Where to stay in Frankfurt: the best neighbourhoods and hotels

The centre of Frankfurt fits inside the ring of parks that replaced its old walls. At the southern edge, by the river, the Römerberg is a square of half-timbered gables with the cathedral tower behind and the lanes of the reconstructed old town between them. North of it run the Zeil, one of Germany's busiest shopping streets, the Kleinmarkthalle food market, and Goethestrasse, where the labels get expensive, ending at the Alte Oper.

This is the natural base for a short visit. The city's grande dame of a hotel has anchored the centre for generations. A five-star city palace faces the opera house with a distinctly French accent, a big international hotel sits around the corner from the smartest shopping street, and a younger design hotel steps from Goethestrasse has a rooftop terrace. Everything in this guide is a short train ride from here.

West of the old town the skyscrapers begin. The banking district is all plazas, revolving doors and after-work cocktails, with the Main Tower's public viewing platform for anyone who wants the skyline from above. Keep walking towards the main station and you hit the Bahnhofsviertel, Frankfurt's most talked-about quarter: a few blocks of red lights and rough edges that also hold many of the city's best bars and its most varied restaurants.

It is not for everyone, and families may prefer somewhere calmer, but the hotels are among the most interesting in town. A boutique hotel in the new FOUR towers has a rooftop restaurant and bar with panoramic views. A design hotel with a full spa stands steps from the financial district, and a playful hotel in the station quarter has a rooftop terrace with a sauna. The trains, including the airport S-Bahn, are on the doorstep.

Messe Frankfurt is one of the biggest exhibition grounds in the world, and when a major fair is in town the whole city feels it. Beside it, the Europaviertel is a new district of towers, wide boulevards and the Skyline Plaza shopping centre. Westend, just to the north-east, is the opposite: quiet streets of 19th-century villas, with the Palmengarten's glasshouses at its far end.

Stay here if you are attending a fair and want to walk to the halls. Several hotels occupy the skyscrapers themselves: one has its signature space on the 47th floor, another rises in Westend Süd as part of a hybrid tower, and a third stands where the banking district, the Messe and the Europaviertel meet. Be warned that prices can multiply during the largest events, so book early or check the dates before you travel.

Cross the iron footbridge from the old town and you are in Sachsenhausen. Along the river runs the Museumsufer, a string of museums in old villas that includes the Städel, one of Germany's finest art collections. A few streets back, the cobbled lanes of the old quarter are packed with apple-wine taverns serving cider from grey stoneware jugs, schnitzel with green sauce and a good deal of noise. On many Saturdays a flea market lines the riverbank.

It is the most likeable part of town to come home to, with the skyline as your view across the water. A luxury hotel on the south bank is about a 15-minute walk from both the central station and the financial district. Further west in Niederrad, big modern hotels sit between the city, the stadium and the airport, some with balconies or skyline views, and the S-Bahn runs from close by.

Frankfurt Airport is a small city in its own right, and you can stay without ever stepping outside. One huge hotel connects directly to Terminal 1; another sits in The Squaire, the futuristic building above the long-distance railway station, and lays on a children's check-in and kids' menu during school holidays. A short drive away, Gateway Gardens is a new business quarter on a former US air base, with modern hotels a few minutes from the terminals.

For something calmer, a five-star on the edge of the city forest is within a kilometre of the airport, and the neighbouring town of Kelsterbach has several good-value alternatives. The best part is the location: the S-Bahn reaches the city centre in about 15 minutes, so a long layover can easily include the old town and a glass of apple wine.

Offenbach is a separate city that happens to begin where Frankfurt ends, a few S-Bahn stops east along the Main. It has its own character, shaped by a long history of leather-making and a well-known design school, and a growing creative scene around its old harbour. Mostly, though, visitors come for the arithmetic: rooms here often cost noticeably less than the same standard in Frankfurt.

That matters most during trade fairs, when central hotels fill up. A four-star in the Kaiserlei business district is only minutes from Frankfurt's centre, the Messe and the airport; another is a short walk from Offenbach's own centre with quick connections into the city. All have the big rooms and parking that business hotels do well.

North of Frankfurt, at the foot of the Taunus, Bad Homburg has been soothing the wealthy for the best part of two centuries. Its Kurpark is one of the great spa parks of Germany, dotted with mineral springs, a Thai temple and a Russian chapel, and the casino in the middle likes to remind you that it inspired Monte Carlo. The town centre has a castle with a white tower and a tidy pedestrian shopping street.

It makes a restful alternative to the city, with the S-Bahn into Frankfurt when you need it and the trade fair within a 15-minute drive. A five-star with round-the-clock room service leads the hotels, and a quiet, individual four-star sits right by the park and close to the shops. Walkers can be on forest trails within minutes.

On a clear day you can see the Taunus from the banking towers, a dark green ridge to the north-west. Half an hour later you can be in it. The small towns of Kronberg and Königstein sit among forests and old orchards, with ruined castles on the heights and villas built by Frankfurt's richest families in the gardens below.

Several of those houses are now exceptional hotels. One is a Victorian-era castle with a spa and two restaurants. In Königstein, a grand hotel with a full spa stands about ten miles from the trade fair, and a villa inside the Taunus Nature Park, a short walk from the Opel-Zoo, welcomes families. Choose the Taunus for a special occasion, or to end a business trip somewhere that feels nothing like one.