Getting to Dusseldorf

Dusseldorf is easily reached from the UK and from anywhere on the continent by regularly scheduled air service, car and ferry combination, and rail and bus connections.

By car

There are major motorways linking Dusseldorf to all parts of continental Europe. From other parts of Germany, Dusseldorf is easily reached by numerous autobahn routes. The city is not far from Dortmund, Gelsenkirchen or Cologne (Köln). Autobahn routes to Dusseldorf include the A3, A44, A46, A52, A57 and the A59. From the north and south, access is by the A3 autobahn. The A46 handles traffic from the east and west of the country.

By rail

If you choose to travel by train, there is service from London, Brussels and Cologne (Köln) to Dusseldorf. From other cities in Germany, there is service almost every hour. Along the Rhine River, the trip from Cologne is only 25 minutes, and from this direction, there are also trains from Koblenz and Frankfurt. From Hamburg, it is a 4 hour journey, with train service along this route also available from Dortmund, Essen and Bremen. From Frankfurt-am-Main, the travel time is about 2 hours, 30 minutes, and from Munich, around 7 hours.

For detailed schedules and online booking you can consult the Deutsche Bahn website at: http://bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en.

By bus

From other countries in Europe, you can use the services of Eurolines buses, which travel daily from Paris (9 hours) and Warsaw (18 hours). They also provide service from London twice weekly (9 hours) and from Prague (13 hours) three times per week.

Within Germany, the largest bus companies in the Dusseldorf region are Bandroch GmbH and Adorf GmbH. Their buses service the small towns in the Rhineland. Most buses, from all starting points, arrive in Dusseldorf on the northern side of the Bahnhofplatz.

Dusseldorf hosts many fairs and exhibitions annually, and chartered buses transport passengers directly to the site from the airport. These buses can be boarded in front of Arrivals.

By ferry

From the UK, you can drive to Dover and take the car ferry to Calais. The ferry crossing takes 1 hour, 15 minutes. The drive from Calais to Dusseldorf should take less than 5 hours. An alternative, if you’re driving from London and would like a shorter drive, is to drive to Harwich and then take the ferry to the Hook of Holland. The crossing time is 3 hours, 40 minutes. The drive to Dusseldorf from the Hook of Holland is 165 miles.

By air

Dusseldorf International Airport is one of the three largest commercial airports in Germany, and is situated around four miles north of the city centre. From the airport, there is regularly scheduled service from 14 domestic destinations, 47 cities in other European countries and from 190 international airports. Most domestic flights take 1 hour or less. For example, you can fly from Frankfurt to Dusseldorf in about 45 minutes or from Berlin or Munich in around 1 hour. Flight information is available by telephone by calling: +49 211 4210.

Dusseldorf International Airport

The Dusseldorf International Airport is one of Germany's leading airports in terms of the number of airlines providing service and the number of passengers served. There are three terminals - terminals A, B and C - each having a number of shops, including duty free; restaurants; information kiosks; currency exchange booths and ATMs. There is abundant short-term parking conveniently located outside each of the terminals.

Many domestic destinations are served from here and there are connections to approximately 190 cities worldwide. The following is a list of the major airlines with services to and from Dusseldorf Airport: Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, Air Europa, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Egypt Air, Finnair, Ghana Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Spanair, SWISS, Turkish Airlines, United Airlines and Yugoslav Airlines. The flying time from Dusseldorf to London Heathrow is about 90 minutes.

Dusseldorf International Airport offers a comprehensive range of amenities and services that includes a wide choice of restaurants and bars, shops and banks, and even 24-hour conference and meeting rooms. There is a main information desk located in the central Arrivals Hall. Other information kiosks are available in all of the Departures areas and at the Dusseldorf airport railway station.

There is a pharmacy open daily from 06:30 to 21:00 in the airport arcades area. For passengers with disabilities, wheelchairs are provided free-of-charge. The central Arrivals Hall, all Departure areas and the Dusseldorf airport railway station are wheelchair accessible. ‘Liftmobiles’ are provided when boarding by gangway is not possible.

Dusseldorf International Airport transportation

Car hire is available in both the domestic and international arrivals halls, with all major companies represented. Taxis are always available in front of the central Arrivals area. The bus station is also located in front of central Arrivals, and there is a train service directly from the airport as well.

The SkyTrain is a fully automatic monorail connecting the airport's rail station to the terminals. It operates daily between the terminal and the airport rail station from 03:45 to 00:45. It only takes five minutes for the trip between the two end stations. There are some tickets which will allow you free transport on the system including: valid VRR tickets, DB tickets, Rail & Fly tickets, parking tickets for Apcoa Autoparking GmbH and tickets for the Dusseldorf International Airport observation deck. It you don’t have any of these tickets, you can purchase a short-trip rail ticket at SkyTrain stations.

Taking the train from Dusseldorf Airport rail station to the city centre is a good alternative to driving. The airport is also directly connected to the major routes on the European rail network. About 300 trains a day stop at the airport rail station including ICE, IC, EC and local train service. The airport is linked to the German rail network.

Buses operate services to the city centre and leave from in front of central Arrivals. Aaxi to central Dusseldorf are available, and depending on traffic, takes about 20 to 30 minutes.