Planning a trip to Kassel

For information, Kassel Tourist Office GmbH is at Obere Königstrasse 15 (tel. 0561/7077707; www.kassel-tourist.de), open Monday to Friday 9am to 6pm, Saturday 9am to 2pm. Here you can purchase the Kassel Card, sold only to pairs of travelers (not to individuals) and costing 13€ for 24 hours or 16€ for a 72-hour period. The card grants free transport on the city's trams and buses, discounted admission to its museums and attractions, and even discounts at some shops. It also grants free participation in tourist office walking tours and discounts on bus tours, which normally cost 15€ but are only 7€ with the card.

Special Events -- Documenta is a famous art fair that has taken place every 5 years in Kassel since 1955, with musical and dramatic presentations at the Freericianum at Friedrichsplatz 18, 34117 Kassel (tel. 0561/707270; www.documenta.de). The festival has been hailed in the press as an erudite heavyweight of global art exhibitions. Originally its goal was to show the world that Nazi-era nationalism was passé in Germany. Art lovers, some 650,000 of them, pour into the city for the festival, with celebrity attendees ranging from David Bowie to Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.