Where to watch World Cup matches in Germany

Berlin

The Fifa Fan Fest 2010 will be an amazing place to experience the World Cup. The atmosphere will be like that of a huge party or carnival and people will flock from all over the place to come and experience this month long event. Entry is free, but VIP tickets available. See the website for details.

www.berlinfifafanfest.com/home-english.html

It’s taking place at two different venues over the month. The details are below.

Olympischer Platz: (11.06. - 18.06.2010)

The Olympic Stadium is the largest football stadium in Germany and host to the 2006 FIFA World Cup Final. The Olympic Stadium is located in the West of the city and is easy to get to.

Public transport:

S-Bahn S9 and S75 to 'Olympiastadion'

U-Bahn U2 to 'Olympiastadion'

Bus 104 to 'Steubenplatz/Neuwestend'

Bus M49, X34, X49 and 218 to 'Flatowallee/Heerstraße'

Straße des 17. Juni : (23.06. - 11.07.2010)

The event area is located in the heart of the city and is very easy to find, you can even walk there from the Hauptbanhof.

Public transport:

S-Bahn S5, S7 and S75 to 'Bellevue' (ca. 10 min. walking distance)

U-Bahn U2 to 'Potsdamer Platz' (ca. 10 min. walking distance)

U-Bahn U9 to 'Hansaplatz' (ca. 10 min. walking distance)

Bus 106, 100 to 'Großer Stern'

The Kulturbrauerei, an old brewery converted for cultural events, has an open courtyard where there will be a big screen for all the matches. But if it rains then the location has alternative bars and concert halls. With fresh beer and food from the grill you’re guaranteed to have a good time watching the games. http://kulturbrauerei-berlin.de/244.html?&L=1&cHash=3780fae2a0

German football culture magazine 11 Freunde is setting up shop in the Astra Kulturhuas, where there will be space for hundreds of fans to watch matches both indoors and out. www.11freunde.de/wm-quartiere

Bonn

Fiddlers Irish Pub has four big plasma TVs and will be showing the World Cup starting from June 11 in both English and German. It’s one of Bonn’s best sports bar and has good food as well as drink. www.fiddlers-bonn.com/379.0.html .

Cologne

Lanxess-Arena is a good place to watch the World Cup in Cologne if you want to get caught up in the excitement of the event and feel like you’re really there. Thousands of people will come to the Arena to watch the matches live on the 50m2 screen with surround sound. There will also be supporting acts to entertain before and after games and during half time, making this the liveliest place in Cologne to enjoy the World Cup. www.lanxess-arena.de/startseite.html

Biergarten Aachener Weiher is a nice, relaxed place to enjoy the World Cup experience. This is a good place to meet with some friends for a few drinks and watch the matches on the big screen. www.biergarten-aachenerweiher.de/

Deutzer Bahnhof will be showing all the games out on the terraces on a big TV or inside on a big screen. This is a good place to catch the games if you want to have a nice meal as well. The food is good and not too expensive. It’s got a great atmosphere and during the matches will be buzzing with excitement. www.deutzerbahnhof.de/start.html

Live Music Hall will be broadcasting all of Germany’s games and all the finals on a big screen. Entry is free and doors open an hour before each game. www.livemusichall.de/index.php?content=home

Playa in Cologne will be a fun place to watch as well. You can relax on the beach part, maybe play some beach volley ball, before the game starts and then watch the match on one of the two big screens on offer. The Playa has a biergarten and a beach bar so there’s no lack of anywhere to find a drink! www.playa.de/index.php

There are some other places showing the football in Cologne listed here: www.koeln.de/koeln/sport/wm_2010/kickengucken_309799.html

Dresden

Football fans looking for an elegant place to watch a match should perhaps check out the Fan Park on the banks of the Elbe River. It's free and where else can you enjoy a tasty Saxon pils with a world-class backdrop like Dresden's skyline? http://www.public-viewing-dresden.de/index.php

Essen

“11 Freunde – Die WM-Arena” All of Germany’s games will be shown on a huge screen in Essen’s Messehalle 6. Tickets are €5 per seat to sit and watch the games in what is meant to be an enormous sitting room with a cosy but excited atmosphere and over 5,000 football fans. www.wm-arena-essen.de

Hamburg

Heiligengeistfeld will probably be the largest public viewing place in Hamburg with a 70m2 screen with 30,000 fans watching. It’ll feel like a huge a festival with everyone cheering their team on the big screen, plus there’ll be supporting acts. It should be a great way to get the World Cup experience. St. Pauli, Hamburg.

You can also watch the world cup on the beach at “Strand Pauli” with other excited football fans around while huge ships sail off in the background.

Lago Bay is a popular beach bar where you can relax next to the pool and under the palm trees and experience the world cup in a slightly different atmosphere.

Frankfurt am Main

“KIA City Arena Frankfurt am Main” at the Roßmarkt will be broadcasting each and every match live right in the heart of the city. Significant matches and matches which clash will be broadcast nearby at the Arena Rathenauplatz. It’s free to get in but make sure you get there early for important matches as the arena may get closed off to avoid overcrowding. They also have a security check when you enter so make sure not to bring anything dangerous or any glass bottles. This should be a fun way to experience the excitement of the competition. www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/cms/tourismussuite/en/events_trade_fairs_messe_frankfurt/FIFA_WM_2010.html

O'Reilly's Irish Pub will be showing all the matches of the world cup. It’s possibly the biggest Irish pub in Germany with 3 bars, a smoking lounge, good food, function room, games room with 3 pool tables and 8 hd tv screens and, although a bit on the expensive side, has a great atmosphere and is a fun place to watch the games.

http://oreillys.nl/frankfurt/

Leipzig

How could you not want to watch a match at a place named Cafe Cantona? But then again you should be giving your patronage to this place with nice people and good food even when there isn't a football tournament on. www.cafecantona.com/

Munich

The P1 club is a well-known club and throughout the four weeks of the World Cup it will be showing all the matches in the 360° Sky WM Arena. The club being a club means after the matches you can enjoy all the benefits of being in a nightclub. It does of course cost to get in and it’s probably best to buy tickets beforehand online. www.sky-wm-arena.de/ and www.p1-club.de/club/

The Park Café in Munich will be showing all the matches from South Africa on Big screens out in the beergarden or inside in the VIP lounge and throwing football parties. Park Café has great food as well as a fantastic bar and a classic Bavarian fare. www.parkcafe089.de/index.php?s=&la=en

The Löwenbräukeller in Munich will be showing all the World Cup matches. It has a friendly, bright and traditional Bavarian restaurant and a traditional beergarden where up to 1,000 people can sit and enjoy the Bavarian way of life. Löwenbräukeller has a convivial atmosphere. www.loewenbraeukeller.com/shop/?lang=en

There will be a public viewing of all of Germany’s matches, the semi-finals and the final set up in the Olympiastadion in Munich, with a capacity of about 30,000. You’ll also find The Fan Mile there. It’s not just football, there’s also Music and a real party atmosphere.

Stuttgart

Stuttgart actually has the highest number of outdoor places to watch the World Cup in the whole of Germany, despite the fact that it has no big screen set up in the town.

A good spot to watch though is the Stuttgarter Schlossgarten Biergarten. The drinks are well priced and there’s plenty of choice. If you want to relax in a traditional beergarden while enjoying all the excitement of the World Cup then this is a great option. http://biergarten-schlossgarten.de/index.htm

Have a good tip where to watch a match in Germany? Add it to the comments below.