By Air
The national airline is Lufthansa (LH). Many
other airlines serve the country, including an
increasing number of low-cost airlines (such as
Easyjet and Ryanair) operating from the UK.
Approximate flight times: From
Hamburg, Bremen or Hannover to London is 1 hour
20 minutes; from Cologne/Bonn to London is 1 hour
10 minutes; from Frankfurt/M to London is 1 hour
25 minutes; from Nuremberg to London is 2 hours
30 minutes (with one stop); and from Munich to
London is 1 hour 40 minutes. From Frankfurt/M
to Los Angeles is 11 hours 20 minutes, to New
York is 8 hours 20 minutes, to Singapore is 13
hours and to Sydney is 23 hours.
International airports: Berlin-Tegel
(TXL) (Otto Lilienthal) (website: www.berlin-airport.de)
is located 8km (5 miles) northwest of the city
(travel time – 20 minutes). Bus nos. 109
and X9 go to the city every 5-10 minutes from
0500-2400; return is from Bahnhof Zoo, Budapester
Strasse, Charlottenburg station or Kurfürstendamm
underground station. Airport facilities include
duty-free shop, banks/bureaux de change, left
luggage (0530-2200), 24-hour medical facilities,
post office (Mon-Fri 0630-2100), restaurant (0600-2200),
bars (0600-2300), snack bar (0515-2300), shops,
tourist information, conference rooms, hotel reservation
and car hire.
Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF) (website: www.berlin-airport.de)
is 20km (12 miles) southeast of the city (travel
time – 1 hour). The AirportExpress train
departs for the city centre every 30 minutes (0430-2300).
S-Bahn no. S9 departs for the city (to Westkreuz)
via Alexanderplatz and Bahnhof Zoo; S45 departs
every 20 minutes to Westend. Further connections
with the regional train services R1, R2 and R12
are available at the same tariff as the S-Bahn.
Bus no. 171 runs between U-Bahn station Rudow
(Line 7) and the airport. Taxi service is available
to the city 24 hours. Airport facilities include
duty-free shop, banks/bureaux de change, post
office (Mon-Fri 0800-1800, Sat 0800-1200), restaurant
(Mon-Fri 0730-2200, Sat and Sun 0600-2200), 24-hour
left luggage, medical facilities (0600-2200),
24-hour nursery, 24-hour snack bar, 24-hour hotel
reservation, 24-hour tourist information and car
hire. The mainline railway station is a ten minute
walk from the airport; from here connections to
major German cities and to Basle, Budapest, Prague
and Vienna are possible. A free shuttle bus is
available from the airport to the station.
Berlin-Tempelhof (THF) (website: www.berlin-airport.de)
is 6km (4 miles) southeast of the city centre
(travel time – 20 minutes). Bus no. 119
departs every ten minutes to the city. The underground
lines 6 and 7 run every 2-10 minutes (travel time
– 15 minutes). Taxis are available. Airport
facilities include duty-free shop, left luggage
(0600-2200), 24-hour medical facilities, banks/bureaux
de change, snack bar, other shops and car hire.
Bremen (BRE) (Neuenland) (website: www.airport-bremen.de)
is 3.5km (2 miles) from the city (travel time
– 10 minutes). Tram no.6 takes approximately
17 minutes to the city centre (main railway station).
Services run Mon-Sat every 5-15 minutes, and Sun
every 15-30 minutes. There is a 24-hour taxi service.
Airport facilities include a duty-free shop, bank,
bureau de change, conference centre, car hire
and hotel reservation.
Cologne (Köln/Bonn) (CGN) (Konrad Adenauer)
(website: www.airport-cgn.de/)
is 14km (9 miles) southeast of Cologne, and 21km
(13 miles) northeast of Bonn (travel time –
25 and 35 minutes respectively). Express bus no.
170 goes to Cologne every 15-30 minutes. Express
bus no. 670 goes to Bonn every 20 minutes. Return
is from the bus stop near the main railway station
(stadthaltestelle am hauptbahnhof). There is a
24-hour taxi service at the airport. Airport facilities
include a duty-free shop, tourist information,
conference centre, car hire, restaurant (0630-2000),
bar (0600-2300), bank/building society and shops.
Dresden (DRS) (Klotsche) (website: www.dresden-airport.de)
is 9km (6 miles) northeast of Dresden (travel
time – 25 minutes). Daily bus services are
available to the city. Airport facilities include
left luggage, bank/bureau de change, car hire,
bars, restaurants, shops and tourist information.
Düsseldorf (DUS) (Rhein-Ruhr) (website:
www.duesseldorf-international.de)
is 8km (5 miles) north of the city. Trains depart
to the city every 20 minutes (the airport station
is under the arrival hall). Return is from Hauptbahnhof
(main railway station) every 30 minutes. An S-Bahn
connection (S7) every 20-30 minutes and bus services
are available as well. Taxis run a 24-hour service
to Düsseldorf. Airport facilities include
a duty-free shop (0430-2130), bank (0630-2130),
medical facilities, post office (Mon-Fri 0800-1800,
Sat 0800-1200), restaurant (0600-2359), bars,
snack bar (0430-2130), tourist information, car
hire and conference rooms.
Frankfurt/M (FRA) (Rhein/Main) (website:
www.frankfurt-airport.de) is 9km (6 miles)
southwest of the city. Travel to and from the
city is by buses no. 61 and 62 every 20 minutes,
returning from Hauptbahnhof (main railway station).
Lines S8 and S9 goes to the city (the station
is underneath the arrival hall). S-Bahn S8 also
goes directly to Mainz and Wiesbaden (travel time
– 40 minutes). There is a 24-hour taxi service
to Frankfurt. The airport has its own InterCity
railway station which also offers international
services (Switzerland, Austria and Hungary). The
Lufthansa Courtesy Airport Bus connects with Mannheim
(travel time – 1 hour) and Heidelberg (travel
time – 1.5 hours). Long-distance bus services
from the airport include the T271 to Ostrava in
the Czech Republic (travel time – 4 hours)
and the CHECK LINE bus to Strasbourg in France
(travel time – 3 hours). Airport facilities
include left luggage, 24-hour medical facilities,
duty-free shops, banks, restaurants, bars, snack
bars, shops, Airport Conference Centre (23 conference
rooms), post office (0600-2200), tourist information
and car hire.
Hamburg (HAM) (Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel) (website:
www.ham.airport.de) is 9km (5 miles) north of
the city centre (travel time – 25 minutes).
Coaches go to the city every 20 minutes, returning
from Zentral Omnibus Bahnhof Kirchenallee. The
Airport City Line bus runs every 20 minutes to
the railway station from 0500-2300. Express bus
no. 110 runs every 10 minutes to Ohlsdorf Station
(travel time – 9 minutes). A taxi service
is available. Airport facilities include duty-free
shop, banks (0600-2200), shops, restaurants (0530-2200),
snack bar, post office, tourist information and
car hire.
Hannover (HAJ) (Langenhagen) (website: www.hannover-airport.de)
is 11km (7 miles) north of the city (travel time
– 30 minutes). S-Bahn S5 runs between the
airport and the main railway station every 30
minutes (travel time - 12 minutes). A 24-hour
taxi service runs to Hannover. Airport facilities
include a duty-free shop, 24-hour luggage lockers,
24-hour medical facilities, banks/bureau de change
(Mon-Fri 0630-2100, Sat-Sun 0900-1730), bars (0600-1900),
snack bar, post office, restaurants, tourist information
and car hire.
Leipzig/Halle (LEJ) (website: www.leipzig-halle-airport.de)
is 12km (7 miles) northwest of the city (travel
time – 30 minutes). Coaches depart to the
city. Return is from the main railway station
and major hotels. 24-hour taxi services are available
to the city. Airport facilities include duty-free
shop, conference centre, bank (0800-2000), post
office (Mon-Fri 0600-2200, Sat-Sun 0600-2000),
snack bar (0600-2200), medical facilities (0600-2230),
tourist information and restaurant (0700-2100).
Munich (MUC) (Franz Joseph Strauss) (website:
www.munich-airport.de)
is 28.5km (18 miles) northeast of the city (travel
time – 38 minutes). Direct links with the
S-Bahn S8 and S1 run every 10 minutes from Hauptbahnhof
(main railway station) (0313-0042; return 0355-0115).
The Airport City Bus runs every 20 minutes from
0650-1930 to the Hauptbahnhof and every 30 minutes
from 0755-2055; further bus services are available.
Coach Oberbayern runs every 10 minutes to the
city centre. Airport facilities include duty-free
shop, 24-hour left luggage, 24-hour medical facilities,
snack bar, restaurants, post office, banks, conference
centre, car hire and bars. The airport also has
a Visitors’ Park. Attractions include Dimension
M (interactive information centre), Viewing Hill
(a vantage point to view airport activity), a
display of historical aircraft, an aircraft simulator
movie theatre, a play area and restaurant.
Münster-Osnabrück (FMO) (website:
www.flughafen-fmo.de)
is 25km (16 miles) from the city. Buses go to
Münster (travel time – 30 minutes)
and Osnabrück (travel time – 35 minutes).
Taxis take 40 minutes. Airport facilities include
a duty-free shop.
Nuremberg (NUE) (website: www.flughafen-nuernberg.de)
is 7km (4 miles) north of the city centre. Underground
U2 runs to the Hauptbahnhof (travel time - 12
minutes). There is a 24-hour taxi service. Bus
no. 32 goes to Thon with interchanging bus no.
30 to Erlangen (travel time – 20 minutes)
as well as trams no. 4 and 9. Taxis are available.
Airport facilities include a duty-free shop, 24-hour
luggage lockers, business centre, 24-hour medical
facilities, bars (0500-2000), snack bar (0430-2000),
post office (Mon-Fri 0630-1730, Sat 0630-1200),
restaurants (1100-2300) and car hire.
Saarbrücken (SCN) (Ensheim) (website: www.flughafen-saarbrueken.de)
is 16km (10 miles) from the city centre. There
is an hourly bus service (27) to the city, and
taxis are also available.
Stuttgart (STR) (Echterdingen) (website: www.flughafen-stuttgart.de)
is 14km (9 miles) south of the city (travel time
– 35 minutes). An S-Bahn link (lines S2
and S3) is available with trains running at 10-minute
intervals. There is a 24-hour taxi service to
Stuttgart. Airport facilities include duty-free
shops (0430-2359), 24-hour luggage lockers, conference
centre, 24-hour medical facilities, bank/bureau
de change (0730-2100), bars (0530-2359), post
office, restaurant (0530-2300) and car hire.
Departure Tax: None. |
By Land
RAIL: Train/ferry routes from
London are from London Victoria via Dover and
Ostend, or London Liverpool Street to Hook of
Holland via Harwich. Travel time to Cologne/Bonn
is around 10 hours.
The channel tunnel: The quickest
route by train from the UK is through the channel
tunnel with connections from Brussels or Paris
to Austria. Eurostar operates direct high-speed
trains through the channel tunnel from London
(Waterloo International) to Paris (Gare du Nord)
and to Brussels (Midi/Zuid). From London to Paris,
travel time is 3 hours; from London to Brussels,
travel time is 2 hours 40 minutes. From Brussels,
there is a night train to Vienna leaving at 1910
and taking approximately 14 hours; from Paris
(Gare de l’Est) there are two trains to
Vienna, one at 0749 and another at 1749, taking
approximately 15 hours. For further information
and reservations, contact Eurostar (tel: (0870)
6000 792 (travel agents) or (08705) 186 186 (public;
within the UK) or +44 (1233) 617 575 (public;
outside the UK); website:
www.eurostar.com); or Rail Europe (tel: (08705)
848 848). Travel agents can obtain refunds for
unused tickets from Eurostar Trade Refunds, Second
Floor, Kent House, 81 Station Road, Ashford, Kent
TN23 1PD. Complaints and comments may be sent
to Eurostar Customer Relations, Eurostar House,
Waterloo Station, London SE1 8SE. General enquiries
and information requests must be made by telephone.
There are excellent connections between the
Federal Republic of Germany and other main European
cities. In 1998, Deutsche Bahn extended their
international network eastwards and it now connects
with 13 European countries, including Hungary,
Slovenia and Croatia. For more information, contact
Deutsche Bahn in the UK at Passenger Services,
UK Booking Centre, PO Box 687A, Surbiton, Surrey
KT6 6UB, UK (tel: (0870) 243 5363; fax: (020)
8339 4700; e-mail: sales@deutsche-bahn.co.uk;
website: www.bahn.de). A number of scenic rail
journeys begin in Germany and go to Austria or
Switzerland, such as the routes through the Black
Forest: Frankfurt/M–Offenburg–Singen–Schaffhausen
and Würzburg–Zürich.
ROAD: Germany is connected to
all surrounding countries by a first-class network
of motorways and trunk roads. The Channel
Tunnel: Eurotunnel operates trains 24
hours per day through the Channel Tunnel between
Folkestone in Kent (with direct access from the
M20) and Calais in France. All vehicles, from
motorcycles to campers, can be accommodated. Eurotunnel
operates three to four passenger trains per hour
at peak times. The journey takes approximately
35 minutes. For further information, contact Eurotunnel
Reservations (tel: (08705) 353 535; e-mail: callcentre@eurotunnel.com;
website: www.eurotunnel.co.uk).
Coach: For regular coach services
from the UK to Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt/M, Dortmund,
Hannover, Munich and other destinations in the
Federal Republic of Germany, contact: Eurolines
(4 Cardiff Road, Luton LU1 1PP; tel: (08705) 143
219; fax: (01582) 400 694; website: www.eurolines.com
or www.gobycoach.com).
Agents in the UK are National Express (tel: (08705)
808 080 or (08701) 595 959 (holiday reservations);
fax: (0121) 456 1397; website: www.nationalexpress.co.uk);
or Transline (tel: (01375) 390 039; fax: (01375)
394 488; e-mail: coaches@harris-travel.com;
website: www.translineuk.com).
In every major city, there are Mitfahrerzentralen
(car sharing agencies, see Yellow Pages) which
offer shared car travelling to all European cities
on the basis of shared costs; an agency fee is
charged. |
