GERMANY WORLD CUP 2006
Gelsenkirchen
Once it was the most important coal-mining region of Europe. Then well over half the city was destroyed during WWII. But Gelsenkirchen has reinvented itself to offer today's tourists a number of interesting attractions such as Nordstern Colliery. The city has managed to make use of its old industrial sites by reconstructing them into unique tourist attractions.
Many of the town's most important attractions are just a few minutes' walk from the city centre. More traditional tourist attractions include Germany's most notable Renaissance castle, the Ruhr Zoo and the "Musiktheater im Revier", a cultural centre for all arts, music, theatre and dance.
Getting there
By air
The Dusseldorf International Airport (DUS) is 40km from Gelsenkirchen. There is a 50-minute long train service from Terminals A and B to the main railway station in Dusseldorf, and from there continue to Gelsenkirchen.
By rail
There are international rail links from London Waterloo to Germany's gateway cities of Aachen and Cologne. Book through Deutsche Bahn (German Rail). European Rail offers transport to all the World Cup destinations.
By road
All main German cities are serviced by Eurlolines and tickets can be purchased at Deutsche Bahn (representative agents), which you'll find in main railway stations. If travelling by private car, you'll find information on the German motorway network at autobahn-online.de.
Links :
Deutsche Bahn
European Rail
Accomodation
The most central place to find a room is Fifaworldcup.com. The majority of listed hotels are located close to the venue which will save you a lot of time on match day. Searching for the right place to stay is made simple for bookers - just name which team you are supporting and a list of hotels will appear for you to select in each city that they will play in.
The stadium
Gelsenkirchen's Veltins-Arena, home of Schalke 04, is one of Europe's most modern stadiums, with a retractable roof, a grand sound system, four huge screens reaching 36 square metres and an extendable pitch.
Getting there : Take the tram 302 towards GE Buer to Arena AufSchalke. There are plenty of extra trams to all matches. Ticket holders are entitled to use all public transport services in the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) region free of charge.
Official website
If you don't get a ticket
Here's a small selection of local bars and restaurants ready to host other football fans that don't get a ticket.
Filegenpils located at Hangenstrasse 40 offers giant-screen viewing of the games. Other options include the Cafe Extrablatt (Armstrasse 1) or Lukas (Maximilianstrasse 14).
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