Located at the edge of Schwarzwald Forest, Karlsruhe, the next destination of the EUDAT Conference, offers a unique combination of cultural sight-seeing and an escape to nature.
The city is the second largest town in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, and is placed near the French border. With its position, Karlsruhe is conveniently situated within proximity of other German cities such as Heidelberg (40-50min drive), Frankfurt (90 min), Stuttgart (80 min), Baden-Baden (34 min), as well as the nearby Strasbourg (72 min).
EUDAT Conference & Karlsruhe
The EUDAT Conference coincides roughly with the first days of the Karlsruhe Christmas Market providing an excellent change of scenery after the long conference day. Be sure to include an extra bag to store souvenirs you'll want to take home!
The Karlsruhe Christmas Market 2023
© KME Karlsruhe Marketing und Event GmbH | Foto: Jürgen Rösner
With its quaint streets spawning into 32 spokes, the Facherstadt (or folding fan city) has a reputation of being Germany’s legal centre and champion of democracy.
Karlsruhe Palace, located at the heart of the city, is certainly worth the visit during the conference breaks.
Karlsruhe Palace at night
Other notable cultural centres include the internationally renowned Center for Art and Media (ZKM), the Kunsthalle, Baden State Museum, Natural History Museum, and the Opera House.
If you are looking for an escape to nature, Karlsruhe is home to two botanical gardens, and is also a short drive from the east bank of river Rhine.
Amongst the cobbled streets of the old town, make sure to try out the traditional food from the local German markets, including Käsespätzle and Schwarzwald cake.
How to get to Karlsruhe
In terms of transportation, Karlsruhe is accessible either by Frankfurt Airport, Stuttgart Airport, Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, or via Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station).
For those arriving via Frankfurt Airport, as the most well-connected airport for international and European travel, conference participants can :
- Take the train from the airport to Karlsruhe (one change at Frankfurt Main Train Station).
Warning: because of construction work between Frankfurt and Karlsruhe, make sure you travel first from the airport to Frankfurt Main station and from there to Karlsruhe. From the airport take a local train (S or RE trains) or intercity train (ICE trains) to Frankfurt Main station then take an ICE train to Karlsruhe.
Alternatively you can use a bus that will take you to the next station after Frankfurt Airport where you can board the ICE train for Karlsruhe. Follow the signs at the airport for buses with destination Karlsruhe and Basel or better yet, ask around.
For those arriving via Stuttgart Airport, options to reach Karlsruhe include :
- Direct bus (FlixBus)
- Train to Karlsruhe (1-2 hours), one change at Stuttgart main station.
For those arriving via Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, participants coming from Iberian peninsula, Italy, the Balkans, parts of Eastern Europe, Sweden and the UK (LINK) will be there with short notice. From the airport, following options are available:
- KVV bus line 285 to Baden-Baden station
- Bus lines X34 or 234 to Rastatt station
For those travelling from Baden-Baden, options include:
- S-Bahn Line S7
- Regional trains across the Deutsche Bahn
If the participants would prefer train travel, Karlsruhe is reachable from Germany, France and Switzerland. By train, you can reach Karlsruhe from Paris in 3 hours, from Amsterdam in 6 hours, from Milan in 7 hours, from Marseille in 8 hours.
Once at the main train station (Karlsruhe Hauptbahnhof), use tram lines 3 and 4 to reach the city centre.
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