Business contacts
Car hireAvis is located in the Hauptbahnhof (central station), Tel: 2799 7010. Hertz is also in the Hauptbahnhof, Tel: 2304 84.For Sixt car hire, Tel: 2310 53.
Office rental The Regus Business Centre is a modern building in the middle of the banking district with high quality technical equipment and attractive rooms (An der Welle 4, Tel: 7593 8204, website: www.regus.de).

Weather and climate
The temperatures in Frankfurt range from -7C in January and December to 25C in July and August. The wettest months are June, July and August, but this is due to short bursts of heavy rain rather than prolonged spells of wet weather. The best and driest months are April, May, September and October when the temperatures range from 15C–20C.

Local press
The local newspaper is the Frankfurter Rundschau, which has comprehensive features, listings and reviews throughout the week. There are two city magazines published monthly, the Journal Frankfurt and Prinz. More information can be found online at www.journal-frankfurt.de and www.prinz.de.

Tourist traps
Avoid the area around the Hauptbahnhof—a centre for illegal dealings in the city, it’s patrolled by police who do tend to keep everything under control. The area around Konstablerwache has also become notorious for its drug dealers. Frankfurt has unfortunately become the undisputed drugs capital of Germany and you should use the same amount of caution that you would in any large city.

Tipping etiquette
In restaurants, sales tax and a service charge are automatically included in the bill by law, but it is customary to give a tip of up to an extra 10% depending on how happy you are with the service. Give the tip direct to the waiter; don’t leave it on the table. Hotel bellboys and porters will appreciate a few euros for helping with your luggage, as will taxi drivers, who are usually a mine of information about anything from the latest weather report to the best places in town to eat.

Internet cafés
CybeRyder (Töngesgasse, Tel: 7030 35) is a centrally located Internet café with fax and photocopying services, and good, strong coffee.

Gifts to buy
A couple of local specialities to look out for are bethmaennchen, a sweet delicacy available from most bakeries, and bembel, an apple wine or cider that comes in a pottery flagon.

The department stores Kaufhaus (www.kaufhaus.de) and Karstadt (www.karstadt.de) are both located in the Zeilgalerie shopping complex where you can buy almost anything. If you’re looking for designer fashion head to downtown Frankfurt and the boutiques in Goethestrasse. For souvenir shops try the Römerberg.