Investment Property in Germany

Travel and transport

Travel by air

Most visitors travel to Germany by air, and the country is well-served in this respect. It has over 500 airports in total, with most European and many international airlines flying to and from the country. Overseas property owners and tourists alike are therefore able to easily access most areas of the country from all over the globe.

Main airports

Frankfurt-am-Main (Europe’s second-busiest airport after Heathrow), Dusseldorf and Munich are the primary points of arrival and departure, although every major city has at least one local airport. Regular services on budget airlines are traditionally a boost to an area’s property market, and such services run between the UK and Berlin, Bremen, Cologne, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, Freidrichshafen, Hamburg, Karlsruhe-Baden, Leipzig and Munich, with other destinations expected.

Notes for air travellers

Travel to and within Germany by air involves the payment of an airport departure tax (normally included in the cost of the ticket, but averaging around £10) but no other charges are invoked and in general this is an affordable and hassle-free mode of transport.

Excellent road network

Those already on the European mainland or using the Channel Tunnel rail link will find travelling to and around Germany by land is exceptionally straightforward. Germany’s road infrastructure is probably the best in Europe (though beware of the infamous lack of speed limit on most of the Autobahnen). Drivers entering Germany must possess third-party insurance valid for the country. Fuel is cheaper than in the UK and petrol stations are common.

Sea and rail links

One can also enter Germany via ferries to and from the UK, Scandinavia, the Baltic States and across Lake Constance on the Swiss-German border. Rail links with the rest of Europe and beyond are excellent; the German rail network is a model of efficiency and there are numerous services leaving for major European destinations every day from many German cities.
Citizens of EU member-states do not require visas to enter Germany; other nationalities should consult their local German embassy. Germany is in the western European time zone (A), one hour ahead of GMT.