Bielefeld

While the bizarre conspiracy theory of it not existing is the first thing most Germans will tell you about the city, it actually has a rather long history, dating back to a first mention in the 9th century and it was first called a city in a 1214 document, the 800-year anniversary of which was celebrated - naturally - under the headline "Das gibt's doch gar nicht" which can mean "That's unbelievable" or more literally "That doesn't exist". While a lot of the old town was destroyed in World War II, there are still some nice buildings left.

By train

• Bielefeld Hauptbahnhofsees regular Deutsche Bahn service. There's even the occasional ICE

By bus

By plane

The nearest major airport is in Hanover (HAJ); other than that the greater Ruhr area, as well as Cologne which are served by various airports are easily reachable by train.

Bielefeld is served by a Stadtbahn which can be classified as a mixture of light rail, tram and metro. (see the network plan on the right). Where the Stadtbahn doesn't go, there is an extensive bus network. With headways as low as ten minutes. As is usual in Germany, tickets for bus and Stadtbahn are integrated with each other and operate on the proof of payment system.

• Sparrenberg Castlerestored fortress

• Altes Rathausbuilt in 1904

• Stadttheaterit has a notable Jugendstil façade.

• Kletterpark Bielefeld

  address: Am Johannisberg 3

• LOOM Bielefeld

  address: Bahnhofstraße 28
  Shopping mall

• Alt Bielefeld

  phone: +49 521 66940
  address: Obernstr. 12

• Klötzer's Restaurant

  phone: +49 521 9677520
  address: Niedernstraße 41

• Hotel Büscher

  phone: +49 521 94614
  address: Carl-Severing-Straße 136

• Mercure Hotel Bielefeld Johannisberg

  phone: +49 521 92380
  address: Am Johannisberg 5

• Gütersloh
• Minden
• Paderborn