A legendary football of the 1954 World Cup is on display in the German Football Museum. — Photos: dpa
Dortmund is one of 10 host cities in Germany for the UEFA Euro 2024. Fans from Italy, Albania, Turkiye, Georgia, Portugal, France and Poland can see their teams playing in Dortmund. A round of 16 match and a semi-final will also be played in the city.
Whether you’re in Dortmund for a match, or will just be in town during the tournament: What is there to experience from a fan’s point of view? Where can you soak up the Euro 2024 atmosphere away from the stadium? And what else is on offer besides football? Here are some tips on what to see and do.
1. Public screenings
A fan zone has been set up on the Friedensplatz square in central Dortmund. There you can also play a bit of football, listen to local rock bands and DJs and watch matches televised on large screens. The area can accommodate around 6,000 people.
Selected matches, including all those played in Dortmund, all matches of the German team, and the final in Berlin, will also be broadcast for the public in the Westfalenpark, the large city park about 2km southwest of the city centre.
There, some 25,000 fans can watch the action on a 144sq m screen.
2. Stadium
The host stadium – where otherwise Bundesliga club BVB Dortmund – is about 2km southwest of the city centre, and, for the Euro championships, will have seating for 62,000 fans. From the city’s central train station you ride the U45 subway train to the stop called “Stadion”, while other subway options include the U42 to the Theodor-Fliedner-Heim station and the U46 to the Westfalenhallen station.
Or, you can use a regional train from the central station to the Signal-Iduna-Park station. Signal Iduna Park is the stadium’s official name, but during the tournament the football association UEFA has designated it as BVB Stadion Dortmund.
There is parking near the stadium, but tickets must be booked before each Euro match. Dortmund also has a number of free car parks near public transit hubs.
3. Pilgrimage sites for fans
The original ball from the 1954 World Cup final, championship trophies, legendary jerseys and around 1,600 other exhibits await fans at the German Football Museum, located right next to the central train station.
Dortmund is, after all, home to one Germany’s most successful football clubs, BVB (“ballgame club Borussia”), founded in 1909 and the reason you’ll see so much yellow during your stay here.
A cultural landmark for football fans: The German Football Museum.
Although the site where the club was founded – the restaurant Zum Wildschütz at Oesterholzstrase 60 north-east of the city centre – no longer exists, a plaque commemorates the location. From there, it is only a few steps to Borsigplatz, where BVB celebrates the titles it has won with its fans – precisely because of the proximity of this square to where the club was founded.
Even if you are not attending a match, it is worth taking a look at Signal Iduna Park – also known by many as the Westfalenstadion. You can book a guided tour of the stadium which takes in the catacombs, the edge of the pitch and the legendary South Stand, known as the “Yellow Wall” – Europe’s largest standing-room-only stands which are packed with almost 25,000 fans during BVB home matches.
4. What to see beyond the pitch
Art and culture can be found in the Dortmunder U – a brick tower block with the iconic giant U at the top, visible from afar and which once belonged to the Union Brewery.
The brewery moved away in the early 1990s, so that today the the building offers space for exhibitions, concerts and film screenings. Beer is of course still available: the Brauturm restaurant advertises home-style cooking as well as Bavarian and Dortmund beer – from a height of 64m.
The Dortmunder U was once a brewery. Today, it is a temple of culture (and, yes, also beer).
When the weather is nice, Westfalenpark attracts visitors with its park railway, cable car and various playgrounds – a tip for families and anyone who finds the hustle and bustle of football too much.
Botanical enthusiasts are sure to enjoy the themed gardens. The park is particularly proud of its Rosarium, a rose garden with its more than 3,000 rose varieties and species.
The Westfalenpark cable car is a great way to get a high panorama over Dortmund.
Dortmund is in the heart of the Ruhr industrial valley, an area synonymous with mining, even though most of the collieries have long since closed down. This also applies to the Zollern colliery, which is now a monument and museum. Here you can gain a glimpse into the harsh conditions of work below ground.
This is particularly clear in the Montanium, where the smells, sounds and darkness give an impression of the miners’ working environment. This part of the museum can only be visited on a guided tour. – dpa
