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Getting There By Air:

Düsseldorf International Airport
Tel: (0211) 4210.
Website: www.duesseldorf-international.de

Düsseldorf International Airport is located 8km (5 miles) north of the city center. It’s one of Germany’s three busiest airports, handling hundreds of (mainly scheduled) flights daily.

Facilities include banks, bureaux de change, ATMs, a post office, restaurants, cafés, bars, several shops and first-class business facilities. All major national and local car hire operators, travel agencies and tour operators are represented.

A Skytrain (suspended monorail) people mover links the airport to the Bahnhof Düsseldorf Flughafen train station, which has international, regional and local (S-Bahn) trains. The latter depart every 20 minutes or so to the center of Düsseldorf.

Weeze Airport
Tel: (0283) 766 6111.
Website: www.airport-weeze.de

Budget airlines also use Weeze airport, 78km (49 miles) northwest of Düsseldorf.

Facilities at this small airport which has only recently converted to commercial flights are very limited but include a duty-free shop, bistro and restaurant, and an ATM (no other banking/exchange facilities).

A shuttle bus links to Weeze station on the regional rail network’s direct line to Düsseldorf. The RE10 stops here every 30 minutes and takes just over 1 hour to Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof in the city center. Alternatively there are five buses a day from the airport to Düsseldorf, a journey that takes 1 hour 30 minutes.

Getting There By Road:

From Britain, the closest ports to Düsseldorf are Rotterdam (221km/137 miles), Hook of Holland (252km/157 miles) and Zeebrugge (288km/179 miles). An excellent motorway network connects the Netherlands and Belgium to Germany’s famous autobahns.

Driving is on the right. Signs suggesting a recommended speed limit of 130kph (80mph) are posted along most autobahns; other limits are 80kph (50mph) on major roads and 50kph (30mph) in towns. Children under 12 years should not travel in the front seat. An International Driving Permit is not required, as long as a national driving license from the country of origin is held. EU pink format licenses are accepted. Trailers and caravans are allowed in without documentation. A Green Card is advisable but not compulsory. Without it, drivers with motor insurance policies in their home country are granted only the minimum legal cover in Germany - the Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the driver’s own policy.

National Express/Eurolines (tel: 08705 808 080; website: www.nationalexpress.com) runs a direct coach service from London to Düsseldorf (13 hours). The main coach station is Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof (Hbf), Konrad-Adenauer-Platz (tel: 01803 044 044).

The main German automobile association is ADAC (website: www.adac.de).

Emergency breakdown services:
ADAC (tel: 89 222 222).
ANWB (tel: 0800 0888).

Getting There By Rail:

Eurostar (tel: 08705 186 186; website: www.eurostar.com) runs from London to Brussels in 1 hour 51 minutes. From here to Düsseldorf a fast Thalys (tel: 0900 9228; website: www.thalys.com) or InterCity Express (tel: (01805) 194 195; website: www.bahn.de) train takes 4 hours 20 minutes.

Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof (HBF), Konrad-Adenauer-Platz (tel: (0211) 368 02468), is a well equipped and very busy main railway station with links all over Germany and the near-continent. The German rail network is operated by Deutsche Bahn (DB) (tel: 01805 194 195; website: www.bahn.de).

Getting Around:

Public Transport
Düsseldorf Altstadt can be covered easily on foot, with an extensive network of trams (13 main lines) buses and S-Bahn (city trains which travel partly underground, seven main lines) covering the rest of the city. Pick up a linienplan (route map) from any station or the tourist office. The Rhein-Ruhr region (including Cologne) is also very well served by public transport, so unless your plans include a lot of touring, car hire is probably unnecessary.

The integrated public transport system is run by Rheinbahn (tel: 0180 350 4030; website: www.rheinbahn.de). You can buy a 24-hour pass but a much better alternative if you are sightseeing is the Düsseldorf Welcome Card (see Sightseeing). Note too that many hotels offer a free transport pass for the duration of your stay.

Taxis
Companies include Taxi-Düsseldorf (tel: (0211) 33333 or (0211) 99999) and Rhein-Taxi (tel: (0211) 212 121; website: www.rheintaxi.de).

Car Hire
All major national and international car hire companies operate from Düsseldorf airport. Always park in a secure place if possible, and beware of theft of belongings from vehicles. 

In town you will find Avis, Berliner Allee 26/Kreuzstrasse 55 (tel: (0211) 421 6747; website: www.avis.de), Budget, Eulerstrasse 50 (tel: (0211) 4217 1150; website: www.budget.de), Hertz, Immermannstrasse 65 (tel: (0211) 411 083 or 0180 533 3535; website: www.hertz.de) and Sixt, Willy-Becker-Allee 10 (tel: 0180 525 2525; website: www.e-sixt.de).

Bicycle Hire
Cycling is a popular way of getting around town, and is recommended so long as you have some experience of urban cycling. Cycling around the narrow lanes of the Altstadt and along the Rhine promenade is particularly enjoyable. For bicycle hire, try Rad ab, Friedrichstrasse 112 (tel: (0211) 336 661; website: www.radab.de). Pay special attention to trams and never leave an unattended bike unlocked.

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