As we got such a good feedback for our cologne travel guide back in August we will get you ready for your trip back to Germany once more. This time Schalke awaits in Gelsenkirchen. 

A) Geting to the stadium:

1. By car:

If you are travelling by car you should leave the A2 motorway at the exit Gelsenkirchen-Buer and then proceed according to the car park directory. Car parks P1, P2 and P3 can be used only by holders of a special pass. Free parking is available on the areas marked with a „P“ on Adenauerallee and Willy-Brandt-Allee.

2. By train/public transportation:

Get any train to Gelsenkirchen central Station (Hauptbahnhof) to carry on your journey. To get to the Arena and the other club facilities users of public transport should take tram No. 302 from the lower level of Gelsenkirchen central station (Hauptbahnhof) in the direction of Gelsenkirchen-Buer. Exit at „Veltins Arena“.

Holders of match tickets are entitled to use all public transport services in the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Authority (VRR) region free of charge. A detailed online timetable for local public transport is available on the website of the Rhine-Ruhr Transport Authority at www.vrr.de (it’s available in english as well).

B) From&to the airport:

1. Düsseldorf International:

You can enter Düsseldorf International train station. Just follow the signs in the terminal. Trains to Gelsenkrichen central station (Hauptbahnhof) leave on ’53 and ’13. These connections are non stop and will take about 35 minutes to get you to Gelsenkirchen central station (Hauptbahnhof).From there on follow instructions above. 

2. Weeze Airport:

In case you chose RyanAir and arrive at Weeze airport you need to take the bus SW1 to Weeze central station (Hauotbahnhof) first. Busses depart from the main entrance. Take the train towards Krefeld central station (Hauptbahnhof). Exit at Krefeld central station and take the train towards Duisburg central station (Hauptbahnhof). Exit at Duisburg central station (Hauptbahnhof) and take the train towards Gelsenkrichen central station (Hauptbahnhof). From there follow instructions above.
The trip will probably take about 2 hours.

3. Dortmund Airport:

In case you’r flying Easyjet from Luton take the bus to Holzwickede central station (Hauptbahnhof). Busses depart from the main entrance. Take the train towards Dortmund central station (Hauptbahnhof). Exit at Dortmund central station (Hauptbahnhof) and take the train towards Gelsenkrichen central station (Hauptbahnhof). From there follow instructions above. The trip will probably take about 1 hour.

4. Köln/Bonn Airport:

You can enter Köln/Bonn airport train station. Just follow the signs in the terminal. Take the S13 to Köln central station (Hauptbahnhof). Exit at Köln central station (Hauptbahnhof) and take the train towards Essen central station (Hauptbahnhof). Exit at Essen central station (Hauptbahnhof) and take the S2 towards Gelsenkrichen central station (Hauptbahnhof). As there are many trains leaving from Köln central station (Hauptbahnhof) this is only one option to get to Gelsenkrichen. The trip will take you about 1 hour and 40 minutes.

Regarding all airports theres always the option to take a cab. Depending on number of Gooners travelling it might be an alternative way to travel. Ask the driver for a fixed price.

All connections are subject to change. Please be adviced to check timetables at arrival so you won’t be suprised by differing departure times or platforms.

For departure/arrival times check www.bahn.de for further info and timetables. Available in english. A free App is available from the app store.

C) Stay overnight:

To be honest Gelsenkrichen is a crappy place. So we are not that familiar where to stay best. The stadium is located in Buer so in case you want to stay close by. Personally I would recommend to stay in Dortmund as many of you do as I have seen on my time line. It’s better for going out anyways. Cities such as Bochum or Essen are fine as well as they are close by and can be reached by local trains with only a short ride. As I’m pretty sure you all have booked your hotels/hostels in advance I just post some links to several hotel booking websites:

www.booking.com
www.hrs.de
www.expedia.de
www.hotel.de

In case you need a hotel on a short notice you’ll find one on those websites. If you want to share hotel/hostel information or you have a spare room just use the comment section or tweet me @germangunners and I’ll do a retweet.

D) Going out after the match:

As I mentioned before we favour Dortmund as a place to go out. So if you stay in Dortmund please make the way back and party around ‚Alter Markt“ and „Friedensplatz“ in the city center. If you stay in Bochum party at „Bermuda Dreieck“ area which includes several bars and clubs around Konrad Adenauer Platz/Südring opposite Bochum central station.

Gelsenkrichen is not really famous for it’night life but there are some typical „Kneipen“ around the stadium you may check out for some pre/after match beers.

Try

– Destille,  Kurt- Schumacher- Str. 317. They do serve Kölsch just in case you got used to it during your last stay in cologne. Further infos on www.destille-buer.de  It used to be away fan friendly and is located close to the stadium.

In case you need any further information or like a certain topic to be discussed please use the comment section, email or tweet us.

We hope you’ll have a great time back in Germany.

Come on Arsenal

Cheers
Chris