The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, Saturday 2 October 2010

A thumbnail guide went awry in saying that the annual Frankfurt book fair occupies 5,500 sq metres in the Festhalle. The event occupies more than 170,000 sq metres and is held in the wider trade fair grounds.

In October, a state-of-the-art Inter City Express train will roll into London's St Pancras station, having whizzed its way from Frankfurt. If this pilot journey goes to plan, Germany's fifth-largest city will join Paris and Brussels as a high-speed rail destination from London by the end of 2013. The route, one assumes, will be aimed at business types scurrying between Europe's two largest financial capitals. But should you be planning a German getaway, here are a few pointers:

Sightseeing: Frankfurt is Germany's business and finance hub: with an impressive collection of skyscrapers, the city is occasionally nicknamed Mainhattan (the river Main runs through it). For the best view, head to the 200m platform on the Main Tower.

History: While the majority of the buildings in the historic Römerburg district were destroyed duing the second world war, many of the blockbusters have been meticulously restored. The imposing town hall is surrounded by gabled roofs, and the cathedral of St Bartholomeus was where kings and emperors of the Holy Roman empire were crowned in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Where to stay (splurge): 25 Hours Hotel. This branch of the boutique chain is known as "Levi's Hotel" in honour of its next-door neighbour – the German HQ of Levi Strauss – and comes with an assortment of rooms in different shades of blue. 25hours-hotels.com, rooms from €99

Where to stay (cheap): Hotel am Berg. A favourite in the Sachsenhausen district south of the Main, this is a mock Tudor-style mansion stuffed with family portraits and kitsch colonial trinkets. hotel-am-berg-ffm.de, doubles from €55

For mobile boozing: The Beer Bike. Take one multi-seater "conference bike" with eight peddlers. Add one keg of beer strapped in front of a guide-cum-barman. Put in middle of one of Europe's busiest road networks. And do it quick – the authorities are getting increasingly worried about the "indiscriminate peeing", not to mention the tailbacks. bierbike.de

Food (expensive): Eat like the Romans by lying down on white leather beds in Silk, a restaurant-cum-bedroom frequented by stylish locals. Expect to leave with a considerable hole in your pocket after lashings of sauerkraut risotto and lobster. tinyurl.com/silkfrankfurt

Food (cheap): For a budget-friendly fill, you can do a lot wurst (sorry) than heading to to Kaiserstrasse market, where you'll find all sorts of sausages being grilled.

For bookworms: The annual Frankfurt book fair in the autumn is a must. Bibliophiles converge on the vast Festhalle, where almost half a million books are laid out across 5,500 square metres.

Further afield: The Taunus mountains, half an hour north-west, are laced with walking trails and guesthouses, and the Odenwald forest is an hour to the south-east.