Erfurt - OPERA Hostel

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Street in Erfurt

Erfurt [1] is the capital of the German state of Thuringia (Thüringen). It was an important trading town during the Middle Ages, and has many beautiful old buildings and parks.

Get in

By car

Erfurt lies on two federal motorways:

• Bundesstraße 4 from Ilmenau in south to Nordhausen in north and
• Bundesstraße 7 from Gotha in west to Weimar in east.

By train

The Erfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station) is quite large. Numerous ICE and IC trains pass through daily, with direct lines to Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Dresden and Frankfurt.

By plane

Not the best option for budget travellers. However, Air Berlin [2] flies to Erfurt airport from London and other locations.

Get around

The city centre is quite compact so walking is often the best way to explore the city. Regular tram services run all around the city, with service intervals of every 10 minutes during most of the day. The trams are less frequent in the evenings and no trams operate after midnight on weekdays.

See

Erfurt waterfront cafes in winter

• Dom (Cathedral) and Severi Kirche (Church) both overlooking the Domplatz (main market square, location of the Christmas market in December as well as fairs throughout the year).

• Krämerbrücke (Bridge with medieval houses, the most important landmark in Erfurt)

• Fischmarkt with its Burgerhouses and town hall.

• Augustinerkloster (monastery where Martin Luther lived), the main gate of the old university (third oldest German university, shut down in the 19th century and reopened in 1992)

• Anger (main square, full of stores) with the old Post Office building.

Much of Erfurt's charm is found in its narrow streets, many of which are pedestrianized, with their beautiful old houses, green areas and little bridges across the Gera river and the Stadtpark and the Nordpark on different sides of the city center.

Do

• Garden lovers can find many things to do and see in Egapark [3], which is a huge and beautiful botanical garden and accessible by Strassenbahn. Check out for any exhibitions or programmes.

• Watch Opera in recently-renovated Erfurt Theater [4].

Buy

Shops on the Krämerbrücke offer crafts and souvenirs. Around main square, Anger 1 has upmarket shops inside.

Eat

The Thuringer Bratwurst comes from Erfurt, and the city has numerous stalls selling this world-famous delicacy.

• Die Tolle Knolle (which you could translate as "The Amazing Spud") is great for hearty potato casseroles, one of Germany's traditional dishes. On Arnstädter Chaussee 9, just off Langer Brücke.
• San Remo, Marktstrasse 21, ☎ 0361 6430449, [5]. San Remo is supposedly an excellent ice cream shop.  edit

Drink

Erfurt has numerous small bars in the city center. On the Domplatz there is a tapas bar, which is quite delicious. To the north of the Domplatz there are more bars, with one of the more popular bars being Double D's, which has numerous theme nights and drink specials.

Outside of the city-center is the disco Spot, which is quite intense and draws a younger crowd.

Sleep

Get out

• By train, Weimar is only a quarter of an hour away
• Jena is just half an hour by train
• Leipzig is about an hour away.
• Wander around on near-by Thuringen Forest, the largest forest in Germany, on which Thuringia called the "green heart of Germany"
• Halle (Saale) about 45 minutes away. Has some great things to see. Largest city in Saxony-Anhalt, birthplace of Handel and has a few castles.