Bremen Travel Guide

From Wikitravel

Bremen [1] [2] is a city in northern Germany, population 600,000+.

The historic centre around the Altmarkt (old market), including the famous "Roland" statue. By Felix Gottwald.

Understand

History

Bremen was once a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and is still one of the most important cities in northern Germany. Together with the city of Bremerhaven on the North Sea it forms Germany's smallest province. Bremen has a more than 1200 years of history, and was most of the time an independent city state.

Geography

Bremen is a rather long and narrow city, lined along both sides of the river Weser. Along the north-west/south-east axis it stretches 37 km, but across only 10 km.

Get in

By air

Bremen airport (BRE) is located in the south-west of the town and offers flights to most bigger German cities and some European destinations. It`s easily accessible by public transport (tram line 6, about 20 minutes from the city centre) and by car. Major carriers are OLT [3] and Lufthansa [4].

By train

Regular and frequent services connect Bremen with the rest of Germany. There are trains nearly every hour to Hamburg in the north and Osnabrück, Münster and the Ruhr Area in the South as well as to Hanover. In the west lie the cities Delmenhorst and Oldenburg and the frisian islands.

By car

Autobahn 1 runs to Hamburg in the north and Cologne in the south but do check the traffic information! The A27 goes north to Bremerhaven and south towards Hanover, Braunschweig, Berlin and other eastwards connections.

Get around

By Foot

Much of Bremen (or at least the part frequented by travellers) can be negotiated by foot - the best way to explore the old city and its surrounding districts.

By Bus/Tram

Bremen offers an intensive public transportation network with street-cars (trams) and buses. For public transportation timetables and ticket fares see [5] (english).

By Taxi

Taxis are found nearly everywhere and everytime but they have got their price (about 1,25 EUR/km).

By Bike

You can hire bicycles at the railway station and several bike shops in Bremen. See http://www.adfc-bremen.de/ (german only).

See

Bremen's main attraction is the old city centre with the famous city hall (Rathaus). On the market place in front of it one of Bremen's most famous sights is the Roland-statue. Close by are the Bremen Town Musicians.

Do

Stroll around the city centre and visit the Schnoor-Viertel with it's old medieval buildings. If interested in arts visit the Bremer Kunsthalle [6] (museum of art) with one of north Germany's finest collections. If you like football, visit a match of the local team Werder Bremen [7] in the stadium.

Events

• January 6th: "Eiswette": a funny tradition where a tailor checks if he can cross the river Weser without getting wet feet.
• February: carnival in Bremen, more south-american than cologne style
• April: easter market
• June: "vision parade": techno parade along the Weser, "Breminale" art festival along the River Weser
• August: International Bremen Summer, circus festival LA STRADA, "Festival Maritim" in Bremen-Vegesack (in the northern end of Bremen)
• October (2nd half): "Freimarkt" (free market), one of the biggest and oldest fairground festivals in Germany, right north of the railway station
• November: International Cutter Race / "Kutterpullen" tournament (rowing contest on the Weser river)
• December: christmas market around the city hall

The monthly free event magazine MIX has hosts an event calendar online (german only) [8].

Buy

Eat

Many restaurants cater for the hungry and will satisfy anyone. Several cafes and restaurant line the "Schlachte" [9] along the Weser river while another popular area is the "Viertel" south of the Kunsthalle

Drink

The world-wide known Beck's Beer is brewed in Bremen. Guided brewery tours in english and german are offered.

The "Ratskeller" [10] is a wine cellar and restaurant with a famous collection of wines and the oldest wines in Germany.

There are many bars, pubs and cafes in Bremen: the "Schlachte" along the Weser and the "Viertel", a young and lively quarter.

Sleep

There is a broad range of hotel accommodation in Bremen [11].

Budget

• International Youth Hostel [12]: Kalkstr.6, 28195 Bremen, tel ++49(421)171369, fax ++49(421)171102

Maps

Getting around Bremen is much easier if you have a map. Maps can be purchased at most bookstores and gas stations. Smaller, free maps of the Old Town can be found in any tourist information point and at some hotels.

There is an official map of Bremen available online:

• http://www.bremen.de/ > Bremen > "Stadtplan"

Get out

Only a few kilometres east of Bremen are the villages of Fischerhude and Worpswede. Both are famous for the artists (e.g. Paula Modersohn-Becker, Heinrich Vogeler) who lived here and still have a very pleasant atmosphere.