“You must drink at least five before it begins to taste good, and you must drink it with Handkäs mit Musik.” My German friend was speaking of Frankfurt’s famous apple wine, or Ebbelwei, best paired with small pickled cheeses and sliced onions.

The city’s Sachsenhausen district is filled with cozy pubs and taverns where this beverage is served, usually poured from gray crockery pitchers. The low-alcohol drink has a strange, sour taste and is said to be good for the circulation and nervous system.

A trip to Frankfurt, Germany’s financial center, is not complete without a visit to this old part of the city on the south side of the Main River — and a taste of this unique potion. The view across the water of the city’s imposing collection of skyscrapers is magnificent. Frankfurt, sometimes called “Mainhattan,” has Germany’s tallest buildings.

Unfortunately, many know Frankfurt only as a transportation hub. Its airport is continental Europe’s largest. Its train station is Germany’s busiest. And it has the country’s most-traveled motorway intersection.

It’s fun to explore this dynamic metropolis, which was largely demolished in World War II but has been painstakingly reconstructed. An ambience of the old has been recaptured at the Römerberg, a large square of half-timbered buildings dominated by the Römer, a building complex of three merchant houses which the city purchased in 1405 and converted into the town hall. The three-gabled silhouette of the Gothic building, which still serves as the town hall, has become the city symbol.

Frankfurt’s famous son, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, was born here in 1749. Germany’s literary genius spent his childhood and youth in the city (although he later was said to have described his hometown as ugly). His birthplace, the Goethe House (Grosser Hirschgraben 23–25), is a restored four-story house with beautiful antique furnishings, paintings and porcelain. Next to the house is the Goethe Museum, with an extensive collection of paintings and documents from Goethe’s life and times.

My favorite museum is the Museum of Modern Art, an odd-shaped structure that looks like a slice of cake and was designed by the Viennese architect Hans Hollein. It’s a fun place for wandering in and out of nooks and crannies and unusually shaped rooms while admiring the art on the walls, from pop to current, far-out works.

Frankfurt has numerous other museums, most located on the Museumsufer, or Museum Embankment, along the Main River. You’ll find museums dedicated to architecture, regional art, European painting, communication, applied arts, German film and more.

If you’re an animal lover, don’t neglect a visit to the Frankfurt Zoological Garden, which ranks among Europe’s best, with special mention for its nocturnal animal house. For those into flora, a stop at the Palmengarten is a must. This haven of green tranquility has expansive conservatories where a wide variety of tropical and subtropical plants thrive.