Germany Travel Guide

Social Conventions

Handshaking is customary, and it is considered rude to address people by their first name unless invited to do so. Normal courtesies should be observed. Before eating, it is normal to say "guten Appetit" to the other people at the table to which the correct reply is "gleichfalls". It is customary to present the hostess with unwrapped flowers (according to tradition, one should always give an uneven number, and it is worth noting that red roses are exclusively a lover's gift).

Courtesy dictates that visitors should utter a greeting such as "guten tag" (or "grüss gott" in Bavaria) before saying what it is that they want; to leave without saying "auf wiedersehen" or "tschüss" can also cause offense. Similarly, when making a telephone call, asking for the person you want to speak to without stating first who you are is impolite. Casual wear is widely acceptable, but more formal dress is required for some restaurants, the opera, theater, casinos and important social functions. Smoking is prohibited where notified and on public transport and in most public buildings.

International Travel

Getting There By Air

The national airline is Lufthansa (LH) (www.lufthansa.com).

Departure Tax

None.

Main Airports

Frankfurt/M (FRA) (Rhein/Main) (www.airportcity-frankfurt.com) is Germany's major air transport hub, 13km (8 miles) southwest of the city. To/from the airport: Regular buses connect the airport with the city center (main railway station). S-Bahn (www.rmv.de) rail lines S8 and S9 go to the city's main rail station - Hauptbahnhof - from directly beneath the Terminal 1 arrival hall (journey time - around 15 minutes). S8 also goes directly to Mainz and Wiesbaden (journey time - 40 minutes). Intercity ICE trains also stop at the airport station. Taxis are available around the clock (journey time to city center - 20-30 minutes). Facilities: Left luggage, medical facilities, duty-free shops, banks, restaurants, bars, conference rooms, post office, tourist information and car hire. Find new shopping mall "Marktplatz" in Terminal 2.

Berlin-Tegel (TXL) (www.berlin-airport.de) is Berlin's international airport, located 8km (5 miles) northwest of the city center (journey time - 25 minutes). To/from the airport: Buses go to the city every 5 to 10 minutes from 0500-2400. Facilities: Duty-free shop, banks/bureau de change, left luggage, 24-hour medical facilities, post office, restaurant, bars, tourist information, conference rooms and car hire.

Munich (MUC) (Franz Joseph Strauss) (www.munich-airport.de) is 28.5km (18 miles) northeast of the city (journey time - 45 minutes). To/from the airport: Direct links with the S-Bahn S8 and S1 run every 10 minutes from Hauptbahnhof (main railway station) from 0330-0030. The Airport City Bus runs every 20 minutes from 0700-1930 to the Hauptbahnhof and every 30 minutes from 0800-2100; further bus services are available. Coach Oberbayern runs every 10 minutes to the city center. Facilities: Duty-free shop, left luggage, 24-hour medical facilities, snack bar, restaurants, post office, banks, conference center, car hire and bars. The airport also has a Visitors' Park, an aircraft simulator, cinema and a play area.

Getting There By Water

Mainports: Bremen (www.keyports.de), Bremerhaven (www.bremen-ports.de), Hamburg (www.hafen-hamburg.de), Rostock (www.rostock-port.de) and Kiel (www.port-of-kiel.de).

The following shipping lines serve routes to Germany (via other countries) from the UK:
DFDS Seaways (tel: 0871 522 9955, in the UK; www.dfdsseaways.co.uk): Newcastle-Amsterdam.
Stena Line (tel: 08447 707070, in the UK; www.stenaline.com): Harwich-Hook of Holland, Gothenburg-Kiel.
P&O Ferries (tel: 08716 645645, in the UK; www.poferries.com): Dover-Calais, Hull-Rotterdam, Hull-Zeebrugge.
SeaFrance (tel. 0871 423 7119, in the UK; www.seafrance.com): Dover-Calais.
Norfolkline (tel: 0844 847 5042, in the UK; www.norfolkline.com): Dover-Dunkerque.

Various cruise ship itineraries call at Germany.

Getting There By Rail

Germany's rail network is operated by Deutsche Bahn (tel: 11861 in Germany; www.bahn.de).

Eurostar: If traveling from the UK, Eurostar operates direct high-speed trains from London (St Pancras International) and Ashford International to Paris (Gare du Nord) and to Brussels (Midi/Zuid). It takes 2 hours 15 minutes from London to Paris (via Lille) and 1 hour 51 minutes to Brussels. For further information and reservations, contact Eurostar (tel: 0870 518 6186, in the UK; +44 1233 617 575, outside the UK; a £5 booking fee applies to telephone bookings; www.eurostar.com); from Brussels, there are direct connections to Cologne and Frankfurt, and onward high speed trains to all major German centers. With opening of the TGV Est line in 2007, journey time between Paris and Frankfurt has been cut to less than four hours.

There are excellent connections between Germany and other main European cities. For more information, contact Deutsche Bahn in the UK (tel: 0871 880 8066; www.bahn.co.uk).

Rail Passes

InterRail: InterRail Global Passes are valid for travel in up to 30 European countries. There are two InterRail Global Pass types to choose from: ‘flexi passes’ and ‘continuous passes’. A flexi pass entitles you to unlimited travel on a fixed number of days during your trip . A continuous pass entitles you to unlimited travel every day of your trip. With a One Country Pass you can choose from unlimited travel on 3, 4, 6 or 8 days of your choice during a month.Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).
Eurailpass: Offers broadly the same freedoms as the InterRail Passes, but is for sale solely to non-European residents. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. Available from The Eurail Group (www.eurail.com).

Getting There By Road

Germany is connected to all surrounding countries by a first-class network of motorways and trunk roads.

Coach: Eurolines (tel: 0871 781 8177; www.eurolines.com) runs regular coach services from the UK to France. Passes: Travelers can buy a 15- or 30-day pass, offering unlimited travel between 40 cities.

The Channel Tunnel: Eurotunnel runs shuttle trains for cars, bicycles, motorcycles, coaches, minibuses, caravans and campervans between Folkestone in Kent, UK, and Calais, France. The journey takes about 35 minutes from platform to platform. Fares are charged according to length of stay and time of year and whether or not you have a reservation. For further information, contact Eurotunnel (tel: 08443 353535, in the UK; www.eurotunnel.com).

Duty Free

Overview

Germany is within the European Union. If you are traveling from the UK, you are entitled to buy fragance, skincare, cosmetics, Champagne, wine, selected spirits, fashion accessories, gifts and souvenirs - all at tax-free equivalent prices. There are no longer any allowance restrictions on these tax-free items.

Büsingen and the Isle of Heligoland are treated as being outside of the EU for the Duty Free section. If you are arriving from a non-EU country, the following goods may be imported into the Federal Republic of Germany by persons over 17 years of age without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco.
• 1L of spirits with an alcohol content exceeding 22% by volume or 2L of spirits or liqueurs with an alcohol content not exceeding 22% by volume or 2L of sparkling or liqueur wine.
• 2L of any other wine.
• 50g of perfume or 250mL of eau de toilette.
• 500g of coffee or 200g of coffee extracts.
• Personal goods to the value of €175.

(a) The tobacco and alcohol allowances are granted only to those over 17 years of age. (b) Wine in excess of the above allowances imported for personal consumption and valued at less than €128 will be taxed at an overall rate of 16%.

Internal Travel

Getting Around By Air

Internal services are operated by Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com), Air Berlin (www.airberlin.com), Germanwings (www.germanwings.com) and several other regional airlines. Frankfurt/M is Germany's major air travel hub, and all airports in the Federal Republic of Germany can be reached in an hour or less from here. Connections by air operate daily between Berlin, Bremen, Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/M, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Nuremberg, Stuttgart and Westerland/Sylt (summer only). The majority of western airports offer daily flights to Leipzig and several flights a week to Dresden.

Getting Around By Water

Regular scheduled boat services operate on most rivers, lakes and coastal waters. Besides scheduled services, special excursions are also available on all navigable waters.

The KD German Rhine Line (tel: (0221) 208 8318; www.k-d.de) covers the Rhine and Moselle rivers, and has comfortable ships that operate daily from April to late October. In conjunction with the Sächsische Dampfschiffahrt, the KD also organizes cabin cruises on the Elbe between Meissen and the Swiss border, via Dresden.

Lake Constance is served by regular steamers, pleasure boats and car ferries between the German, Swiss and Austrian shores. The Lake Constance Adventure Passes (Bodensee-Erlebniskarte) (www.bodensee-erlebniskarte.info, German only) give free travel on many vessels in the Lake Constance area, as well as discounted admission to attractions. The pass is valid for seven or 14 days.

Getting Around By Rail

InterCity and high-speed ICE connections (www.bahn.de) run every one or two hours to around 30 destinations (mainly in Germany but also to Austria, Belgium, The Netherlands, France and Switzerland). ICE express trains operate on numerous routes within the country. German National Railways (Deutsche Bahn; www.deutschebahn.com) operates tens of thousands of passenger trains each day.

Rail Passes

A range of Bahncards is available from Deutsche Bahn, offering a number of different discount schemes for travel within Germany, and varying advance purchase discount options are also offered.

InterRail's One-Country Pass: offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month within Germany. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Travelers under 26 years receive a reduction. Available from Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Getting Around By Road

Traffic drives on the right. Germany is covered by a busy modern network of motorways (autobahnen).

Bus: Buses serve villages and small towns without railway stations. There are few long-distance services. Europabus (www.romantischestrasse.de) runs services on special scenic routes.

Car hire: Self-drive cars are available at most towns, airports, and at over 40 railway stations - all major international car hire companies are present in Germany.

Regulations: Traffic signs are international. Speed limits in Germany are 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas and 100kph (62mph) on all roads outside built-up areas. Unless otherwise indicated, there is theoretically no maximum speed limit on Autobahns, but 130kph (81mph) is recommended. The minimum driving age is 18.

Emergency breakdown service: The Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club (ADAC) (emergency tel: 0180 222 2222, in Germany; www.adac.de) is the principal national assistance network. In almost all cases, the number to dial for emergency services is 110.

Documentation: Insurance is mandatory. EU nationals driving their own vehicles are advised to obtain a Green Card. Members of the EU, the USA and Australia do not need an international driving license to drive in Germany.

Getting Around Towns and Cities

All urban areas have efficient bus services, complemented in a number of larger cities by trams, and underground or suburban trains. In most larger cities, tickets for a local transport journey have to be purchased from ticket machines before boarding the suburban train (S-Bahn), underground (U-Bahn), bus or tram. Ticket inspections are frequent, with on-the-spot fines for miscreants. Taxis are widely available in the main cities, and operate from designated ranks. They can be advance booked by telephone.

Berlin: The city's excellent public transport includes an extensive network of buses, underground and S-Bahn in three travel zones. In the eastern part of the city, tram services and the ferries of the Berliner Verkehrs-Betriebe, BVG (Berlin Public Transport) (tel: (030) 19449; www.bvg.de), in conjunction with east Berlin's White Fleet, provide further services. Day and longer period passes are available covering all services. Taxis are generally available throughout the city (tel: 0800 263 0000, in Germany; www.taxi263000.de).

Frankfurt: An extensive tram network and bus services serve the Rhine-Main region, operated under the auspices of the Rhein-Main Verkehrsverbund (tel: (01805) 768 4636; www.rmv.de). As in Berlin, 24-hour passes for all types of public transport are available, as is a large fleet of cream-colored taxis. The central taxi booking number is (069) 230 001.

Munich: The Bavarian capital has some trams, plus comprehensive bus, underground and suburban rail services. Services are operated under the aegis of the Münchner Verkehrs-und Tarifverbund (tel: (089) 2103 3282; www.mvv-muenchen.de). Again, taxis are widely available. Taxis can be booked on (089) 21610 or 19410.

Note: Pedestrians should be aware that it is an offense to cross a road when the pedestrian crossing lights are red, even if there is no traffic on the road. Offenders can risk on-the-spot fines.

Journey Times

The following chart gives approximate journey times (in hours and minutes) from Berlin to other major cities and towns in the Federal Republic of Germany.

	Air	Road	Rail
Cologne	1.05	6.00	4.25
Frankfurt	1.05	5.30	4.10
Hamburg	-	3.00	1.30
Munich	1.10	6.00	6.15