Air
The national airline is Lufthansa
(LH). Many other airlines serve the country, including an increasing
number of low-cost airlines including Easyjet and
Ryanair operating from the UK.
Departure tax: None.
Germany’s principal international airports are detailed below:
Berlin-Tegel (TXL)
Located 8km (5 miles) northwest of the city, travel time is approx
20 minutes. Bus nos. 109, 128 and X9 go to the city every 5-10 minutes
from 0500-2400 hrs, return is from Bahnhof Zoo, Budapester Strasse,
Charlottenburg station or Kurfürstendamm underground station.
Airport facilities include a duty-free shop, banks/bureaux de change,
left luggage, 24-hour medical facilities, post office, bars, restaurant,
snack bar, shops, tourist information, conference rooms, hotel reservation
and car hire.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de
Berlin-Schönefeld (SXF)
Located 20km (12 miles) southeast of the city, travel time is approx
one hour. The AirportExpress train departs for the city centre every
30 minutes 0430-2300 hrs. 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, restaurant, medical facilities, left luggage, nursery,
snack bar, hotel reservation, tourist information and car hire.
The mainline railway station is a 10 minute walk from the airport
with connections to major German cities and to Basle, Budapest,
Prague and Vienna are possible from here. A free shuttle bus is
available from the airport to the railway station.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de
Berlin-Tempelhof (THF)
Located 6km (4 miles) southeast of the city centre, travel time
is 20 minutes. Bus no. 119 departs every 10 minutes to the city.
The underground lines 6 and 7 run every 2 to 10 minutes, travel
time approx 15 minutes. Taxis are available.
Airport facilities include duty-free shop, left luggage, 24-hour
medical facilities, banks/bureaux de change, snack bar, other shops
and car hire.
Website: www.berlin-airport.de
Bremen (BRE) (Neuenland)
Located 3.5km (2 miles) from the city travel time is 10 minutes.
Tram no. 6 takes approximately 17 minutes to the city centre (main
railway station). Services run Monday-Saturday every 5-15 minutes,
and Sunday 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.
Website: www.airport-bremen.de
Cologne (Köln/Bonn) (CGN)
Located 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,bar, restaurant, bank/building society
and shops.
Website: www.airport-cgn.de
Dresden (DRS)
Located 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.
Website: www.dresden-airport.de
Düsseldorf (DUS)
Located 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
also available. Taxis run a 24-hour service to Düsseldorf.
Airport facilities include a duty-free shop, bank, medical facilities,
post office, restaurant, bars, snack bar, car hire, tourist information
and conference rooms.
Website: www.duesseldorf-international.de
Frankfurt/M (FRA)
Located is 13km (8 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 go 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 (Austria, Hungary and Switzerland). The Lufthansa
Courtesy Airport Bus connects with Mannheim, travel time one hour,
and Heidelberg, travel time one hour 30 minutes. 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, medical facilities, duty-free
shops, banks, snack bars, restaurants, bars, shops, Airport Conference
Centre (23 conference rooms), post office, tourist information and
car hire.
Website: www.frankfurt-airport.de
Hamburg (HAM)
Located 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 hrs.
Express bus no. 110 runs every 10 minutes to Ohlsdorf Station, travel
time 10 minute. A taxi service is available.
Airport facilities include duty-free shop, banks, shops, snack bar,
restaurants, post office, tourist information and car hire.
Website: www.ham.airport.de
Hannover (HAJ)
Located 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, luggage lockers, medical
facilities, banks/bureau de change, bars, snack bar, post office,
restaurants, tourist information and car hire.
Website: www.hannover-airport.de
Leipzig/Halle (LEJ)
Located 12km (7 miles) northwest of the city travel time 30 minutes.
Coaches and trains 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, post
office, bank, snack bar, medical facilities, tourist information
and restaurant.
Website: www.leipzig-halle-airport.de
Munich (MUC) (Franz Joseph Strauss)
Located 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 (0313-0042 hrs return 0355-0115 hrs). The Airport City
Bus runs every 20 minutes from 0650-1930 hrs to the Hauptbahnhof
and every 30 minutes from 0755-2055 hrs, further bus services are
available. Coach Oberbayern runs every 10 minutes to the city centre.
Airport facilities include duty-free shop, left luggage, 24-hour
medical facilities, snack bar, restaurants, banks, post office,
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.
Website: www.munich-airport.de
Münster-Osnabrück (FMO)
Located 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.
Website: www.airport-fmo.de
Nuremberg (NUE)
Located 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, luggage lockers, business
centre, 24-hour medical facilities, snack bar, bars, post office,
restaurants and car hire.
Website: www.airport-nuernberg.de
Saarbrücken (SCN) (Ensheim)
Located 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)
Located 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, luggage lockers, conference
centre, 24-hour medical facilities, bank/bureau de change, post
office, restaurant, bars and car hire.
Approximate
flight times:
From Bremen, Hamburg or Hannover to London is one hour 20 minutes
From Cologne/ Bonn to London is one hour 10 minutes
From Frankfurt/M to London is one hour 25 minutes
From Nuremberg to London is two hours 30 minutes (with one stop)
From Munich to London is one hour 40 minutes.
From Frankfurt/M to Los Angeles is 11 hours 20 minutes,
T to New York is eight hours 20 minutes,
To Singapore is 13 hours and to Sydney is 23 hours.
Sea
The following shipping lines serve routes to Germany from the UK:
DFDS Seaways: Harwich–Cuxhaven.
Stena Line: Harwich–Hook of Holland.
P&O Ferries: Dover–Calais, Hull–Rotterdam,
Hull–Zeebrugge.
Hoverspeed: Dover–Calais,
Dover–Ostend.
Ferry connections also exist from Germany to Denmark, Finland, Lithuania,
Latvia, The Netherlands, Norway, the Russian Federation and Sweden.
Rail
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
hrs and taking approximately 14 hours.
From Paris (Gare de l’Est) there are two trains to Vienna,
one at 0749 hrs and another at 1749 hrs, taking approximately 15
hours. There are also connections from Brussels or Paris to Munich.
For further information and reservations, contact Eurostar (telephone
number: (0870) 6000 792 (travel agents) or (08705) 186 186 (public,
within the UK) or +44 (1233) 617 575 (public, outside the UK), or
Rail Europe (telephone number: (08705) 848 848).
Travel agents can obtain refunds for unused tickets from Eurostar
Trade Refunds, 2nd 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 (telephone number: (020) 7928 5163, e-mail: new-comments@eurostar.co.uk).
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 Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. For
more information, contact Deutsche Bahn in the UK at Passenger Services,
UK Booking Centre, PO Box 687A, Surbiton, Surrey KT6 6UB, UK (telephone
number: (0870) 243 5363, fax number: (020) 8339 4700, e-mail: sales@deutsche-bahn.co.uk
.
A number of scenic rail journeys begin in Germany
and go to Switzerland or Austria, and 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 and Calais in France.
All vehicles, from motorcycles to campers, can be accommodated.
Eurotunnel
operates 3 to 4 passenger trains per hour at peak times. The journey
takes approximately 35 minutes. For further information, contact
Eurotunnel
Reservations (telephone number: (08705) 353 535, e-mail: callcentre@eurotunnel.com).
Coach
For regular coach services from the UK to Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund,
Frankfurt/M, Hannover, Munich and other destinations in the Federal
Republic of Germany, contact: Eurolines
(52 Grosvenor Gardens, London, SW1W 0AU; telephone number: (08705)
143 219). Agents in the UK are National
Express (telephone number: (08705) 808 080 or (08701) 595 959
(holiday reservations), fax number: (0121) 456 1397.
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. |
