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adult/concession €12/9; 11am-6pm Tue-Sun), 1.6km north of Konstablerwache, features mesmerising optical illusions and extraordinary images of all sorts. Highlights include stereoscopic slides of insects and mammals; holograms; 3-D X-ray photos of flowers; and feels-like-you’re-there 3-D photos of turn-of-the-century Frankfurt, whose urban fabric was completely destroyed during WWII. The museum is housed in an above-ground WWII bomb shelter with reinforced concrete walls 2.15m thick.

ZOO

The zoo (Zoologisher Garten; 2123 3735; www.zoo-frankfurt.de; Alfred-Brehm-Platz 16; Zoo; adult/student/family €8/4/20; 9am-7pm late Mar-late Oct, 9am-5pm late Oct-late Mar) isn’t Germany’s finest or prettiest but it does have kid-friendly houses for primates, nocturnal creatures, birds and amphibians.

EBBELWEI-EXPRESS

Run by Frankfurt’s public transport company, the Ebbelwei-Express (Apple Wine Express; 2132 2425; www.ebbelwei-express.com; adult/child under 14yr €6/3; half-hourly 1.30-5.30pm Sat, Sun & holidays Apr-Oct & Sat Nov-Mar, approx hourly 1.30-5pm Sun & holidays Nov-Mar) is a historic tram whose 70-minute circuit takes in both banks of the Main between the Zoo and the Messe. Jump on at any stop – clockwise from the east, Zoo, Frankensteiner Platz, Lokalbahnhof, Südbahnhof, Hauptbahnhof and Börneplatz are convenient ones. As you’d expect, the price includes apple wine (Ebbelwei; or juice) and pretzels.

IN-LINE SKATING

No matter what the weather conditions, Tuesday Night Skating (www.tns-frankfurt.de, in German; Frankensteinerplatz, Sachsen-hausen; Lokalbahnhof; 8.30pm Tue late Mar-late Oct) brings out thousands of inline skaters for a sociable, 2½-hour (17km to 37km) circuit – with police escort – that begins at the southern end of Ignatz-Bubis-Brücke (served by tram 14).

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Courses

The most respected place to study German is the Goethe Institut ( 961 2270; www.goethe.de; Diesterwegplatz 72, Sachsenhausen; Südbahnhof). German courses on offer at Inlingua ( 242 9200; www.inlingua-frankfurt.de, in German; Kaiserstrasse 37, Bahnhofsviertel; Willy-Brandt-Platz) include one that meets for four hours each morning from Monday to Friday (€440 for four weeks).

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Festivals & Events

Some of Frankfurt’s many festivals:

Christopher Street Day (www.csd-frankfurt.de, in German; mid-Jul) Colourful gay pride parade from the Römer to Konstablerwache, plus a street festival.

Frankfurt Book Fair (Frankfurter Buchmesse; www.frankfurt-book-fair.com; 5 days early or mid-October) World’s largest book fair, with 7300 exhibitors from over 100 countries.

Weihnachtsmarkt ( late Nov-few days before Christmas) Christmas fair on the Römerberg, with mulled wine, choirs and traditional foods.

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Sleeping

When it comes to accommodation prices, supply and demand reign supreme in Frankfurt. Hotels catering to business travellers tend to drop rates on weekends (Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights), on holidays and in August, but during major trade fairs prices can triple or even quadruple. To make sure your trip doesn’t coincide with the book fair, when a modest double that usually costs €70 can set you back €280, go to www.frankfurt-tourismus.de, click ‘Trade Shows & Events’ and then ‘Frankfurt Trade Shows’. Hotel websites give prices for specific dates.

The tourist office can help arrange hotel rooms (€3) but books private rooms only during trade fairs. At other times, you can find furnished rooms and apartments through a Mitwohnzentrale (accommodation finding service), such as www.city-mitwohnzentrale.de, www.mitwohnzentrale-mainhattan.de (in German) or www.allgemeine-mitwohnzentrale.de (in German).

Around the Hauptbahnhof, respectable hotels can be found along Poststrasse, Düsseldorferstrasse and Baseler Strasse.

BUDGET

Some of Frankfurt’s low-end hotels are in the Bahnhofsviertel, the rather sleazy area northeast of the Hauptbahnhof.

DJH hostel ( 610 0150; www.jugendherberge-frankfurt.de; Deutschherrnufer 12, Sachsenhausen; Lokalbahnhof; dm €17-24.50,