Tickets, hotels, travel: this is how you get to the European Football Championship in Germany

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A major sporting event is just around the corner: the 2024 European Football Championship will take place in Germany from 14 June. For 51 matches, 2.7 million visitors are expected in the stadiums and 7 million in fan areas and public viewing areas.

Switzerland is in the middle of it all: they play against Hungary in Cologne on 15 June, against Scotland in Cologne on 19 June and against Germany in Frankfurt on 23 June.

Blick explains how fans can now purchase tickets or hotels.

UEFA’s fan ticket draw has ended. The association will launch a resale platform in March. It is operated by UEFA and EM tickets can only be resold through them. Therefore, prices are subject to certain control.

Tickets can still be found on online platforms such as Viagogo or Ticombo, but prices are usually around a few hundred francs. UEFA assures us that the cheapest tickets will start from 30 euros. There are also fake offers circulating on external platforms.

In Switzerland, Zurich sports tour operator Travelclub is the official travel agency of the Swiss Football Association. Packages with flight or bus travel and hotel accommodation are offered starting from 890 francs for the Hungary match, and from 1,590 francs for the other games. The full program of three Swiss matches starts at 3,890 francs.

According to general manager Victor Tinari (48), demand for Swiss games is very high: “Two-thirds of our programs are sold out.” On the other hand, travel to other games is not in much demand.

Cyrill Zimmermann (47), head of the travel studio in Bassersdorf ZH, is involved on a smaller scale: by helping Swiss people who buy tickets through the UEFA draw with transport and accommodation. His insight: “Most questions, few reservations.” This is common for sporting events and is also related to high prices. “The market is restricted because UEFA blocks many central hotels,” he adds.

Other sports tour operators are being more cautious. Martin Passeraub, 32, managing director of Bern-based sports travel specialist Destinationsports, says: “We won’t get involved in this; the European Championship business is too complex and risky.”

Of course, you can also organize your EM trip yourself. A look at hotel booking portal Booking.com shows a surprising number of free hotel beds and prices for matchdays in Switzerland; These prices are definitely higher than normal, but not astronomical.

“Although the open market is dynamic, hotel prices have been very high since the draw, especially in Cologne, and the trend is increasing,” says Tinari.

The lack of parking spaces in most stadiums and the risk of traffic congestion disadvantage the vehicle.

Deutsche Bahn (DB) is offering the Interrail Pass Euro 2024 to international guests with at least one match ticket: This special offer has been available since mid-January with a 25 percent discount for return journeys to Germany from 32 countries.

If you don’t trust DB, you can take the bus. Windisch AG’s bus specialist Eurobus offers car trips to the Swiss stadiums in Frankfurt and Cologne, as well as several other matches in Berlin, Dortmund, Munich and Stuttgart. Connections from ten Swiss entry points can be booked from 12 February. “Fan trip” does not include overnight accommodation or match tickets. Cologne round trip costs 129 francs, Frankfurt 119 francs.

Finally, low-cost provider Flixbus has expanded its routes in Germany, from Zurich Airport to the European Championship venues in Berlin, Munich and Leipzig.

By the way, direct flights are expensive. For example, there are no flights under 700 francs to Frankfurt for the match against Switzerland.

The ten European Championship venues offer much more than just football. Stefan Mieczkowski (44), president of the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in Switzerland, refers to the GNTB website, which contains a lot of useful information about tourist attractions in the cities. His message: “Stay longer than 90 minutes.” Mieczkowski hopes Germany’s image as a travel destination will increase, as it did in “Summer’s Tale 2006.”

Source :Blick