The Bankenviertel is an area in the city centre of Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

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It is not an official city district but it is a commonly used designation to describe the not exactly defined area where most of Germanys major banks have their headquarters and where many foreign banks have their representation offices. It is also the place where most of Frankfurts skyscrapers are located. The Bankenviertel stretches across the western part of the Innenstadt

Innenstadt (Frankfurt am Main)

The Innenstadt is the central district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Innenstadt I, and is subdivided into 5 Stadtbezirke. It stretches in the north and east round the district of Altstadt...

, the southern part of the Westend

Westend (Frankfurt am Main)

The Westend area of Frankfurt contains the two districts of Westend-Nord and Westend-Süd. The Westend with its Wilhelminian style buildings is a beloved residential quarter...

 and the eastern part of the Bahnhofsviertel

Bahnhofsviertel (Frankfurt am Main)

The Bahnhofsviertel is a district or Stadtteil of Frankfurt am Main. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Innenstadt I. It was developed between 1891 and 1915 on the land of the established Westbahnhof.-Geography:...

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Most of the financial institutions in the Innenstadt district are located at Neue Mainzer Straße, Große Gallusstraße, Junghofstraße and the surrounding streets. The European Central Bank

European Central Bank

The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...

, Commerzbank

Commerzbank

Commerzbank AG is the second-largest bank in Germany, after Deutsche Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main.-Activities:Commerzbank is mainly active in commercial bank, retail banking and mortgaging. It suffered reversals in investment banking in early 2000s and scaled back its Securities unit...

, Citibank

Citibank

Citibank, a major international bank, is the consumer banking arm of financial services giant Citigroup. Citibank was founded in 1812 as the City Bank of New York, later First National City Bank of New York...

, Helaba

Helaba

Helaba short for Hessische Landesbank Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen is a commercial bank with core regions in Hesse and Thuringia, Germany...

 and Frankfurter Sparkasse are some of the well-known institutions based here. Frankfurts tallest building, the Commerzbank Tower

Commerzbank Tower

Commerzbank Tower, located in the city centre of Frankfurt, Germany, is the tallest completed skyscraper in the European Union. After it was completed in 1997 it ranked as the tallest skyscraper in Europe until 2005 when it was surpassed by the Triumph-Palace in Moscow...

 with a height of 259 meters, is located at Kaiserplatz. The Maintower

Maintower

Maintower is a 200 metre skyscraper in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is named after the river Main. A 40 metre communications tower is mounted atop the building. It features five underground floors, as well as two public viewing platforms. The tower currently remains the only skyscraper in...

 at Neue Mainzer Straße is the only skyscraper in the city with an observation desk open to the public.

Other institutions are based in the Westend district on both sides of Mainzer Landstraße between Platz der Republik and Opernplatz, including Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank

Deutsche Bank AG is a global financial service company with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. It employs more than 100,000 people in over 70 countries, and has a large presence in Europe, the Americas, Asia Pacific and the emerging markets...

, DZ Bank

DZ Bank

DZ Bank AG is an acronym for Deutsche Zentral-Genossenschaftbank . DZ Bank is the fourth largest bank in Germany by asset size and the central institution for more than 900 co-operative banks and their 12,000 branch offices...

 and DekaBank. The tallest building is Westendstraße 1

Westendstraße 1

Westendstraße 1 is a well-known skyscraper in the Westend of Frankfurt. It was completed in 1993 and together with the City Haus, the headquarters of DZ Bank...

 with 208 meters, the headquarters of DZ Bank.

The Bahnhofsviertel district is dominated by Dresdner Bank

Dresdner Bank

Dresdner Bank AG was one of Germany's largest banking corporations and was based in Frankfurt. It was acquired by competitor Commerzbank in December 2009.- 19th century :...

 with two skyscrapers, Silver Tower and Gallileo. JPMorgan Chase is also located here.

The area is very well accessible with the public transport system

Public transport in Frankfurt am Main

The public transit system in Frankfurt consists of several carriers who all utilise the same fare system. Therefore, one ticket is valid for a journey which may include several modes of transit run by different operators....

. Eight of nine suburban S-Bahn

Rhine-Main S-Bahn

The Rhine-Main S-Bahn system is an integrated rapid transit and commuter transport system for the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region, which includes the cities Frankfurt am Main, Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbach am Main, Hanau and Darmstadt...

 lines serve the stations Hauptwache, Taunusanlage and Frankfurt Central Station. All inner-city U-Bahn

Frankfurt U-Bahn

The Frankfurt U-Bahn, together with the Frankfurt S-Bahn and the Frankfurt Straßenbahn, is the backbone of the public transport system of Frankfurt, Germany. Its name derives from the German term for underground, Untergrundbahn. The U-Bahn opened in 1968 and now consists of 87 stations on nine...

lines have stops within the area: U1 to U3 at Willy-Brandt-Platz and Hauptwache, U4 and U5 at Willy-Brandt-Platz and Frankfurt Central Station, U6 and U7 at Hauptwache and Alte Oper. The tram line 12 stops at Frankfurt Central Station and Willy-Brandt-Platz, the lines 11, 16, 17 and 21 also serve the central station and Platz der Republik.