Monchengladbach city and football guide
- Monchengladbach: the city
- Monchengladbach: getting there and around
- Borussia Monchengladbach: a fan's guide
Monchengladbach city
1) It has a football team which was pretty good in the 70s and had a very long name
2) It is the basis to the most popular?joke in football, which I will tell one final time. Who is the most unpopular person in the crowd at Borussia Monchengladbach? The one who shouts 'give us a B'.
3) It's home to the biggest British army base in Germany (for the time being anyway)
4) er...nope, there's no fourth.
I went to Monchengladbach on a miserable March Saturday and can confirm that yes, there's not much more to shout about. There are no major sights or special touristy reasons to visit this corner of Germany, close to the Dutch border.
The nice bit: The Alter Markt in the city.
However, despite all this, I liked the place. It's pretty easy to navigate, from the moment you leave the main train station. In front of you is the the bus station. Off to the left is the part pedestrianised shopping area with all the big name stores.
Head up the hill as the road bears right and after 20 minutes you'll reach the Alter Markt,, the city's one slightly old and picturesque quarter - an old market square with a touch of charm.
It's here, around and down a few cobbled hilly alleys, where you'll find Moncengladbach's lively bar and club scene. Every other premises (or more) is offering food or drink, they're packed in Newcastle Bigg Market style and whilst I was there largely in daytime I've no doubt it buzzes at night.
Quiet by day, buzzing by night: The Alter Markt complete with home fans pub.
There's certainly a buzz to the whole city and it's clear that the football team is the big highlight of it all, which is why that 40,000 of this population of quarter of a million turn out to support them every other week. It's not touristy, it's a working city but it's lively and worth a visit and possibly a night.
Monchengladbach: getting there and around
You can reach Monchengladbach by train via Eurostar - it's two hours from London to Brussels, then a further 70 minutes to Aachen where you can change for a 50 minute final leg to Monchengladbach Hauptbahnhof, pictured below.
Check out the Germany website for details - www.bahn.de. You can get London Spezial offers from 99 euros return if you decide to take the train and stay in nearby Cologne, Dusseldorf or Aachen - you can then get a suburban train to Monchengladbach when you need it.
The nearest airport to Monchengladbach (fed up of writing it out already) is the relatively minor Dusseldorf Monchengladbach, linked by Bus 10 which runs between the airport and the main railway station every 20 minutes.
The more likely option is Dusseldorf International Airport, 45 minutes away - the airport is on the main train line and it's one change in Dusseldorf to get to Monchengladbach. Cologne/ Bonn airport could be considered, but would be more than an hour away by train.
I didn't stay in town overnight, where hotel options exist but are limited. To be honest, you can just as easily get to Monchengladbach on the train, with Dusseldorf, Cologne, Duisburg and Aachen offering thousands of hotel beds all within an hour.
It's unlikely you'll need to make use of transport in the town but if you do, the bus station is handily placed next to the train station and a good chunk of services pass through this and the Alter Markt.