Getting there & Getting around

Getting there

Air Berlin (www.airberlin.com) has direct flights to Dortmund Airport from London Stansted and Berlin/Tegel. Free buses shuttle between the airport and the Holzwickede train station, with regular connections to Dortmund Hauptbahnhof. The nearest major international airport is at Düsseldorf, 64km (40mi) away.

The train and bus stations are on Königswall on the north side of the ring road. From Dortmund's busy Hauptbahnhof frequent IC and ICE trains shoot off in all directions with regular services to Düsseldorf (1hr), Cologne (1.25hr) and Berlin (3.5hr). Plenty of regional and long-distance buses also operate from Dortmund; particularly useful for getting to small towns in the Ruhr Valley.

Dortmund is on the A1, A2 and A45 motorways. The often-clogged B1 runs right through the city and is the link between the A40 to Essen and the A44 to Kassel.

Getting around

Dortmund has a comprehensive and efficient public transport system of subway, buses and trams under the umbrella of VRR (Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr; www.bus-und-bahn.de). Cities in the region are also connected by a network of local and regional trains. The same tarrifs apply within the entire region, which is divided into three ticketing zones. Most sights are located in the city centre, within an area bounded by a ring road (that follows the former city walls). From the bus and train stations on Königswall it's an easy walk south to the pedestrianised Westenhellweg (which turns into Ostenhellweg), the main artery through Dortmund's circular centre.

For a taxi call 14 4444. You can hire bicycles from ADFC (Hausmannstrasse 22).