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Frankfurt region and its modern heart

Like Rio with its carnival and New Orleans with Mardi Gras, Germany too knows how to throw a street party.

I discovered this during my visit to the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region at the Rosenmontag Carnival, held in Mainz, one of Germany's oldest cities on the river Rhine.

The country's Fasnacht (Carnival) season started in the 13th century, when excessive feasts, drinking and dancing were held in the week leading up to Ash Wednesday - the beginning of Lent, after which followed 40 days of abstinence before Easter.

On Rose Monday, a Bank Holiday, the parade sashays through Mainz, with marching bands and dancers. On colourful floats mocking politicians and celebs, volunteers lob sweets, and sometimes even toys to delighted crowds.

Our host lined up fancy dress outfits so we could join in the fun alongside gleeful children in dinosaur and kangaroo outfits, and teens and men wearing Ghostbusters kits, with beers stored in capsules on their backs.

Nobody infringed a zero tolerance policy on anybody unable to hold their booze, and families walked the streets in total safety.

As the second largest metropolitan region in Germany, the Frankfurt Rhine-Main (FRM) is so big on business - the stock exchange is the world's fourth biggest - that tourists are something of an afterthought.

The region includes two great rivers - the Rhine and the Main - and the cities of Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Aschaffenburg and Mainz.

Reaching all these from Frankfurt International Airport is quick and easy, on frequent and punctual trains.

My first stop was Aschaffenburg, a charming old town on the Main river only 40km from Frankfurt, and sometimes called "the Nice of Germany" because of its elegant, laid-back style.

It recently came near the top of an opinion poll of towns Germans would most like to live in. And, with white-washed, half-timbered houses tucked around little alleys and cul-de-sacs, it's easy to see why.

Aschaffenburg affords an intriguing glimpse of medieval Germany, with a stunning 12th century Stiftskirche Basilica and Museum in the centre.

Its huge collection of religious artefacts and treasures includes pure gold altar pieces and a stunning Triptech featuring the story of Jonah and the Whale, painted for the Archbishop of Mainz in the early 1500s.

Dominating the skyline is the 600-year-old fortress Schloss Johannisberg castle, built as a medieval keep in the 14th century, and extended in 1605 to become one of the best Renaissance castles in Europe.

The castle houses the state art gallery - following a painstaking 10-year restoration project in the 1950s, which removed all traces of World War II bomb damage.

We walked through the palace gardens to the Pompejanum House, built by King Ludwig I of Bavaria in the mid-19th century.

On a hill above the river, the bright yellow house is an eye-catching sight. No wonder it's one of Germany's top tourist attractions.

Ludwig loved classical art and was fascinated by the excavations of Pompeii. While fashionable German houses boasted a "Pompeii" Room, Ludwig went one better. His architect got the original plans of the house of Castor and Pollux in Pompeii and built an exact copy.

On the ground floor, a fountain in the courtyard greets us, where statues of the Roman gods Venus and Bacchus (god of wine) take pride of place and intricate mosaics grace the floor.

About 60km west of Frankfurt, on the northern bank of the Rhine, is Wiesbaden, capital of the federal state of Hesse and famous for thermal springs and spas.

In the war, Wiesbaden missed the worst of the bombing and US forces have kept a base there since.

One of the oldest spa towns in Europe, Wiesbaden has more than 15 springs. One in the market square is said to be the "Fountain of Youth".

Its water was tasty, warm and slightly salty - and we all turned up with empty water bottles to take some home.

Wiesbaden blossomed in the late 19th century: the Spielbank, one of Europe's oldest casinos, was added between 1904 and 1907 by Kaiser Wilhelm II, while the Wintergarden nearby has a wall of art nouveau frescos on one side and a long glass wall, with perfect views of parkland, on the other.

It even has its own little mountain - The Neroberg - easily reached from the city centre.

But its most visible landmark is the St Elizabeth Russian Orthodox Church: its bright, white, sandstone walls and five gilded round cupolas are topped by gold crosses clearly visible from many parts of the city.

Sixteen kilometres south-east of Wiesbaden, in the Rheingau Valley, the former Eberbach Monastery nestles below the Taunus mountains. Founded in 1136, it was home to at least 150 Cistercian monks until the secularisation of the monastery in 1803.

It was one of the more prosperous monasteries thanks to its vineyards that produce its famous Riesling wine and it has expanded to include Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir and Dornfelder wines too.

Our wine-tasting session was a delight, with top-ups freely available. My favourites were the Steinberger dry white and the Kloster Eberbach red.

Fans of The Name of The Rose, a film starring Sean Connery and a young Christian Slater, might also recognise the long Gothic Dormitory, half-timbered cloister and large, Romanesque Basilica, where scenes were filmed.

After all this history, Frankfurt - the fifth largest city in Germany - can be a bit of a shock.

At times, it feels like two cities. The Bankenviertel (financial district), nicknamed 'Mainhatten', is stuffed with skyscrapers, including the 166m Silver Tower, one of Germany's tallest buildings and the Dresdner Bank HQ.

In contrast, the Old City, including Romerberg (City Hall Square), retains its medieval charm with a town centre of brightly-coloured, half-timbered, tall houses.

The City Hall, built in the early 1400s, staged the banquets of newly-crowned emperors in its Kaisersaal (Emperor's Hall). The adjacent square includes shops and bars, the Schirn Kunsthalle art exhibition centre and Dom (Frankfurt Cathedral).

No visit to the city would be complete without sampling its favourite popular beverage, the Frankfurt Apfelwein (apple wine), similar to cider and served in the traditional way - in a blue-grey crockery jug called a bembel.

KEY FACTS - FRANKFURT RHEIN-MAIN REGION

BEST FOR: Families, couples, groups and cycling holidays.

TIME TO GO: Anytime, with festivals in spring and summer, Christmas markets, and February carnivals.

DON'T MISS: Carnival season in Feb/March. Wiesbaden's is on Sunday, Mainz on Monday, with frequent trains between the two.

NEED TO KNOW: Let the train take the strain. The RMV (Rhein Main transport association) is one of the biggest in Europe. Visit www.rmv.de for details.

DON'T FORGET: Tourist cards, from tourist offices, for Wiesbaden, Frankfurt and Mainz give free travel on public transport, as well as reduced entry to attractions and discounts.

Laura Wurzal was a guest of TourComm Germany.