Indian businesses and services in Frankfurt, Germany

Frankfurt's Indian community is shaped by the city's role as a financial centre and air hub. Bankers, IT consultants, airline and logistics staff and students make up much of it, along with families who have been in the Rhine-Main region for decades, and it is spread across the city and its suburbs rather than concentrated in one district.

The Bahnhofsviertel around the Hauptbahnhof, full of foreign grocers and eateries, is a convenient place to look for spices, lentils, flour and fresh vegetables a few minutes' walk from the station. Indian restaurants are found throughout the city. Hindu temples, gurdwaras and mosques with South Asian congregations are scattered too, so it is worth checking addresses before visiting. For a major celebration, the large Sri Kamadchi Ampal Temple in Hamm, a long drive north, holds a two-week temple festival each year in May or June that draws Tamil Hindus from across Germany and beyond.

Diwali and Holi are celebrated by Indian associations, often in rented halls, and Navratri garba nights have grown with the community. The S-Bahn and U-Bahn network makes the region easy to get around, and Frankfurt Airport, linked to the Hauptbahnhof by suburban rail, has direct flights to India, which makes the city a convenient first base for new arrivals in Germany.