditional cider pubs. Prost!
If you have more than one day in Frankfurt, take a trip to the fabulous city of Rüdesheim am Rhein. You'll enjoy a great cultural, historical and gastronomic journey.
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