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If you're the type who thrills to the heady smell of fresh-printed books, the soft touch of their new linen or leather bindings, or the sight of their famous or almost-famous authors, Frankfurt's annual international book fair (www.frankfurt-book-fair.com; October 8-13), is the place for you. Founded in 1949, when East Germany's Leipzig — for centuries the leading book-fair site — was no longer accessible to West German publishers, the Frankfurt exhibition is full of superlatives. In 2002, some 265,000 visitors flocked to the Messegelände to visit the world's largest literary marketplace. They inspected the wares offered by 6,388 publishers

	STREETWISE
		BEST CRUISE Primus-Linie Board any of the pleasure boats of the Primus-Linie fleet, sit back, sip your favorite beverage and enjoy Frankfurt's glittering skyline from the water. Throughout the year, Primus-Linie offers cruises (price from around 35.50 to 398) throughout the day and night. www.primus-linie.de Tel: +49 69 13 38 370 BEST HOTEL Hotel Nizza If you favor picturesque over posh, book into the artsy Hotel Nizza in a beautiful Gründerzeit building on Elbestrasse, five minutes from the main station. Enjoy the sunset from the roof garden. Single rooms cost from 375 to 3105, doubles between 3105 and 3135, depending on the season. Tel: +49 69 24 25 380 BEST COFFEE SHOP Cafe Laumer Try the famous Frankfurter Kranz, a ring-shaped butter-cream gâteau garnished with candied cherries and chopped caramelized nuts at Café Laumer at 67, Bockenheimer Landstrasse, the favorite haunt of philosopher-sociologist Theodor Adorno. www.cafe-laumer.de; Tel: +49 69 72 79 12 BEST PARK Palmgarten Founded in 1868, the 20-hectare park offers thousands of native and exotic plants (giant tree ferns, rain-forest orchids), both al fresco and in greenhouses. Tours, concerts, exhibitions and many more recreational activities are on offer. Catch a U6 or U7 subway train to Westend. Tel: +49 69 21 23 66 89

and other content providers from more than 100 countries on some 175,000 sq m of hall space. While books still make up the majority of wares at the show, one-quarter of all exhibitors today also present multimedia products such as dvds, videos and online applications. All in all, 336,663 items were displayed last year, in hopes that retailers would place big orders and the public would go out and buy them. In the packed and cacophonous LitAg — short for Literary Agents and Scouts Center — business deals worth €31 million concerning an amazing 18,000 hitherto unpublished print and electronic books in 53 languages were closed last year, as young, would-be authors, their manuscripts clutched in sweaty hands, prowled the corridors in search of a publisher.

For leisure-time visitors who haven't come to bargain but simply to enjoy themselves, there are thousands of events to choose from. Writers from Paul Coehlo to Günter Grass will read, discuss or autograph their work, and panel discussions, seminars and lectures ("Promotion of Literature in Lesser Known Languages") cater to those with education on their mind. Award ceremonies — the 2003 Peace Prize goes to Susan Sontag on Oct. 12 — bring some glamour to the otherwise business-oriented venture. This year's guest-of-honor country, Russia, is going to provide some special treats. Some 150 Russian writers will present their books, among them some of the country's increasingly popular "Ladies of Crime" who will read from their new murder mysteries. Polina Dashkova, author of Russian Orchid, for instance, will take part in a nerve-tingling discussion about Russian whodunits, and Alexandra Marinina will tell of the latest case of her heroine, inspector Anastasija Kamenskaja.

When you get tired of pushing your way through the noisy crowds, take a breather and stroll from the fairgrounds to the pretty Römerberg square in front of Frankfurt's eponymous city hall. The plaque embedded in the ground at its center commemorates the May 10, 1933, burning of books that the Nazis deemed to be politically incorrect. Perhaps the reminder of those awful times will renew your appreciation for the book fair and its bustle of activity.

Come night, you can join the book-fair partyers at one of Frankfurt's best clubs, Oneninetyeast (www.190east.de), where American-expat, house-legend Joe Jam will be scratching, or head to the King Kamehameha club for a cocktail. When you're hungry, have some local onion-topped Handkäs mit Musik cheese with onions and an oil-and-vinegar dressing, or simply some frankfurters. However you spend your time, one thing is certain. On leaving the huge halls, their shelves and tables crammed with such an abundance of titles, you will firmly agree with the motto: "So many books, so little time."

• URSULA SAUTTER
• Browse the shelves at Frankfurt's book fair — the world's largest — then unbind in the city's nightclubs