From June 3-5, the city stages a huge light show, projecting photographs and other images on to 40 skyscrapers dotted around the city.

Gigantic close-ups of Ronaldo and Oliver Kahn leering into the night might not be to everyone's taste but it should be a striking way to celebrate the final build-up to the world's greatest sporting event.

The other sign of Frankfurt's ambition to shed its image is the choice of public viewing site.

While other towns and cities across Germany will show matches in squares or parks, Frankfurt has chosen the river Main itself, with a giant screen being erected on the water for fans to see from the banks.

For those interested in seeing a bit more than football, there are seven excellent museums along the Schaumankai on the south bank of the river. The highlight is the Staedel, an outstanding art gallery.

In the west end of the city is the Senckenberg, one of Europe's most important natural history museums, and in general there is more history here than outsiders might imagine.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's great poet and dramatist, was born here in 1848, while kings and emperors were crowned in the city for almost a thousand years from the ninth century to the 18th.

INTERNATIONAL FEEL

Now, Frankfurt is notable for its international flavour, with around a third of the 650,000 or so inhabitants being of non-German nationality.

The old town was largely destroyed in bombing raids towards the end of World War Two. Plenty of hideous concrete buildings were hastily thrown up in the centre, which can give the city the feel of a 1970s shopping centre but around the Roemerberg at the very heart of the city a much finer job was done in recreating the look of the Altstadt.

Most visitors to Frankfurt will naturally head south of the Main to the attractive Sachsenhausen district.

The old part of Frankfurt contains the old taverns specialising in Apple wine, of which the city is bizarrely proud. Those who remain unconvinced by what is basically flat cider will find plenty of more modern bars with international menus on the wide streets of the district.

Frankfurt is hosting five matches, including one quarter-final. The Waldstadion, a veteran of the 1974 World Cup but now completely rebuilt, should please most fans, as long as the rain holds off.

The stadium hosted the final of the Confederations Cup in 2005 and organisers were acutely embarrassed when heavy rains burst through the large canopy over the stadium and cascaded down on the pitch.

The fault has been fixed, says the stadium's manager Herr Nass, which fittingly translates as Mr Wet. With luck, the amended design will not be put to the test.