Getting there and around

Dortmund Airport isn't the biggest you'll ever visit. It's small. Put it this way - you're talking about 20 flights per day going out. The good news is that there's a regular easyJet flight to Dortmund from Luton, now making it very handy for a weekend trip.

It's small but it's a cosy size, and one of the least stressful places in which you can wait for a plane. Which is good enough for me for that alone. Upon landing we were swiftly through the baggage hall and into arrivals.  Taxis can be picked up pretty much straight outside. If you want to grab a bus into town (see below) you need to go upstairs to the next level (departures) and out to the right.

When leaving Dortmund to come back home, facilities are modest but OK. On the other side of security and departures there's tax free shopping, a bar cafe and news kiosk but that's about it. Note that for flights from Gate 0, once you go a little further and pass through the passport check there's little in the waiting room save toilet facilities.

When you're leaving the airport, there are a few options to get you into town. There is a shuttle bus that runs direct from the airport to the main station, taking under half an hour to do the journey. However, they're not that frequent and the alternative is to take a bus to the nearest train station (we headed to Dortmund Aplerbeck station) and then grab a train into the main station. They don't always co-ordinate that well so expect the journey to take around an hour.

Frankly, taxis cost 20 to 25 euros and do the journey in 20 odd minutes or so, so if there's a few of you it is probably worth bagging one of these.


The nearest major airport is Dusseldorf International Airport, one of the busiest on the continent. Dusseldorf Airport has its own train station on the main line, and from there to Dortmund main station is 45 minutes on a local RE train. Expect a good three trains an hour for much of the day.


You could make the journey by train from England, a bit long but not out of the question. It's London St Pancras to Brussels, then a selection of routes via Cologne, Aachen or Venlo on to Dortmund - a journey taking around 7-9 hours. Check out Bahn for details.

Whatever way you travel, you're likely to arrive at Dortmund Hauptbahhof, one of the busiest main line stations in the country. It was under a degree of refurbishment when we went, but it has all you'd expect from a major station.  And if you're extending your trip to other parts of Germany it links well to numerous other places. We did Osnabruck and Monchengladbach direct, no hassle and you could add another dozen to the list.





It's also handily sited on the edge of the town centre. On exiting the main gateway you are immediately on the ringroad, Konigswall. Cross straight over, and head up the steps and you're entering the middle of Dortmund.

Dortmund has an excellent public transport system - including its own underground U-Bahn service, which recently made its last remaining trams redundant, but frankly as long as your accommodation is central you're unlikely to need the U-Bahn apart from going to the stadium, which is a couple of miles outside the centre. The middle is largely pedestrianised and a good place to wander.