Halle

By plane

Leipzig/Halle Airport (LEJ), sometimes called Schkeuditz Airport, is 30 km away from central Halle. The airport is the second biggest airport in Eastern Germany after Berlin. Trains between the airport and Halle Central Station run roughly every 30 minutes, alternating a S-Bahn (S 5X) and an IC-train enroute to Hanover. The trip takes 11 minutes and costs €4.20 (S-Bahn) or €6 (IC). The train station is below the terminal building and can be reached by stairs, escalators and elevators.
Berlin's airports (TXL or SXF) are less than two away by train and offer more direct flights.

By train

Halle (Saale) is a station on the high-speed rail line Berlin–Erfurt–Frankfurt or –Munich. ICE high-speed trains from Berlin and Erfurt call approximately once an hour, from Frankfurt or Munich about once in two hours, respectively. In addition, Halle is served by hourly intercity trains on the (Cologne/Bremen)–Hannover–Leipzig(–Dresden) line; as well as several regional train lines.
Deutsche Bahn operates regular train service between Halle and nearby cities such as Leipzig (€7.60, 25 minutes), Lutherstadt Eisleben (€9.50, 30 minutes), Dessau (€14, 50 minutes), Magdeburg (€22, 50 minutes), Jena (€20, 60 minutes), Weimar (€20.50, 60 minutes), Lutherstadt Wittenberg (€15, 65 minutes).
High-speed trains are available to major cities in Germany including Erfurt (€40, 30 minutes), Berlin (€49, 70 minutes), Frankfurt (€88, 2:40 hours), Munich (€117, 3 hours), Hamburg (€106, 3:15 hours). Prague (€66, 4:40 hours) can be reached with an additional transfer in Dresden; or by train and bus via Leipzig (3.5 hours). Tickets may be much cheaper if booked in advance.

By bus

see long distance bus travel in Germany

By car

From Leipzig, take the A14 west to the B100.

By tram

Hallesche Verkehrs-AG (HAVAG) operates the local surface street tram. It passes most major attractions downtown and will take you to and from the main train station. Tickets are available at the office in the Marktplatz, from vending machines or from the drivers. 1-hour tickets cost €2.20 if bought from a vending machine, somewhat more if bought from the driver. Day passes cost €5.

• Marktkirche Unser Lieben FrauenLate Gothic cathedral where Luther preached. Contains Luther's death mask. Handel was baptized here.

• Händel-Haus Halle

  address: Große Nikolaistraße 5
  The house where Georg Friedrich Händel was born, now a museum dedicated to his life and works. Displays his works, letters, manuscripts.

• Burg Giebichenstein

  address: Seebener Straße 1
  Old Castle that's now been converted into an art school. Is right on the Saale river. Great views of the city.

• Kunstmuseum Moritzburg

  address: Friedemann-Bach-Platz 5
  Castle which has now been converted into a great art museum. Has exhibits which include works by Klimt, Ernst, and Klee. Highlights include Lyonel Feininger's paintings of famous Halle landmarks.

• NeustadtThe township built by the GDR in the 1980s to house chemical plant workers. It is a poignant example of East German architecture.

• Halloren Schokoladen-Museum

  address: Delitzscher Straße 70
  The Halloren Chocolate Factory is the oldest in Germany. The origins date back to the founding of a honey cake bakery in 1804.

• Beatles Museum

  address: Alter Markt 12
  Three floors of memorabilia owned by fan Rainer Moers.

• Landesmuseum für Vorgeschichte (Halle)

  address: Richard-Wagner-Straße 9
  The State Museum of Prehistory is the archaeological museum of Saxony-Anhalt with Nebra Sky disk and Eulau family graves as highlights.

• Franckesche Stiftungen

  phone: +49 345 2127 450
  address: Franckeplatz
  The Francke Foundations are a unique ensemble of historical school buildings dating back to the age of enlightenment (founded 1698); the buildings today house departments of Halle University, several schools and other cultural and social institutions. Highlights are the baroque Cabinet of Artefacts and Curiosities and the Historical Library. Occasionally concerts, lectures and conferences.

• Reederei Riedel River ToursRuns 45-minute river tours.

Festivals

• Handel FestivalIn the second week of June.

Leipziger Straße is the main shopping street in downtown Halle. It branches off of the Southeast corner of the Marktplatz. There you will find many retail shops and chain fast food restaurants.

Budget

Make sure you try some döner kebap. It's heavily Germanized Turkish food. Halle has some of the best döner in Germany.

• DINEA Café & Restaurant Halle

  address: Marktplatz 20
  Self-service restaurant with view over market square. Offers breakfast, cold and hot lunch buffet, daily specials, cakes.

• NT Cafe

  address: Große Ulrichstraße 51
  Artsy place affiliated with the Neues Theater (New Theatre).

Mid-range

• Ökoase

  address: Kleine Ulrichstraße 2
  Vegetarian restaurant popular among the hippie crowd. Try the Arabic tomato soup, Greek vegetable stew, or Swiss chard coconut soup.

• Palais S

  address: Ankerstraße 3c
  Waterfront terrace. Serves everything from pasta to schnitzel to steak.

• Sushifreunde Steinweg

  phone: +49 345 6816627
  address: Steinweg 17
  Has an all-you-can-eat special on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for €16.90.

• Schad

  address: Reilstraße 10
  Great German restaurant and private brewery that boasts having served Mikhail Gorbachev.

Splurge

• MahnS Chateau

  address: Oleariusstraße 4a, 06108

Bars and pubs

• Café Noire

  address: Kleine Ulrichstraße 30
  It is by far the best bar/cafe on Kleine Ulrichstraße.

• Hallesches Brauhaus

  address: Große Nikolaistraße 2
  Brewery that also serves good food.

• Lucy

  phone: +49 345 1717740
  address: Burgstraße 48
  Bar that has lots of live pub music.

Clubs

• Charivari

  address: Kaulenberg 1
  Karaoke club.

• Klub Drushba

  address: Kardinal-Albrecht-Straße 6
  Indie club with good dance parties.

• Objekt 5

  address: Seebener Straße 5
  Great indie club and cafe. Folk and rock music and good food.

• Potemkin

  address: Kleine Ulrichstraße 27

• Turm

  address: Friedeman-Bach-Platz 5
  Student club. Techno, house, hip-hop, drum & bass.

Budget

• Hostel No5

  phone: +49 177 7431263
  address: Robert-Franz-Ring 5

• Jugendherberge Halle

  phone: +49 345 202 47 16
  address: Große Steinstraße 60
  Located in an old school in the city center.

• KAHSA Apartments

  phone: +49 345 21389370
  address: Zum Planetarium 44, 06116
  10 smaller and bigger vacation rentals. All accommodations have internet and parking. Tourists as well as business travellers welcome.

Mid-range

• City Hotel am Wasserturm

  phone: +49 345 29820
  address: Lessingstraße 8

• Dormotel Europa Halle

  phone: +49 345 57120
  address: Delitzscher Straße 17

• Esprit Hotel

  phone: +49 345 212200
  address: Torstraße 7

• Hotel Marthahaus

  phone: +49 345 51080
  address: Adam-Kuckhoff-Straße 5
  Run by a Christian mission. Soft carpet, well furnished, stained glass windows in the lounge. Beautiful dining hall.

• Ramada Leipzig Halle

  phone: +49 345 56470
  address: Hansaplatz 1

• Hotel Schweizer Hof

  phone: +49 345 503068
  address: Waisenhausring 15

• Hotel am Steintor

  phone: +49 345 500960
  address: Krukenbergstraße 29

• Tryp by Wyndham Halle

  phone: +49 345 6 93 10
  address: Neustädter Passage 5
  Formerly the Best Western Grand City Hotel

• Hotel Westfalia Halle

  phone: +49 345 5606291
  address: Grenzstraße 35

Splurge

• Ankerhof Hotel

  phone: +49 345 2323200
  address: Ankerstraße 2a
  Former Royal Customs Office. Gym and saunas. Some rooms have river view.

• Apart-Hotel Halle

  phone: +49 345 52590
  address: Kohlschütterstraße 5
  Really nice murals in the suites. Sauna.

• Hotel Atlas Halle

  phone: +49 345 6853630
  address: Delitzscher Straße 32

• Hotel Eigen

  phone: +49 345 77556

• Dorint Charlottenhof Halle (Saale)

  phone: +49 345 29230
  address: Dorotheenstraße 12
  4 star hotel that caters to the business crowd. Pool, gym, sauna.

• Dormero Hotel Rotes Ross

  phone: +49 345 233430
  address: Leipziger Straße 76
  4-star hotel aimed mostly towards business travelers. Feels like a small Grand Hotel and the rooms are very individually decorated. Has a small fitness room, a sauna, and a whirlpool in the basement. Breakfast buffet includes selection of cheese, sausage, breads, cereals, and fruits. Italian restaurant and 24-hour room service

Internet

• Internetcafe Speed

  address: Am Bauhof 1

• Merseburg, 15 km south, more than thousand-year-old town with interesting old centre, Romanesque/Gothic cathedral and Renaissance palace (10 minutes by train)
• Leipzig, 40 km east, Halle's "twin", trade city, cultural metropolis and economic "boom town" of East Germany, half an hour train ride away.
• Eisleben, 35 km west, birth place of Martin Luther (30–40 minutes by train)
• Naumburg, 50 km south, impressive Romanesque cathedral, home town of philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, centre of the Saale-Unstrut cultural landscape and wine-growing region (30–40 minutes by train, or cycle up the Saale bike trail)
• Dessau, 50 km northeast, centre of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, seat of the 1920s Bauhaus art school, capital of classical modern architecture (50–55 minutes by train, change in Bitterfeld or Köthen)
• Wittenberg, 75 km northeast, important city during the late Middle Age and Renaissance, origin of Martin Luther's Protestant Reformation (just under an hour by train)
• Magdeburg, 85 km north, state capital on the river Elbe with huge Gothic cathedral and one of Germany's most important Romanesque monasteries (50 minutes by intercity train)
• Erfurt, 120 km southwest, state capital of Thuringia, medieval old city (35 minutes by ICE high-speed train)