Location and Venue
The city of Dortmund
Dortmund is an independent city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the middle part of the state and is considered to be the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of the eastern Ruhr area. Its population of 581,612 (2015) makes it the 8th largest city in Germany. Moreover, Dortmund is the largest city by area and population in the Ruhr Area, an urban area with some 5.1 million (2011) inhabitants which is the largest urban agglomeration in German
The city has been one of Germany's most important coal, steel and beer centres until the 1970s. The region has adapted since the collapse of its century long steel and coal industries and shifted to high technology biomedical technology, micro systems technology and also services.
Dortmund is home to many cultural and educational institutions, including TU Dortmund University, many museums, such as Museum Ostwall, Museum of Art and Cultural History and the recently founded German Football (soccer) Museum, as well as theatres and music venues like the Concert Hall or the Dortmund Opera House. The city is known as Westphalia's "green metropolis''. Nearly half the municipal territory consists of waterways, woodland, agriculture and green spaces with spacious parks such as Westfalenpark and Rombergpark. This stands in a stark contrast with nearly a hundred years of extensive coal mining and steel milling within the city limits.
Dortmund is also home to the Ballspielverein Borussia 1909 e.V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund, a very successful club in German football.
Travel Information
Climate
Dortmund is situated in the temperate climate zone. Winters are comparatively mild and summers are rather cool. The average annual temperature lies at approximately 9 to 10 °C (48 to 50 °F), the total average annual amount of precipitation lies at approximately 800 mm (31 in). Precipitation falls evenly throughout the year; steady rain (with some snow), prevails in the wintertime, isolated showers dominate the summer season.
In Germany in general and in Dortmund in particular, September offers a very enjoyable autumn-season climate. The average daily high and low temperatures in Dortmund are 19 °C (66 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F), respectively with little rain to be expected.
Accessability of Dortmund
The city of Dortmund is well connected to international destinations via major German airports. Germany's most important international hub, Frankfurt Airport, is only a two-hour train ride from Dortmund. Even closer-by is Germany's third-largest Airport in Dusseldorf. The small international airport of Dortmund itself serves German tourist destinations.
Dortmund is also well connected to European destinations via the high-speed trains of the Deutsche Bahn.
Arrival by Plane
Frankfurt Airport (FRA)
FRA is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres. Frankfurt Airport is by far the busiest airport in Germany as well as the 4th busiest in Europe.
Connections to Dortmund
From Frankfurt Airport there are frequent connections via Cologne (German: "Köln'') to Dortmund by high-speed trains (the ICE trains of the Deutsche Bahn with an average travel time of approximately 2 hours. As of 2016, train tickets from Frankfurt Airport Station to Dortmund Main Station cost approximately EUR~90. When a specific train is pre-booked in advance (so-called "Sparpreis'') the fare reduces to approximately 60 euros.
Dusseldorf Airport (DUS)
DUS is the international airport of Düsseldorf, the capital of the German state North
Rhine-Westphalia. It is the largest and primary airport for the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region the largest metropolitan region in Germany and among the largest metropolitan areas of the world.
Connections to Dortmund
From Dusseldorf Airport both high-speed and local trains of the Deutsche Bahn connect to Dortmund Main Station (Dortmund Hbf) with travel times between 45 minutes to 1 hour. The suburban train (German: S-Bahn) "S1'' even connects Dusseldorf Airport directly to the campus of TU Dortmund University (stop "Dortmund Universität'') with a travel time of little more than an hour. As of 2016, prices for a train ride from Dusseldorf Airport Station to Dortmund range from approximately EUR~15 (ticket excluding high-speed trains) to about EUR 25.
Dortmund Airport (DTM)
DTM is a minor international airport. It serves the eastern Rhine-Ruhr area, the largest urban agglomeration in Germany, and is mainly used for low-cost and leisure charter flights.
Connections to THE CITY
The AirportExpress connects Dortmund Airport directly to Dortmund Main Station. This bus connection runs every hour and takes approximately 25 minutes.
Arrival by train
Dortmund is a major stop within the high-speed railway network of the Deutsche Bahn. This network is also connected to the respective high-speed railway systems of The Netherlands, Belgium (via Thalys), France (via TGV), Switzerland, Austria, and Denmark.
Local Transport
The city of Dortmund and the whole Ruhr area is connected via a dense network of public transport integrating buses, streetcars and local trains. This system is managed by the Transport Network Rhein-Rhuhr (German: Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, VRR, www.vrr.de) such that a single ticket system for local public transport is used within the Ruhr area and the major part of the state of North-Rhein-Westfalia. Tickets are available in 5 categories (A to E) depending on the distance to the destination. Tickets of category A cover trips within a city. Tickets of type D cover, for example, a trip from Dusseldorf Airport to Dortmund. All tickets are available at numerous vending machines throughout the VRR network.
Passport and Visa
Germany is a member state of the European Union (EU). Therefore, EU citizens will not require a visa to travel to Germany. Additionally, Germany has visa waiver agreements with countries associated to the EU as well as with many other countries worldwide including: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Peru, Singapore, Switzerland, Taiwan, United States of America, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
More information on and details of visa requirements can be found on the official web pages of the German Foreign Office.
Accommodation
The following hotels can be booked via Dortmund-Tourismus following the Electronic Booking-System.
| Hotel |
|---|
| ibis Dortmund West |
| Mercure Hotel Dortmund City |
| The Grey Hotel |
| Hotel Esplanade |
| a&o hostel and hotel Dortmund GmbH |
| ibis Hotel Dortmund City |
| Königshof |
In addition, these hotels offer special prices for TU Dortmund. For obtaining the necessary booking codes, please contact the GCPR 2019 Conference Office.
| Hotel |
|---|
| Hotel NH Dortmund |
| Tryp Hotel |
For using the booking codes, contact the hotels directly by phone.
Room rates will tentatively range between EUR 42 and EUR 130 for single-room accommodation and between EUR 54 and EUR 150 for accomodation in double rooms.
There are three hotels in the vicinity of the university campus. Many more can be found in the city centre. In this area also numerous restaurants, bars, and night clubs can be found. Therefore, this is actually the recommended area to stay. From the city centre the campus can be reached via the local train "S1'' in less than 10 minutes (approx. EUR~2.50 per ride).