Frankfurt am Main

from the city in Lautzenhausen (Rhineland-Palatinate). This airport can only be reached by car or bus. An hourly bus service runs from Frankfurt Central Station, taking about 1 hour and 45 minutes. Last year over 4 Million Passengers used this airport in order to use Low Cost Airlines like Ryanair.

Frankfurt Egelsbach Airport is a busy general aviation airport located south-east of Frankfurt International Airport, near the town of Egelsbach.

Roads

The streets of central Frankfurt are usually congested with cars during the rush hour. Some areas, especially around the shopping streets Zeil, are pedestrian-only streets. There are numerous car parks located throughout the city.

Frankfurt is a traffic hub of the German Autobahn system. The Frankfurter Kreuz is an Autobahn interchange close by the airport where the Autobahnen A 3 (Cologne-Würzburg) and A 5 (Basel-Hannover) meet. With approximately 320,000 cars daily it is the most heavily used interchange in Europe. The A 66 connects Frankfurt with Wiesbaden in the west and Fulda in the east. The A 661 starts in the south (Darmstadt), runs through the eastern part of Frankfurt and ends in the north (Bad Homburg). The A 648 is a very short Autobahn in the western part of Frankfurt.

Railway stations

Frankfurt Central Station ("Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof" or short "Ffm Hbf") is the largest train station in Germany by number of platforms. Regarding daily passenger volume it ranks second together with Munich Central Central (350,000 each) after Hamburg Central Station (450,000). It is located between the Gallus and the Bahnhofsviertel, not far away from the Trade Fair and the financial district (Bankenviertel). It serves as a major hub for long-distance trains (ICE) and regional trains (all Rhine-Main S-Bahn lines, two U-Bahn lines, several tram and bus lines). Local trains are integrated in the Public transport system Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund ("RMV"), the second largest integrated public transport systems in the world. Only the Berlin integrated public transport system ("VBB") is larger.

Frankfurt Airport Long Distance Station connects Frankfurt International Airport to the main rail network, most of the ICE services using the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line. It is one of two railway stations at the airport, the other is for local S-Bahn trains (lines S8 and S9), called Frankfurt Airport Regional Station.

The two major stations in the city centre are Hauptwache and Konstablerwache, both located on Frankfurts most famous shopping street, the Zeil.

Public transport

The city has two underground railway systems: the U-Bahn and the S-Bahn, as well as an above-ground tram system. Information about the U and S Bahn can be found on the [http://www.rmv.de/coremedia/generator/RMV/Sprachen/SPRACH__ART__en.html RMV website] .

Nine S-Bahn lines connect Frankfurt with the Rhine Main Region. All lines have a 30 minute service during the day but the majority of the routes are served by two lines thereby offering a 15 minute schedule. All lines, except line S7, run through the Frankfurt city tunnel and serve the stations Ostendstraße, Konstablerwache, Hauptwache, Taunusanlage and Frankfurt Central Station. When leaving the city the S-Bahn travels above ground. It provides access to the Frankfurt Trade Fair (S3-S6), the airport (S8, S9), the stadium (S7-S9) and nearby cities such as Wiesbaden, Mainz, Darmstadt, Rüsselsheim, Hanau, Offenbach am Main, Bad Homburg, Kronberg and smaller towns that are on the way.

The U-Bahn has seven lines serving the city centre and some larger suburbs. The trains that run on the line are in fact lightrails as many lines travel along a track in the middle of the street instead of underground further from the city centre. There is only one line (U4) that is completely underground. The minimum service interval is 2.5 minutes, although the usual pattern is that each line runs with a 7.5-10 minute frequency which combines to approx 3-5 minutes on the city centre sections served by more than one line.

Frankfurt has 9 tram lines, with trams arriving usually every 10 minutes. Many sections are served by two lines, combining to give a 5 minute frequency during rush-hour. The tram runs only above ground and serve more stops than the U-Bahn or the S-Bahn.

A number of bus lines complete the Frankfurt public transportation system. [http://www.nachtbus-frankfurt.de/index2.htm Night buses] take over the service of the U-Bahn and tram at 1:30 am to 3:30 am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Taxis

Taxis can be found outside most S-Bahn or U-Bahn stations and major intersections. The normal way to obtain a taxi is to either call a taxi operator or go to a taxi rank. However, although not the norm, one can hail one on the street.

Bicycles

Deutsche Bahn also rent out bicycles to the public. One finds them at many major road intersections and railway stations. All one has to do is make a phone call to hire them for €0.06/min or they can be hired per day for €15,-. The bicycles are a bit heavy but they do have shock absorbers to ensure a smooth journey. The silver-red colour of the bikes with their unique frame make them easily visible and difficult to steal.

The public can now use a velotaxi which involves the operator using a tricycle with a sheltered passenger cab. There is room for two people and the service covers all of the city centre.

Frankfurt has also a network of modern cycle routes throughout city. Many of the long distance bike routes into town have dedicated cycle tracks. A number of city centre roads are "bicycle streets" where the cyclist has the right of way and where motorised vehicles are allowed access if they do not disrupt the cycle users.

Every first Sunday in the month there is a Critical Mass cycle event which starts at 2 pm at the Old Opera.

Economy and business

Frankfurt is one of the leading financial centres in Europe. According to an annual study (2007) by Cushman & Wakefield it is one of the top three cities for international companies in Europe, along with London and Paris. According to a ranking list (2001) produced by the University of Liverpool, Frankfurt is the richest city in Europe by GDP per capita. After Frankfurt are Karlsruhe, Paris and Munich [Nick Swift: " [http://www.citymayors.com/business/eurocities_gdp.html European cities outperform their English counterparts] ". citymayors.com (Zugriff am 1. November 2006)] . The Mercer Human Resource Consulting Worldwide Quality of Living Survey 2007 ranked Frankfurt at the seventh position of the cities with the highest quality of life worldwide. The only German city that did better was Düsseldorf at number six [ [http://www.mercer.com/qol#Europe Highlights from the 2007 Quality of Livings – Mercer Human Resource Consulting] ] .

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Banks

Frankfurt is commonly known as "the city of the banks" in Germany. It is sometimes referred to as "Mainhattan" (a portmanteau of the local river Main and Manhattan in New York City) or nicknamed "Bankfurt". In 2006, six of the ten major German banks had their headquarters in the city, including the top four (Deutsche Bank, Commerzbank, Dresdner Bank and DZ Bank) [" [http://www.german-banks.org/html/10_news/List100-table-2006.asp The Top 100 German banks 2006] "] . Other important banks are ING Diba, KfW, BHF Bank, Bankhaus Metzler, Delbrück Bethmann Maffei, DekaBank, Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen and Frankfurter Sparkasse. More than 300 national and international banks are represented here [" [http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=stadtfrankfurt_eval01.c.125162.de Wirtschaft in Frankfurt am Main] "] .

The European Central Bank ("Europäische Zentralbank") is one of the world's most important central banks, responsible for monetary policy covering the 15 member countries of the Eurozone. Since its foundation in 1998 the headquarters are located in downtown Frankfurt although plans have now been made for a move to a landscaped area on the site of the former wholesale market hall ("Großmarkthalle") in the eastern part of the city.

The German Federal Bank ("Deutsche Bundesbank") is an integral part of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB). It was established in 1957.

Stock exchange

With the stock exchange ("Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse") and XETRA, which belong to Deutsche Börse, Frankfurt has the second largest stock exchange in Europe after the London Stock Exchange. It is by far the largest stock exchange in Germany with over 90 percent turnover in the German market. In terms of market capitalization, Deutsche Börse is the largest stock exchange in the world.

Trade fairs

Fairs have a very long tradition in Frankfurt. They were first mentioned in the 12th century. Today Frankfurt has the third-largest exhibition site in the world. The "Messe Frankfurt" corporation arranged 120 fairs in 40 countries in 2006. Hosted in Frankfurt are the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (the world's largest motor show), the Frankfurter Buchmesse (the world's largest book fair), the Ambiente (the world's largest consumer goods fair), the Achema (the world's largest plant engineering fair) and many more like Paperworld, Christmasworld, Beautyworld, Tendence Lifestyle or Light and Building.

Advertising agencies

Although it is best known for its banks, Frankfurt is also a centre for media companies. There are around 570 companies of the advertising industry and 270 public relations companies.According to a ranking of FOCUS magazine from November 2007 there are seven of the 48 largest advertising agencies in Germany based in Frankfurt, including Saatchi & Saatchi, JWT, and Publicis. Topping the list is Berlin with nine, followed by Hamburg with eight. After Frankfurt comes Munich with six. Wiesbaden is also on the list with two [" [http://www.focus-campus.de/fileadmin/excerpts/EXC_0746_AufeinenBlick.pdf FOCUS: Die größten Werbeagenturen 2007] "] .

Accountancy and professional services

The "Big Four", the four largest international accountancy and professional services firms, are all represented in Frankfurt.

They are Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

PwC has also its German headquarters in the city.

In October 2007, KPMG's member firms in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Liechtenstein merged to form KPMG Europe LLP, which is now the largest accountancy and professional services firm in Europe. The European headquarters will be situated in Frankfurt.

Management consulting

Some of the largest international management consulting firms are represented in Frankfurt, including Accenture, McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, Booz & Company, Oliver Wyman, Bain & Company and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

Electronic communication

Frankfurt is also an important location for the internet. It is home to Germany's largest internet exchange point, DE-CIX, and is where domain names are registered for the top-level-domain ".de".

Lawyers

Frankfurt has the highest concentration of lawyers in Germany, with one lawyer per 99 inhabitants.

Working in Frankfurt

With over 922 jobs per 1,000 inhabitants, Frankfurt has the highest concentration of jobs in Germany. The high number of around 600,000 jobs with only 663,000 inhabitants of the city itself is explained by the high number of commuters who work in the city, which raises the per capita GDP of the resident population significantly. On work days and Saturdays there are around one million people within the city limits. On other days, the statistics regarding Frankfurt's wealth are reduced, in favor of the communities and towns of the so-called "Speckgürtel" (literally "bacon belt", meaning the suburban area), such as Bad Homburg, Königstein im Taunus, Kronberg im Taunus and Bad Soden am Taunus, many of whose inhabitants work in Frankfurt.

Despite that, Frankfurt also had, as of 2003, the highest levels of crime per 100,000 inhabitants in Germany. However, this statistic is a result of the commuter population, for it is calculated based on the 650,000-inhabitant figure, and also includes crimes committed at the airport, such as smuggling. Frankfurt is actually therefore a very safe city, corroborated by surveys among the inhabitants.

Frankfurt International Airport is the single largest place of work in Germany.

Other businesses

Frankfurt is home to chemical industries, software businesses and call centers. Business development and other important departments of the Deutsche Bahn are located at the DB-Headquarters in Gallus. Because of Hoechst AG, Frankfurt is considered the "Apothecary of the World". Höchst's industrial park in Frankfurt is one of the three largest locations for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in Europe. Frankfurt is also home to several large German industrial associations, such as the Chemical Industry Association; the Association for German Machine- and Equipment-building; the Electrotechnical, Electronic, and Information Technology Association e. V. with its affiliated electrotechnical standards commission; and the Association of German Automobile Producers, which is currently moving to Franfurt. The Union of German Automobile Producers meets in Frankfurt every two years to coincide with the International Automobile Exhibition, mentioned above. Furthermore, the Trade Association of German Booksellers has its headquarters in Frankfurt, and organizes the Frankfurt Book Fair. In terms of labor unions, Frankfurt is home to the headquarters of IG Metall and IG Bau, two of Germany's largest labor unions.

Businesses with regional headquarters or based in and near Frankfurt include:

Frankfurt is host to the classic cycle race Rund um den Henninger-Turm.

ister cities

Frankfurt has several Sister cities [http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=502645] (also flagicon|France Deuil-la-Barre, France, partnered with Nieder-Eschbach since 1967, which was incorporated in 1972)

Gallery

ee also

* Free City of Frankfurt
* Frankfurt Trade Fair
* Frankfurt Book Fair
* Frankfurt Transit
* Frankfurt School
* List of mayors of Frankfurt

References

* "Frankfurt — City Guide", Kraichgau Verlag (ISBN 3-929228-21-1)

External links

* [http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=stadtfrankfurt_eval01.c.317693.en&template=hp_flash Official website]
*wikitravel|Frankfurt
* [http://germany.archiseek.com/hesse/frankfurt/index.html Architecture of Frankfurt]
* [http://www.zoo-infos.de/zoos-en/120.html Frankfurt Zoo] en icon

* Frankfurt Panoramas: [http://www.stadtpanoramen.de/en/frankfurt/frankfurt.html] , [http://www.oopper.de/tn/panorama-frankfurt.htm] , [http://www.frankfurt360.de] , [http://www.panorama-frankfurt.de]
* [http://www.altfrankfurt.com Frankfurt before and after World War II]
* [http://www.k-faktor.com/en/frankfurt-webcams.htm Frankfurt webcam links]
* [http://www.travelling-images.com/germany-frankfurt-march-2008 Frankfurt photogallery]
* [http://www.mygreatgermany.com/Central/Hesse/Cities/Frankfurt_(Main)/ Visual Frankfurt] Geographic Location (8-way)
Centre =Frankfurt
North =
Northeast = Wetteraukreis
East = Main-Kinzig-Kreis
Southeast = Offenbach (city)
South = Offenbach (district)
Southwest = Groß-Gerau
West = Main-Taunus-Kreis
Northwest = Hochtaunuskreis