Bielefeld

Bielefeld is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with around 300,000 citizens.

According to a German internet meme (which originated as tongue in cheek take on various conspiracy theories), this city does not exist. Incidentally this is the one thing almost all Germans know about the town.

Understand

While the bizarre conspiracy theory of it not existing is the first thing most Germans will tell you about the city, it actually has a rather long history, dating back to a first mention in the 9th century and it was first called a city in a 1214 document, the 800-year anniversary of which was celebrated - naturally - under the headline "Das gibt's doch gar nicht" which can mean "That's unbelievable" or more literally "That doesn't exist". While a lot of the old town was destroyed in World War II, there are still some nice buildings left.

Get in

By train

Bielefeld Hauptbahnhof, 52.028333°, 8.531667°. sees regular Deutsche Bahn service. There's even the occasional ICE

By bus

By plane

The nearest major airport is in Hanover (IATA: HAJ); other than that the greater Ruhr area, as well as Cologne which are served by various airports are easily reachable by train.

Get around

The Bielefeld Stadtbahn

Bielefeld is served by a Stadtbahn which can be classified as a mixture of light rail, tram and metro. (see the network plan on the right). Where the Stadtbahn doesn't go, there is an extensive bus network. With headways as low as ten minutes. As is usual in Germany, tickets for bus and Stadtbahn are integrated with each other and operate on the proof of payment system.

See

Sparrenberg Castle, 52.0149°, 8.52677°. restored fortress
Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall), 52.0212°, 8.53519°. built in 1904
Stadttheater (City Theatre), 52.0208°, 8.535°. it has a notable Jugendstil façade.

Do

Kletterpark Bielefeld, Am Johannisberg 3, 52.0208°, 8.5144°. 2018-07-01
Football: Arminia Bielefeld were relegated in 2022 and now play soccer in 2. Bundesliga, Germany's second tier. Their home ground is Bielefelder Alm (capacity 27,300), 1 km northwest of town centre.
Bielefelder Alm, 52.031389°, 8.516944°.

Buy

LOOM Bielefeld, Bahnhofstraße 28, 52.0257°, 8.5314°. Shopping mall 2018-07-02

Eat

Budget

In the city centre

Alt Bielefeld, Obernstr. 12, 52.02055°, 8.5282613°, +49 521 66940. Daily 11:00-23:00. 2017-03-05
Neues Kronenstübchen, Bahnhofstraße 47, 52.0274774°, 8.5310176°. 2022-09-01
Le & Vi, Oberntorwall 8, 52.0212470°, 8.5275682°. 2022-09-01
Pizza Pexla am Kesselbrink, Wilhelmstraße 14, 52.0241457°, 8.5365104°. 2022-09-01
China To Go Jahnplatz, Jahnpl. 1, 52.0231032°, 8.5335137°. 2022-09-01

Near the city centre

Sannes Leckerbissen, Werner-Bock-Straße 8, 52.0247079°, 8.5424468°. 2022-09-01
Bürgerwache, Rolandstraße 16, 52.0284828°, 8.5227000°. 2022-09-01
Tischlein deck dich, Siegfriedstraße 47, 52.0309421°, 8.5234219°. 2022-09-01

Mid-range

Le Feu, Ritterstraße 22, 52.0226312°, 8.5317243°. 2022-09-01
Bielefelder Fischgaststätte, Jahnpl. 6, 52.0236477°, 8.5335187°. 2022-09-01
Kachelhaus, Hagenbruchstraße 13, 52.0211393°, 8.5301304°. 2022-09-01
Hofbräu am Alten Rathaus, Niederwall 25, 52.0213159°, 8.5351130°. 2022-09-01

Splurge

Klötzer's Restaurant, Niedernstraße 41, 52.0227°, 8.5323°, +49 521 9677520. 2022-09-01
GlückundSeligkeit, Artur-Ladebeck-Straße 57, 52.0115048°, 8.5201073°. 2022-09-01
Numa, Obernstraße 26, 52.0201502°, 8.5296516°. 2022-09-01

Drink

Sleep

Hotel Büscher, Carl-Severing-Straße 136, 51.996465°, 8.473321°, +49 521 94614, hotel-buescher@t-online.de.
Mercure Hotel Bielefeld Johannisberg, Am Johannisberg 5, 52.0193°, 8.5181°, +49 521 92380. 2018-07-02

Bielefeld - city in Germany