The big question in Frankfurt: will the stadium be all it's cracked up to be?
The rebuilt Waldstadion (tastelessly renamed, see below) hosted the final of last year's Confederations Cup and the paying customers got wet when the roof leaked, leading to some hasty fiddling. It's not just the English who have problems with building stadiums, although Germans will point out that at least it has been finished on time and, as far as anyone has been able to tell, has stopped leaking.
Perhaps that will be tested if there's a repeat of the weather seen in the 1974 World Cup: Frankfurt hosted a famous match between West Germany and Poland that was played on a paddy field rather than a pitch.
The venue has been renamed after a major financial institution, Commerzbank, for World Cup purposes. The tedious commerz-ialisation of venues is a major part of the focus on giving corporate sponsors what they want that makes this the best World Cup money can buy.
In fact, you can hardly get away from money in Frankfurt: this city in west-central Germany is the country's financial capital and the home of the Deutsche Boerse, the German stock exchange, which recently tried to take over the London Stock Exchange.
Downtown Frankfurt looks the part, full of skyscrapers, and it's business reasons as well as location that makes the city's airport one of the world's busiest. This should help you avoid a geographical calamity if ever you travel this way.
In Germany the city will sometimes be dubbed Frankfurt am Main - the Main is the river, the principal tributary of the Rhine - because there's a second city, Frankfurt an der Oder, on the border with Poland. A lot smaller, but well known as a border crossing and culturally significant, because its eastern half, the other side of the Oder river, wound up in Poland. Whatever you do, make sure you go to the right Frankfurt.
The ground is the home of Eintracht Frankfurt, a team best known outside Germany perhaps for a supporting role in the 1960 European Cup final, which they lost 7-3 to Real Madrid at Hampden Park in one of those "best games ever". This season, a crucial home draw with fellow-strugglers Kaiserslautern on 3 May was required or the club's battle for Bundesliga survival would have gone to the wire.
But more important for England fans it's the venue for their opening match - against Paraguay on 10 June. Capacity is just over 43,000, which gives England around 3,500 tickets. This will be a key early test for the ticket restrictions we have heard so much about.
It's also a place with a few ill omens: in 1988, an already-eliminated England played their final match at the European Championship here, losing 3-1 to the Soviet Union.
More recently, the Confederations Cup final saw Brazil beat Argentina 4-1; the latter will be hoping for better luck when they play Holland here on 21 June, in what could be a climactic final group game if either have stumbled against Serbia & Montenegro or Ivory Coast. More likely a match to decide who wins the group rather than who qualifies, perhaps, but one of the biggest matches of the first round none the less.
The quarter-final features teams from groups E, F, G and H, so none of the sides that played a group game here will return. If all goes to plan, then that should be a meeting between Brazil and Spain.
Saturday 10 June, 2pm, England v Paraguay, Group B
Tuesday 13 June, 2pm, South Korea v Togo, Group G
Saturday 17 June, 2pm, Portugal v Iran, Group D
Wednesday 21 June, 8pm, Holland v Argentina, Group C
Saturday 1 July, 8pm, Quarter-final
FRANKFURT: THE BASICS - EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW IN A NUTSHELL...
Getting Around
Frankfurt has an integrated transport system, which means you need just one type of ticket for all types of transport. Tickets are valid on S Bahn (train), U Bahn (underground), trams and buses. Those with a match ticket get free transport on the day of the match.
When using ticket machines, remember that tickets are for immediate use, so don't buy in bulk. The language can be changed into English so that instructions can be followed easily.
Single ticket - 2 (Euro)
Kurzstrecke (short ticket, under 2kms) - 1.55 (Euro)
Day ticket - 4.70 (Euro)
The Stadium
Commerzbank Arena (48,132)
The Commerzbank Arena is the latest incarnation of the old Waldstadion, which played host to a Muhammad Ali fight and the 2005 Confederations Cup final. A 126 million (Euro) renovation for the World Cup includes a massive 30 tonne video cube.
The World Cup stadium is home to the once-mighty Eintracht Frankfurt, who were involved in one of the greatest matches ever-played; the astonishing 7-3 defeat by Real Madrid in the 1960 European Cup Final.
The stadium is in the south-west of Frankfurt, near the airport. It's accessible by S Bahn on line S8 or S9 from Hauptbahnhof. Alight at Sportfeld. Alternatively get the tram to the western end of route 21 from Südbahnhof.
Get there from the main Station
Take line S8 or S9 from the Hauptbahnhof. The journey takes roughly 15 minutes.
Get there from the Airport
The airport is just one stop from Sportfeld on the S Bahn - take any train from the Flughafen Regionalbahnhof on level 0 into town.
Get there from the City Centre
If you are north of the Main then head for the Hauptbahnhof and get S Bahn S8 or S9 to Sportfeld. If south of the river, it is probably best to get tram 21 westwards from Südbahnhof and stay on until the end.
TV Venues
England play their first match in the competition here against Paraguay on the 10 June. One of the matches of the group stage, Netherlands v Argentina, is on 21 June. The MainArena is the place to watch games for those without tickets, with room for 15,000 fans.
Fan Fest: MainArena
The MainArena takes over both sides of the river in the city centre. Games are shown on a giant screen in the middle of the river and there are also a mini football pitch and two stages for music and dancing.
Home from Home: Anglo Irish
Sure to become a centre for English fans gathering in the city, the Anglo Irish (Kleine Rittergasse 1) hosts the odd after-hours lock in and shows football on a big screen. Should have a great atmosphere for that opening match.
Sports Session: Joe Champs
A new addition to Frankfurt's plethora of sports venues, Joe Champs is located in the Zeilgalerie Shopping Centre. With more than enough TVs, a good view of the action is guaranteed.
Where to Stay
As Germany's financial capital, Frankfurt has plenty of World Cup hotels at the higher end of the scale. The high-rise skyline means that many rooms have great views. With 22,000 beds available, accommodation might be easier to find here than some other FIFA World Cup venues, but still book ahead. The tourist office helps with advance bookings for World
Cup hotels on +49 (0) 69 21 23 8800.
Close to the Stadium: Steigenberger Airport Hotel
The recently-refurbished Steigenberger Airport Hotel is just one stop from Sportfeld S Bahn station and incredibly handy for the stadium. Although not in the centre of town, it is likely that the airport hotels will have vacancies for longer.
S-Bahn Station: Flughafen Regionalbahnhof
Address: Unterschweinstiege 16, 60549 Frankfurt
Phone: +49 (0) 69 69 750
Rates: from 140 (Euro)
Web: www.airporthotel.steigenberger.de
Central Hostel: Haus der Jugend
Right in the heart of the Sachsenhausen nightlife district, this 450-room hostel has a variety of dorms, singles, doubles and quadruples to choose from. It is a well established fixture on the hostelling circuit and is both clean and reliable.
S-Bahn Station: Lokalbahnhof
Address: Deutschherrnufer 12, 60594 Frankfurt
Rates: singles 39.50 (Euro) pp; doubles 29.50 (Euro) pp; quadruples 28.50 (Euro) pp; 8-10 person dorms 16.50 (Euro) pp
Web: www.jugendherberge-frankfurt.de
Roughing It: Campingplatz Schnelsen-Nord
Very central, this campsite is sure to fill up for the FIFA World Cup, so book in as soon as possible. Just three minutes from the tube and then a 12-minute ride into the centre of the city, it's a great budget option.
U-Bahn Station: Willy-Brandt-Platz
Address: An der Sandelmühle 35 b, 60439 Frankfurt
Phone: + 49 (0) 69 570 332
Rates: tent 3.50 (Euro); tent and car 4.50 (Euro); plus 5.50 (Euro) per adult
Web: www.city-camp-frankfurt.de
Where to Go
Frankfurt is famous for its Apfelwein (sour cider). Mix it with sparkling water (sauergespritzt) or lemonade (süssgespritzt) if you can't take it neat.
There is beer too, of course. Binding Pilsener is the most popular local brew.
Frankfurt's last big beer pub: Doctor Flotte
In a beautiful old building, Doctor Flotte (Gräfstrasse 87) is a great place to meet the locals. With a dangerously located darts board, this old-school pub doesn't disappoint.
Riverside Retreat: Bootshaus am Eisernen Steg
Right next to the famous Eiserner Steg pedestrian bridge, Bootshaus am Eisernen Steg (Schaumainkai o.Nr) is on a floating terrace on the Main. A great place to while away an afternoon.
Escape from Apfelwein: Waikiki Bar
If tradition and apfelwein are getting to you and you fancy something different, head to Waikiki Bar (Taubenstrasse 1), which is decorated in shiny silver and neon
Frankfurt has its own distinctive cuisine. Handkäse mit Musik is a curdled cheese sliced onto dark bread and topped with a mixture of vinegar, onions and caraway seeds. Grüne Sosse is another favourite - a sauce made of parsley, sorrel, dill, burnet, borage, chervil and chives, eaten with eggs, beef and potato.
Monastery Magic: Klosterhof
Serving delicious meals since 1936, Klosterhof (Weissfrauenstrasse 3) is a great place for a meal if your girlfriend is sick of the football. They also serve a very quick lunch from 12pm-3pm if you need to grab a bite before the match.
Not for Vegetarians: Steinernes Haus
With long wooden shared tables, Steinernes Haus (Braubachstrasse 35) specialises in rump steak that is brought to your table raw and cooked in front of you on a heated rock tablet. With litre mugs of beer as standard, this is one for the lads and good for groups.
Urban Cool: Café Karin
For a great breakfast or quick bite at lunchtime, try Café Karin (Grosser Hirschgraben 28). In the summer there are seats outside, and the cakes and salads are particularly good.
Philip Cornwall
