Frankfurt’s shopping temple “MyZeil” celebrates its 1st birthday and gets new surroundings Frankfurt, 24.02.2010 – Exclusive, trendy or extravagant; brand, chain or designer – fashion in Frankfurt is a varied and multi-faceted world. All these styles come together in the shopping and leisure centre “MyZeil”, which celebrates its 1st birthday on 26.02.2010. The spectacular roof designed by Italian star architect Massimiliano Fuksas floods the centre with light and effortlessly spans its eight storeys, which are home to a cornucopia of familiar brands, regional suppliers and international labels. The most recent new addition, and one that is drawing enormous attention, is the first Hollister shop in continental Europe which is attracting hordes of customers to the centre. “MyZeil” is situated on Frankfurt’s most popular shopping mile, the “Zeil”, to which the centre also owes its name. Not only are the most famous department stores represented here but also countless specialist shops offering an extensive range of buying opportunities. Together they make the Zeil one of the most popular and profitable shopping streets in Europe. The Zeil has been lavishly refurbished over recent months to make it even more attractive. High quality paving and a completely new lighting concept now offer the citizens of Frankfurt and their guests undiluted shopping pleasure in an outstanding city centre location. Yet the most important trademark of the pedestrian zone has been retained – its four rows of sycamore trees. This decision was not just a recommendation by the project’s architects but also the result of a survey of shoppers conducted locally. Now the Zeil is the perfect place to stroll, look at the shop windows and – if your legs tire – find a comfortable place to rest under one of the shady trees at the heart of the pedestrian zone. In the future, two new gastronomic pavilions will help to make the overall picture even more defined. The first has already opened and its name, “Weidenhof”, harks back to the grandmother of the city’s most famous son. Cornelia Schelhorn, later Goethe, ran one of the city’s most exclusive inns close to where the Zeil is today and bearing the same name. The motto of today’s “Weidenhof” is high quality but good value Frankfurt cuisine. The second pavilion at the eastern end of the pedestrian zone will have an international theme and is expected to open in the spring of this year. The redevelopment of Frankfurt’s biggest shopping mile continues. A new traffic-free zone has been created at its western end with the closing of the Hauptwache square to vehicles. This area will be given a complete facelift over the coming years with a design based on the old look of the Hauptwache. This will also smooth the flow of shoppers to other shopping streets in the city centre – Goethe-Straße (the home of luxury brands) and Fressgass with its delicatessen shops and restaurants are connected almost directly to the Zeil via the Hauptwache. The shopping city of Frankfurt also offers antique shops and souvenir shops around the Römerberg as well as unique boutiques and local shops for explorers in other city districts, e.g. on Berger Straße in Bornheim or Schweizer Straße in Sachsenhausen. The completion of another major inner city building project that links directly onto the Zeil is expected this year. The “PalaisQuartier”, which also includes “MyZeil”, is a newly developed city quarter that includes the reconstruction of the historic Thurn and Taxis Palace as well as a new office and residential tower and the first Jumeirah Hotel in Germany. And its new connecting paths also give a piece of public space back to the citizenry of Frankfurt.
Frankfurt’s shopping Temple “MyZeil” celebration. Feb 2010
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