The airport

Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) is a modern transportation wonder, second only in Europe to Heathrow in terms of air traffic, yet lightyears ahead in organisation. There’s actually much more to the airport than one would expect and time can be pleasurably spent at its shopping centre, nightclub, art gallery or even the X-rated cinema. For airport information, check www.frankfurt-airport.de or call tel. 0180-53 72 46 36.

The airport conveniently integrates the (DB) train and bus terminals, but the easiest way to get to the city centre is by taking a S-Bahn train from under Terminal 1 (the SkyLine shuttle train and shuttle buses connect from Terminal 2 should you arrive there). At the station, press the Einzelfahrt Frankfurt button for a one-way public transport ticket to the centre (€3.55), or the Tageskarte Frankfurt inkl. Flughaven button for a dayticket including travel to/from the airport (€8.40); see the Public transport section for more details. S-Bahn trains to the city centre depart from platform 1 every few minutes. Take S8 or S9 (direction Frankfurt Hbf, Offenbach or Hanau) which all stop at the main railway station (Hauptbahnhof), the Hauptwache and Konstablerwache. A taxi ride to/from the city centre takes 20-30 minutes and costs about €20. This is Germany, so you won't get ripped off - the reliable metres tick merrily away at a fixed rate.

Travellers flying via Frankfurt-Hahn airport (110km west of the city, www.hahn-airport.de) can get to and from Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof using Ryanair's regular bus service (€12, 1 hour 45 minutes).

BUDGET AIRLINES
An increasingly popular way of travelling to, from and within Germany is with the budget airlines, that are often cheaper than the train - if you don't consider pollution damage and the huge tax breaks airlines get. Flights within Germany are usually around €50-100 one-way (and sometimes traditional airlines work out cheaper), but can be as cheap as €19 if booked ahead. For a full overview of budget airlines and routes, see www.flybudget.com. The following budget airlines fly within Germany:
DeutscheBA (www.flydba.de) flies between Cologne, Munich, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Stuttgart;
Germania (www.gexx.de) is based in Berlin and flies to Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich;
Germanwings (www.germanwings.com) is based at Cologne and Stuttgart, flies to Berlin and Dresden;
Hapag-Lloyd (www.hlx.com) is based at Cologne and flies to Berlin and Hamburg.