Travel information
Arriving in Freiburg
Download our handy Travel information PDF to help you reach the conference.
Please be aware that the Covid-19 regulations in Germany and at the University are such that require the use of a FFP2 grade face mask. The use of face visors instead of a FFP2 mask is not permitted. You can find more information here.
Exemptions are available to those able to present appropriate medical evidence, and to those who have hearing impairments (and their interpreters) such that prevent the use of a mask.
People are exempt from the obligation to wear a mask if they can credibly demonstrate that they are unable or cannot reasonably be expected to wear a medical mask for health reasons or other compelling reasons or for similarly weighty and undeniable reasons in individual cases. Justification based on health reasons should be provided in the form of a medical certificate. This certificate must be carried at all times and shown on request.
Information here is based on the University of Freiburg covid-19 regulations.
Train and Coach (Bus)
You can travel to Freiburg from many cities in Europe by train or coach.
Freiburg (Breisgau) train station is reachable from Zürich, Paris (changing at Strasbourg and Offenburg), London (changing in Paris and Karlsruhe Hbf), and Milan (change at Zürich HB) to name a few. The Trainline website is great for checking journeys.
You can use the Deutsche Bahn (German Railway) to take the train to Freiburg, tickets and information can be found here. If you select a specific train well in advance, you can get very good deals. There is also the option to book a fixed “event ticket” price, which is 80.90€ for 1st class and 49.50€ 2nd class for specific trains; 98.90€ for 1st class and 67.50€ 2nd class for fully flexible tickets. You can book an “event ticket” here.
Coach (bus) travel may be more economical, and while it takes longer to travel by bus, it might be a good choice, especially if booked in advance. The Trainline is very good to check times and book tickets, you will find Flixbus times on there: As with the trains, you can find tickets from Zürich, Paris (changing at Karlsruhe), and Milan to name but a few locations.
Also have a look at Megabus, though bear in mind you will need to book another coach from Frankfurt or Munich as they don’t go all the way to Freiburg.
Driving
Freiburg is on the South-Western border of Germany. This makes it easily reachable by car from Zürich, Northern Italy and France.
Freiburg is easily accessible from the A5 Karlsruhe-Basel, and coming from the East you can reach it via the B31.
There is a useful site and app to find and pay for public car parks in Freiburg. Parking fees in Freiburg vary between the different zones. In the app, you can easily see the fees for the preferred area in advance and find the cheapest options.
By Air
There are two major international airports that one can access Germany from out of Europe: Frankfurt Airport or Zürich Airport, both about a 2-hour train ride away with direct connections. You can also fly to EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg and connect to the university by bus.
InterCityExpress (ICE) trains leave in the direction of Freiburg almost every hour from the Fernbahnhof (long-distance train station) in Frankfurt Airport. Just follow the signs once you arrive and buy your ticket at the Deutsche Bahn Reisezentrum (DB Travel Center).
Rail&Fly is an interesting choice when you need to travel from an airport to Freiburg by train. It is offered directly by airlines: you should book this at the same time as when you book your flight, you will be able to check-in 72 hours before, similarly to your plane tickets. You will be able to find more information on the booking process, where to catch your train, and what to do to get on it, here.
More information about getting to Freiburg can be found here.
About Freiburg
FWTM / Spiegelhalter
Freiburg is an independent state and the fourth-largest city in Baden-Württemberg with a population of approximately 230,000 inhabitants. It is a famous university town also known for its rich artistic side, extensive vineyards and good weather.
With its beautiful historical city centre and its location at the foot of the mythical black forest, Freiburg im Breisgau deserves its reputation as a ‘green oasis’ that delivers a lively, feelgood atmosphere to anyone who chooses to visit. Its reputation as a ‘green city’ however, does not only stem from the immediate proximity to nature, but also from its political reputation as a city with high standards concerning environmental impact. In fact, only recently Freiburg was declared the German “Eco-Metropole”, and as one of the top three cities to visit in Germany by Lonely Planet.
Furthermore, given its geographical position in the heart of the border triangle between France, Switzerland and Germany, international exchange has always been a part of Freiburg’s DNA.
Things to do
Explore the historic old town: visit the Münster cathedral and climb the stairs to the top for a rewarding fabulous view of the city. It is open daily in the morning up to 13:00 on weekdays and 13:30 on Saturdays. Have a look here for Freiburg’s top 10 sights.
You can stroll through the city's cute cobblestone streets of the historic city centre. You will not be able to miss the famous little gutters called Bächle that flow through small streets (Gässle). While strolling through the city be sure not to miss the famous and traditional Münstermarkt, the town square market surrounding the Cathedral of Freiburg, which offers plenty of stands to buy fruit, vegetables and crafts from local farmers.
Parks and gardens: Explore the green city architecture; take a walk or go on a bike ride. If you have a little more time at hand and want to escape the city-buzz for a bit, we recommend a park called Stadtgarten city garden, where you can relax and grab a coffee at Café Marcel. It is probably the closest walkable option if you want to relax in the grass, next to Colombi Park or the canteen garden (Mensagarten), flooded with hungry students. If you have more time, you can even walk up the Freiburger Schlossberg, at the foot of the black forest from there.
Swimming: There are lots of places where you can go swimming in Freiburg, both in open lakes and public swimming pools. Of note there are: Lake Opfinger See, quarry ponds located in the district of Mooswald, though there is parking it is recommended to bike or bus there; Lake Flückigersee in the heart of Freiburg, which has lots of attractions including pedal boats and a sunken pirate ship for the little ones; Keidel Thermal Baths just outside of Freiburg which includes a sports pool; Freibad St. Georgen, an outdoor swimming pool with lots of activities for the little ones. Freiburg's Dreisam River attracts families, friends, couples and retirees alike to soak up the sun, take a refreshing dip in the cool water or chill your beer after work.
Hike up: the Schlossberg to get to the tower on top of it. It takes about 30 minutes from the historic city center and offers you an amazing view of the Black Forest, Freiburg, the Kaiserstuhl and the Vosges mountain range in France. The first platform (Kanonenplatz) is only half the distance/time. There are more good hikes nearby, such as the Black Forest trail from Freiburg to Lake Constance, and from Schauinsland Mountain to Freiburg; and more. If you like running, some of these trails are good to follow, as well as this one to the pilgrimage chapel of Sankt Ottilien, and this one which has lovely views of nature.
Cable car ride: Take the Tram 2 then bus 21 to the Schauinsland cable car. At the top you can enjoy great views as far as the Swiss Alps. It doesn't run in bad weather, though. It's also possible to hike up Schauinsland from the start of the Schauinslandbahn station. But make sure that the weather is forecasted to be good, and allow 3 to 5 hours for the uphill hike, and around 1 to 2 hours for hiking down.
To do with the family / kids: The Lake Park (Seepark) offers a great environment for family picnics and walks. Mundenhof zoo offers a wide range of animals for the young ones to see and interact with as well as delicious ice-cream to cool off after an intense day. There are lots of activities aimed at children, including Europa Park a 30 minute drive away, Treetop Adventure Park 16km away, and more.
The Visit Freiburg site is a good place to look if you want to see what else the city has to offer.
Eating
Traditional German Restaurants
Feierling: here you can not only get the traditional local Feierling beer, but also typical local food from Baden. It gives you a wonderful Freiburg-feeling to sit on its open terrace and drink a freshly tapped beer, especially in summer.
Adelhaus: an organic vegetarian buffet, with mainly regional and seasonal products. Its sunny terrace offers a wonderful atmosphere within Freiburg’s old city centre.
Kartoffelhaus: translated as ‘potato house’ offers a variety of dishes, centering around classic potato-dishes along with alternating seasonal and regional dishes as well as extensive vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options.
ZusammenLeben ZUKA: seasonal, regional, vegetarian and international, with a solidarity, or social price option - this means you can pay for an additional meal, which will be used to feed the least fortunate or homeless - with friendly, motivated staff: perfect for lunch!
Gasthaus Schützen: this very old and traditional German hotel and restaurant offers an historic flair, an authentic German beer drinking experience and good food options.
Goldener Anker: here you can drink local Ganter Beer and eat traditional German cuisine with a focus on fresh and regional foods with weekly varying menus.
International Restaurants
La Pepa: this is the place to try delicious Spanish Tapas brought to you by friendly, mostly Spanish-speaking staff.
Trattoria - Primo Market: Italian Cuisine, from pizza and pasta, to tiramisu.
Indian Curryhouse: when wanting to eat some authentic Indian Curry, we recommend the Indian Curryhouse. Given its popularity, you should probably reserve a table ahead of time, because they are often booked up. This is a little further away than the others, but still only a fifteen minute walk from Freiburg University.
Chada Thai: there are two Chada Thai restaurants, one is a little farther away in Herdern, so the better, faster and cheaper option is probably the Chada Thai Noodle Soup Restaurant close to the university canteen at Rempartstraße 5. They offer quick and considerably tasty Thai noodle soups for a reasonable price.
Banôi: translated as grandma in Vietnamese, Banôi offers Vietnamese cooking for meat eaters as well as for vegans (ask for vegan duck – big recommendation!). It offers authenticity, beautiful atmosphere and of course, taste.
Hama Turkish Restaurant: Turkish with relatively cheap yet big portions served by friendly personnel.
Bengal: within walking distance of the university, this restaurant offers Bangladeshi specialties, with good options for vegetarians and vegans.
Quick & cheap Options
Markthalle Freiburg: with a historic flair, the old Markthalle offers culturally and culinarily diverse lunch booths in the heart of Freiburg’s old city centre. If you are going for a real southern-German classic, we recommend trying the Spätzle Kiosk, where a wide variety of Spätzle is offered.
Euphrat Döner: a celebrated döner place.
Amara Döner: another good döner quite close to the university which is especially famous for its numerous veggie and vegan options.
Veggie Liebe: also only a few minutes away from the university is this exclusively vegetarian and vegan döner & falafel restaurant.
Good Morning Saigon: a vietnamese imbiss booth.
Münstermarkt: while strolling across the central market you will also encounter a set of snack bars for an in-between snack.
Levante Kitchen: street food from the Levante region (Lebanon, Palestine and Israel), with wraps, hummus, falafel, meatballs and so forth.
Curry & Fritz: a good place to try the famous German “Currywurst” with meat from selected regional family businesses.
Yepa Yepa: 100% authentic Mexican Taqueria focusing on quick and easy Mexican taco meals.
Bars & Cafés
Feierling: traditional and famous local “Feierling” Beer and typical local food. It gives you a wonderful Freiburg-feeling to sit on its open terrace and drink a freshly tapped beer, especially in summer.
Martin’s Bräu: The brewery is located in the heart of the city directly by Martinstor (Martin's Gate). Martinsbräu in Freiburg is ideal for social evenings, and thanks to its large tables, it can also accommodate larger groups.
O’Kelly’s: Irish pub next to the university library, they show live sport and food as well as drink.
Brasil Cocktail Bar: café and restaurant, very nice bar with comfortable sofa lounge & separate smoking area. Over 100 cocktails, which are freshly prepared.
Café Auszeit: the busy and buzzy bio-café is the perfect all rounder with a lot of drink and food choices ranging from daily lunch dishes to cakes, salads and all kinds of coffee-options.
Altstadtcafé: popular German cuisine, with good vegan and vegetarian options. A range of salads and desserts for a light lunch.
Sedan Café: near the university library and theatre, has outdoor seating to enjoy the summer weather. It offers freshly squeezed juice and good coffee, along with vegan and vegetarian options.
Wilhelm Moltke: named after the two street names on whose corner they are, is a nice place to stay, with excellent coffee and delicious, homemade cake.
Tripadvisor and Visit Freiburg have a range of options for food, and drink.
Exploring the city
You can easily walk around the city or rent a bicycle; in fact most of the city center is a pedestrian zone, so getting somewhere at times might be easier on foot than any other way.
More information about moving around Freiburg can be found here.
Frelo Bike Renting allows you to rent bikes all over town to be able to travel flexibly and quickly from A to B in the “Bike City” of Freiburg. How does it work? All you have to do is register via the Frelo-App, find your nearest Frelo Station and rent a bike via the App.
Public transport in Freiburg is very good and affordable. Tickets can be bought online. Mobile tickets can be purchased here. They can be used on all buses, trams, and local trains in the area. The RVF area is divided into three zones on which the ticket price depends.
A single ride is €2.20 for Zone A (Freiburg city area), €3.80 for Zone A/B and €5.40 for Zone A/B/C. You can buy a pack of eight tickets for €15.40 valid within Zone A from the VAG Pluspunkt shop (Salzstraße 3), located near the Martinstor downtown.
In the shop you can also pick up tickets using a point system: 20 points cost €13.70 and in each direction you will use 3 points in Zone A, 5 points if you cross into Zone B, and 7 points if you cross into Zone C. You will most likely only use the tram and bus systems in Zone A for the majority of your stay.
If you come for a short stay or a weekend, buy a Regio 24 ticket which will give you 24-hour unlimited travel within Zone A for one person for €5.50 and up to five people for €9.90. The Regio 24 is also available for 2 or 3 zones, 12 for one person and 24 for up to five people. These tickets will allow you to use all of the public transport within Freiburg, and you are also allowed to take the DB Regio trains that service the greater region.
Interactive map: Press the side menu button to access different options on the interactive map.
Safety
Pickpocketing is not very common, but can occur, especially in the summer months and often on public transport.
Bicycle theft is frequent in Freiburg, so if you borrow, hire, or buy a bike and decide to park it for a while, it is important that you securely lock it.
Some parts of Freiburg are not as safe as the whole city in general. The area around the tram stops Runzmattenweg and Bissierstrasse should be avoided at night, and the district of Weingarten can be quite rough at times.
Freiburg has a good police presence, even some French and Swiss officers are in the town center in the summer months. The main police station, the Polizeidirektion Freiburg, is located at Heinrich-von-Stephan-Str. 4, 79100 Freiburg. The telephone number is +49-761-8820.
Getting to the venue
The venue is in the University of Freiburg: KGI (Kollegiengebäude I)
The GPS coordinates are: latitude: 47.99410228722314, longitude: 7.846343771164017
Delegates should arrive via the main entrance as that is where the reception desk will be located.
The main entrance of KG I is located towards Rempartstraße, KG IV and the little green park called “Alleegarten”. You’ll find a small square here – Platz der Universität – and will see the main entrance of KG I (see also the picture of the main entrance below)
A map of the university in relation to the city can be found here.
The university aerial layout can be found here.
Arriving by coach
The the University of Freiburg campus is a 9 minute walk from the coach station.
On foot:
- Take the stairs to the Stühlingerbrücke bridge above the coach station (29m)
- Turn left and continue onto Bertoldstraße (450m)
- Turn right onto Rotteckring (200m)
- Turn left onto Rempartstraße (20m)
Arriving by car
You can easily reach Freiburg by highway from Basel, Mulhouse, Strasbourg, or Karlsruhe.
Main Campus (City Center)
Exit: “Freiburg Mitte” – then exit “Stadtmitte/Universität”; Werthmannstraße – Rempartstraße; use the parking garage “Universitäts-Parkhaus” which is located next to KG I.
Arriving by train
From main station:
Main Campus (City Center)
By foot:
- 4 minutes via Eisenbahnstrasse (300m)
- turn right onto Rotteckring
- 4 minutes via Rotteckring (350m)
- Turn left onto Rempartstraße (20m)
By tram: Line 1, 3, or 5 – direction “Bertoldsbrunnen”; get off at “Stadttheater / Universitätszentrum”.
Arriving by plane
Approx. 1 hour bus ride from the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg; 2 to 3 hours by train or car from Strasbourg, Stuttgart, or Frankfurt airports.
About the University of Freiburg
Titel / Objekt: Kollegiengebäude I, Künstler/Autor: Sandra Meyndt, Datierung (historisch): 30.08.2017, Beschreibung: KG I, Bildnachweis/Quelle: Sandra Meyndt/Universität Freiburg, Copyright/Rechte: Sandra Meyndt/Universität Freiburg, Urheber, Sandra Meyndt
The University of Freiburg and its research profile
Founded in 1457, the Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg is today both nationally and internationally renowned and enjoys a position among the five best-rated universities in Germany according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities. It offers a creative and innovative learning and researching environment for its roughly 25,000 students. Ranging from natural sciences to social sciences and humanities, the university presents a broad and interdisciplinary research profile, with a total of 11 faculties, 18 scientific centres and 288 courses of study.
Among the multiple university-wide profile fields is the emerging field of Comparative Area Studies and Transregional Studies, which builds on research activities within the humanities, cultural studies and social sciences, and promotes excellent research in the area of transregional studies. It stands out due to its decolonial, counter-hegemonic approach that actively strives to challenge and overcome Eurocentric thought patterns within research. Only recently, they developed a collaborative research initiative on decoloniality, which explores how coloniality as a form of social domination and oppression continues to structure contemporary global asymmetries as well as spaces of contestation and resistance against it. The initiative aims at ‘reversing the gaze’ by assessing the legacy of colonialism throughout Europe from the perspective of coloniality and decoloniality. Thereby, integrating perspectives from the global South and East is considered to be crucially important.
Internationalisation and increasing connection to Africa
The university of Freiburg is putting an enhanced focus on internationalisation. Sparked by the belief that international exchange and transnational, intercultural cooperation enriches and broadens people’s horizons, the university encourages responsible behaviour and leadership as global citizens. Stemming from this belief, multiple international connections and exchanges have developed. For instance, on the European level, the university is a proud member of the European Campus (Eucor), a tri-national alliance of the universities of Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Basel, Haute-Alsace and Strasbourg, where learning takes place across university and national borders. Furthermore, with the European exchange program ERASMUS+, faculties offer more than 1700 places for exchanges with 300 European partner universities in 30 countries. Overseas, the university of Freiburg works together with multiple partner universities, such as the University of Ghana and the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa. Among others, the Freiburg Global Exchange enables international and outgoing exchanges with partner universities across the world. Similarly, the Baden-Württemberg Scholarship funds exchanges for both German and international students, while ERASMUS+ worldwide has recently enabled several outer-European exchanges.
The university of Freiburg is fostering a growing connection to Africa across academic research and beyond, not only through student exchanges, but also by promoting more academic research exchange with African universities and scholars. For instance, the international research college Maria Sibylla Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA), based at the University of Ghana, is an important hub for cross-cultural exchange and networking. MIASA is committed to reducing global asymmetries in the production of knowledge and aims to facilitate stronger cooperation among and between researchers in both Anglo and Francophone Africa. The central goal of MIASA is to enhance the visibility of scientific research conducted by researchers from Sub-Saharan Africa who are working in the Social Sciences and Humanities. The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS), together with five other consortium partners, supports the establishment of the research institute.
Similarly, the internationally renowned Arnold Bergstraesser Institute (ABI) for comparative area studies and transregional research, that works in cooperation with the University of Freiburg, has significantly contributed to the internationalisation of the university’s research foci. Founded in 1960 by the famous professor of sociology and political sciences Arnold Bergtraesser, the institute focuses on questions of power transformations, state institutions and societal conflicts in Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa. As a Research Institute in the Global North, ABI strives to critically address the consequences of colonialism and the responsibilities of the Global North to counteract present inequalities and knowledge asymmetries. The ABI also contributed significantly to the creation of the new Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) in 2020. As a relatively new scientific research centre at the University of Freiburg, ACT stands for the university’s internationalisation strategy, and especially an increased visibility of African Studies. It puts a focus on reciprocal research and cooperation between African, German and European researchers and aspires to transport a differentiated and complex portrayal of African realities.
General Information about ACT
@Helga Dickow
The Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) is an interdisciplinary research centre for reciprocal Africa Studies at the University of Freiburg, which opened in May 2020. ACT is part of the Baden-Württemberg initiative ‘Africa im Blick’. With the initiative the federal state government wants to expand and create new forms of cooperation with stakeholders in Africa.
Located in the ABI building, ACT serves as a cross-faculty group of research and infrastructure institutions, and as a host for single researchers. The promotion of excellent research in the area of transregional studies with African reference, and accordingly comparative regional studies as a potential field of the University of Freiburg, are in the focus of ACT.
At ACT reciprocity is the guiding leitmotif. Guided by the novel idea of reciprocal exchange, ACT aspires to enable an innovative form of cooperation between African, German and European researchers characterised by mutual knowledge exchange and cooperation on eye-level, thereby actively deconstructing and counteracting global asymmetries in knowledge production. ACT works together with African researchers on important transregional topics such as racism, migration and ecological transformation, whereby African perspectives are understood to be crucial for a more sustainable and socially just world. For instance, by taking part in the Namibia Initiative of the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg, ACT engages in the current debate around restitution of African cultural assets and the question on how Europe should act on its colonial history.
Furthermore, ACT hosts African researchers who set their research agenda out of their own interest and can thus choose their thematic focus openly. Since their data collection takes place in Europe, it enables a novel form of reversing power dynamics, as African researchers investigate global and transregional phenomena and challenges from an African perspective in Europe, as opposed to European researchers researching on Africa. The research results are presented in Europe and published by open access in order to counteract an exclusionary, often Eurocentric knowledge production and dissemination. Thereby, ACT works towards a global academic dialogue where African voices are given greater voice and influence and their presence as academics and scientists is normalised.
One of ACT’s main goals is to transport a differentiated and complex portrayal of African realities in the public sphere of Freiburg and beyond, for example within the scope of the “Freiburg Africa Talks”