Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [475]
Renovated in 2006, the Museum Wiesbaden ( 335 2170; www.museum-wiesbaden.de, in German; Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 2; adult/child/student/family €5/2/3/10; 10am-8pm Tue, 10am-5pm Wed-Sun) specialises in 20th-century painting, sculpture and installations, including works by Russian expressionist Alexei Jawlensky (1864–1941), who lived in Wiesbaden for the last 20 years of his life. New sections on pre-20th-century art and the natural sciences are set to open in 2011.
The Frauen Museum ( 308 1763; www.frauenmuseum-wiesbaden.de; Wörthstrasse 5; noon-6pm Wed & Thu, noon-5pm Sun), founded in 1984, has exhibits on and by women.
NEROBERG
About 2km northwest of the centre, the Neroberg is an 80m-high hill that’s great for rambling. To get up to the top, you can take the Nerobergbahn funicular railway (one-way/return €2.20/3, under 14yr €1.10/1.50; 9.30am-8pm May-Aug, noon-7pm Wed, 10am-7pm Sat, Sun & holidays Apr, Sep & Oct, also noon-7pm Thu & Fri Sep), linked to the centre by bus 1. Inaugurated in 1888, it’s powered by water ballast: the car at the top is filled with up to 7000L of water, making it heavier than the car at the bottom, to which it’s attached by a 452m-long cable. When the heavier car reaches the bottom, the water is pumped out – and then pumped back up the hill. Elegant, ecological, ingenious!
Attractions up top include the Opelbad (adult/child 14-17yr €7/3; 7am-8pm May-Sep), a Bauhaus-style outdoor swimming pool complex built in 1934, grassy expanses for sunbathing and one of the oldest vineyards in the area. The five-domed Russian Orthodox Church (Greek Chapel; adult/child €0.60/0.30; 10am-5pm Apr-Oct, noon-4pm Sat, 10am-4pm Sun Nov-Mar) was built between 1847 and 1855.
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Tours
The tourist office Click here runs walking tours (adult/under 12yr €6.50/3.50; 10am Sat). Free tours in German of the Hessischer Landtag ( 3pm Sat) begin at the corner of the Stadtschloss facing the Marktbrunnen.
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Sleeping
Room rates rise during Frankfurt’s trade fairs.
DJH hostel ( 486 57; www.jugendherberge.de; Blücherstrasse 66; dm/s €19.50/33; ) The functional exterior belies clean rooms and staff who are as helpful as they are strict, which is very. Situated 1.2km west of the city centre. From the Hauptbahnhof or the centre, take bus 14 to Gneisenaustrasse.
Hotel Aurora ( 373 728; www.aurora-online.de; Untere Albrechtsstrasse 9; s/d €55/85; ) Friendly, bright, quiet and Italian-run, this 31-room gem is three blocks north along Bahnhofstrasse from the Hauptbahnhof.
Trüffel ( 990 550; www.trueffel.net, in German; Webergasse 6-8; s/d Mon-Thu from €115/145, Fri-Sun €90/115; ) An ultra-stylish business hotel with 27 chic, modernist rooms.
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Eating
Lots of moderately priced restaurants can be found on and around Goldgasse, a block north of the Stadtschloss. Turkish restaurants can be found along Wellritzstrasse.
Aurum ( 360 0877; Goldgasse 16; pizzas €5.50-10.50, mains €7.50-20.50; 9.30am-1am) Serves very good stone-oven pizza and tasty Italian dishes.
For self-catering:
Feinkostladen (Webergasse 6-8) A luxury food shop and deli.
Food market (Dern’sches Gelände; 7am-2pm Wed & Sat)
Tengelmann supermarket (Langgasse 32; 7am-10pm Mon-Sat)
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Drinking
Irish Pub Michelsberg ( 300 849; www.irish-pub-wiesbaden.de; Michelsberg 15; 5pm-1am Sun-Thu, 5pm-2am Fri, 3pm-2am Sat) Verging on the grungy, this Irish-run establishment attracts an expat crowd. It has live music nightly from Wednesday to Saturday and karaoke at 9.30pm on Tuesday and Sunday.
Robin