Frankfurt is the only metropolis in Germany boasting an international skyscraper skyline – as is to be expected of Europe's financial capital. The skyline is the result of a combination of meticulous city planning, economic compromise, aesthetic judgement and the citizens' love for the avant-garde – most of these skyscrapers were planned by the international architect élite, such as Jean Nouvel, Helmut Jahn, Lord Norman Foster and Oswald M. Ungers, to name only a few.
Indeed, Frankfurt's architecture is much more diverse than just concrete and steel. 2000 years ago, a roman military camp protected the crossings of the Main river before Charlemagne and the Frankish dynasties maintained an imperial administrative and religious district at the centre of their sphere of influence – culminating in the construction of the Imperial Cathedral, one of the most beautiful of German gothic churches. The period of Frankfurt's relative freedom and staggering wealth as an Imperial City is still visible today in its medieval patricians' townhouses and showy 19th-century bankers' mansions.
Guided tour
Entrance fees
