Bremen



The Free Hanseatic City of Bremen  is a city in northern Germany with a major port on the River Weser. The population is 567,000 (2020). It is also the name of one of the states of Germany which consists of two separated enclaves on the River Weser; the other enclave, Bremerhaven, is covered by its own article.

History
Bremen was once a member of the medieval Hanseatic League and is still one of the most important cities in northern Germany. Together with the city of Bremerhaven on the North Sea it forms Germany's smallest state. Bremen has more than 1200 years of history, and was, for most of its existence, an independent city-state.

Bremer Stadtmusikanten
The Bremer Stadtmusikanten (Town Musicians of Bremen) perhaps the most well known figures associated with Bremen are characters from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name. Their image adorns many of the souvenirs in the city. Next to the Town Hall is a much photographed statue of them.

Geography
Bremen is a rather long and narrow city, lining both sides of the river Weser. Along the north-west/south-east axis it stretches about 10 km, but across only 2 km. The entire city is located on flat plains.

Tourist information

 * Bremen tourism website

By plane
If you want a smooth intercontinental connection to Bremen, your best bet is to fly with Star Alliance or SkyTeam. Star Alliance founder Lufthansa flies from Bremen to their hubs in Frankfurt and Munich, sister airline Eurowings to Stuttgart, while other alliance member Scandinavian Airlines flies to Copenhagen and Turkish Airlines to Istanbul. SkyTeam's founders Air France-KLM fly to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Amsterdam-Schiphol. You can connect to the alliances' vast networks of intercontinental - and European - connections there. If you are cost conscious, it might work out cheaper to forgo the domestic flight on the last leg and use an air rail alliance such as rail&fly instead. Though thanks to the quirky nature of airline pricing, the exact opposite may be the case.

Getting from the airport into town is quick, smooth and painless. Tram (Straßenbahn) 6 leaves right outside the main terminal building and takes you into downtown every 10 minutes during the day. Travel time is 10 minutes to downtown (Domsheide) and 16 minutes to the Main Railway Station (Hauptbahnhof).

Further afield, you can fly to Hamburg and Hannover. Both cities have frequent train connections with Bremen.

By train
Regular and frequent services connect with the rest of Germany. There are two trains every hour from Hamburg (1 hour) in the north, and Osnabrück (1 hour), Münster (1 hr 20 min), the Ruhr Area in the south, and from Hanover (1 hr 20 min). Flixtrain serves the city.

Train tickets can be quite expensive (unless bought in advance), and the cheapest way to travel can be to share a group ticket with other people. However, group tickets are not as cheap as they once were and often an early bird fare (starting from €19 for short routes) on a high-speed connection is cheaper and less stressful than dealing with group tickets which are almost always only valid on regional trains. For more on that issue see rail travel in Germany.

By bus
Flixbus has all but cornered the market.

By car
Autobahn 1 runs to Hamburg in the north and Cologne in the south, but do check the traffic information! The A27 goes north to Bremerhaven and Cuxhaven and south towards Hanover, Braunschweig, Berlin and other eastwards connections.

By foot
Much of Bremen (or at least the part frequented by tourists) can be negotiated by foot - the best way to explore the old city and its surrounding districts.

By shared car
Members of the Cambio car-sharing network, whether in Germany or Belgium, can hire cars - Bremen is the company's headquarters.

By train
Most trains are operated by Deutsche Bahn and even the local trains that aren't can be booked through their website.

In the west lie the cities Delmenhorst and Oldenburg and the Frisian islands. In the east you can travel to Verden, in the south to Osnabrück.

There are trains from the main station to the peripheral areas of Bremen (twice per hour to North Bremen, to Mahndorf via Sebaldsbrück and to Hemelingen.)

By bus/tram
Bremen offers an intensive public transportation network with trams and buses.

Public transport maps of Bremen are available in German. There are night buses and trams (indicated by an "N") running through almost the whole night on F/Sa and Sa/Su, departing at :30 each hour from central station. Fares on the night network are €1 in addition to normal individual, group or day fares (2013). You can buy tickets on the bus or tram, but is slightly cheaper to buy a set of 4 rides or a day pass for individuals or groups, or a weekly pass for individuals. Note that on trains, tickets must be purchased before you board. Public transportation timetables and ticket fares are available in English.

By taxi
Taxis are found nearly everywhere and every time, with a cost of about €1.25/km. There is no need to book a taxi in advance. Taxi drivers and call center employees may have difficulties to understand a phone call in English. The two main taxi companies are

By bike
You can rent bicycles at the railway station and several bike shops in Bremen. See details in German only. Bremen is the most bike-friendly city among the biggest German cities. Its former mayor Hennig Scherf is an avid cyclist (who despite the wishes of his bodyguards rode his bike every day to his office or he simply walked to the office.)

Do

 * Stroll around the city center and visit the Schnoor-Viertel with its old buildings - most were built between the 15th and 18th century. If you are interested in art, visit the Bremer Kunsthalle (museum of art) with one of North Germany's finest collections.
 * Football: SV Werder Bremen play soccer in Bundesliga, the top tier. Their home ground is the multi-purpose Weser Stadion (capacity 42,000) on the north riverbank, 1 km east of city centre. The women's team play in their top tier at a smaller ground at Weser Stadion.
 * If you want to see green fields, cows, and birds, visit "Blockland" (site in German with some pictures) where thousands of local bikers and inline skaters go every weekend to enjoy the agricultural side of Bremen. It is located just north of the university, between the Autobahn and the meandering river Wümme. You can bike or skate along the dyke that contains the river, have traditional coffee and cake at Landhaus Kuhsiel or Gartelmann's Gasthof, or eat gourmet organic ice cream at Biohof Kaemena (they also sell organic milk and cheese). In winter there is no ice cream but there is ice skating on the river and many small canals. In warmer months it is also possible to rent a canoe or kayak to explore the nature preserve from the water.
 * There is indoor ice skating at Paradice, the skating hall in Walle (site in German). Paradice is opened from October to February.
 * A good way to get in touch with the locals is to stroll along the river Weser on the scenic Osterdeich, where - in good weather - lots of little groups hanging out on the grassy hills may invite you to barbecue with them or have a beer.
 * Don't miss the beautiful Bürgerpark either, a large, well-maintained park right in the middle of the city, which has a little Central Park vibe to it. Have a drink in the renowned "Emma" Café, rent a boat and row around the ring-shaped pond, play mini-golf, visit the petting zoo, or simply sit on the grass and enjoy some tasty ice cream.

Events

 * January 6: "Eiswette": a funny tradition where a tailor checks if he can cross the river Weser without getting wet feet.
 * February: Carnival in Bremen, more South-American than Cologne style.
 * April: Easter market.
 * June: "Breminale" music/art festival along the River Weser.
 * August: International Bremen Summer circus festival "La Strada". "Festival Maritim" in Bremen-Vegesack (in the northern end of Bremen).
 * October (2nd half): "Freimarkt" (free market), one of the biggest and oldest fairground festivals in Germany, north of the railway station.
 * November: International Cutter Race / "Kutterpullen" tournament (rowing contest on the Weser river).
 * December: Christmas market around the town hall and Schlachte at the river Weser.

The monthly free event magazine MIX has hosts an event calendar online (German only).

Buy

 * Kluten are a traditional sweet from Bremen. They are cubes of peppermint, partly covered in chocolate. Hachez, near the Town Hall, is a traditional Bremen based chocolatier and their store is well worth a visit to buy the Kluten, though they are also available at many other places throughout the center.

Areas
 * Schnoor is a den of tight lanes selling boutique style products including jewelry, African artifacts, paper models and a year round Christmas shop. There are also a lot of shops selling tourist souvenirs.
 * Böttcherstraße, This wonderful Art Nouveau street has many outlets that cater to buyers of upmarket/high quality products.
 * Weekly markets are held on most of the squares around the Town Hall.
 * Lloyd Passage, Obernstraße, Sögestraße are the main shopping streets with all the main High Street chains.

Eat
Several cafes and restaurants line the "Schlachte" along the Weser river while other popular areas are the marketplace and the "Viertel" ("quarter") east of the Kunsthalle. Many traditional dishes from Bremen and Northern Germany are very satisfying. The region is famous for cabbage (Grünkohl- green cabbage), fish (smoked eel, herring, smelt in March), an old sailor's meal called Labskaus (lobscouse) consisting of mashed potatoes, corned beef, onions, fried egg and beetroot or chick ragout (very fine) as well as red fruit jelly or Butterkuchen (cake with yeast and topped with lots of butter, sugar and almonds). You can find some fish restaurants in Böttcherstraße. "Knigge" is the name of a traditional coffee house in Bremen.

Bremen culinary specialties are Knipp (smoked sausage), Labskaus, (fried corned beef with onions and mashed potatoes) and Braunkohl (leaf cabbage)

Drink
The world-wide known Beck's Beer is brewed in Bremen. Guided brewery tours in English and German are offered Thursdays - Saturdays. The tour costs €10.50/person and lasts approximately 2 hours.

The Ratskeller is a wine cellar and restaurant with a famous collection of wines and the oldest wines in Germany.

There are many bars, pubs and cafes in Bremen: the Schlachte along the Weser and the Viertel, a young and lively quarter.

If you like beer and pretzels, try the Schüttinger brewery house (next to Böttcherstraße) where several types of beer are brewed and served directly.

Go next

 * Hamburg
 * Bremerhaven
 * Oldenburg
 * Verden

These are all accessible by rail; the Niedersachsen ticket is cost effective for a day trip.