Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Plane -- The nearest airport is at Frankfurt. There is direct rail service from the airport (S-14 train) via Wiesbaden to Mainz. For information, call the Mainz Railway Station at tel. 06131/151055.

By Train -- From Frankfurt, an express train takes 30 minutes to reach Mainz, while the S-Bahn arrives in 40 minutes. There are also trains leaving Mainz for Heidelberg and Koblenz (trip time: 1 hr.) or Cologne (trip time: 2 hr.). Daily trains to and from Munich take about 4 1/2 hours. For more rail information, call tel. 01805/996633 (11861 in Germany; www.bahn.de).

By Bus -- Regional bus service is provided by ORN Omnibusverkehr Rhein-Nahe GmbH, at Mainz (tel. 06131/5767470; www.orn-online.de).

By Car -- Access by car to Mainz is via the A60 east and west, and the A63 south and A643 north.

Visitor Information

Go to Touristik Centrale, Brückenturm am Rathaus (tel. 06131/286210; www.info-mainz.de). It's open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm and Saturday 10:30am to 2:30pm.

Getting Around

Trams and buses fan out across the city from the Hauptbahnhof from 5am until around midnight. Fares start at 2.50€ ($4) and vary depending on how far you go.

Special Events

The most celebrated merrymaking in festive Mainz is the All Fools capers at Carnival each spring, on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, where merrymakers act like fools, jesters, and clowns. This festival is broadcast throughout Germany the way the Macy's parade is throughout the U.S. Each year on the last weekend in June, the Gutenberg Festival sponsors festivities as a living memorial to the city's favorite son, the inventor of the movable-type printing press. There's also an annual Wine Fair the first week in August and the first week in September. For information, contact the tourist office at tel. 06131/286210.