Directions for Travelers

How to Get to the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research

1. By plane

After leaving the baggage claim area of Frankfurt airport, you follow the signs leading to the railway station in the underground area of the airport.

If you landed at Terminal 2, you first have to take the "sky ride" train for transportation to Terminal 1; from there you get to the train station on the basement level.

Before buying a train ticket, you have to decide if you take a local train (S-Bahn, RegionalExpress, StadtExpress), or a long-distance train (Intercity/Eurocity). The Intercity takes 15 minutes to Mainz, while the S-Bahn takes 27 minutes. The Intercity may only be entered with a supplement ticket ("Zuschlag") which roughly doubles the cost.

At Frankfurt airport there are 2 railway stations. Trains to Mainz Hbf leave, either at the regional (local) station in the basement of Terminal 1, or at the long-distance station at AirRail Terminal. There is a direct access from Terminal 1 (Hall A, B, C) to the AirRail Terminal. From Terminal 2 (Hall D and E) AirRail is reached via Terminal 1 (using Sky Line) or directly by shuttle bus (see map). There is a Deutsche Bahn ("DB") counter at the ground level of Terminal 1 and at the long-distance station, and a travel agency ("Reisebüro") at the arrival level of Hall B.
From the regional station (track 3) local trains (S-Bahn "S8" with final destination Wiesbaden, RE and SE trains indicating Mainz Hbf) take 20-25 minutes to Mainz.
You have to buy a Verkehrsverbund(RMV) ticket (at "RMV" vending machines)("Preisstufe 4") in advance, which is good also for the bus within Mainz. There is a quickbutton for destination Mainz/Wiesbaden. Otherwise you must enter the "Waben"-number for the destination (for Mainz/Wiesbaden=65). There is no possibility to buy tickets inside such trains and not having a valid ticket carries a fine.
From the long-distance station (track 6 and 7) non-stop trains (IC-/EC- and ICE-trains) take you to Mainz in 15 minutes. Tickets can be bought at "DB" vending machines and counters, or in the trains at some additional charge (Bahncard is honored).

Further detailed information on Frankfurt airport is obtained from the Airport WEB Server

2. By train

Mainz is rather centrally located at the junction of two major German railway lines.

The Schedule

According to our experience, US travel agents tend to have problems in accessing European train schedules. As far as the German railway system (plus major connections abroad) is concerned, you can retrieve the information via WWW from www.bahn.de

3. From the Train Station to the Institute

After leaving the station, you can either take a taxi (they are located on the left, if you look from the station in the direction of the city), or a bus, which is much cheaper and not much less convenient. There are a lot of bus stops on the square in front of the station; you must take the bus stop which is right in front of the station (Haltestelle "C" und "G"). On the bus stop you buy either a "Sammelkarte" (which is actually 3 single tickets) from a vending machine (with rebate) or a single ticket (no rebate; also available from the driver). Don't forget to stamp your ticket after entering the bus. You don't need a ticket if you have bought a RMV ticket at the airport. These tickets are valid for the busses in Mainz.

Bus line 68 (Lerchenberg-ZDF) brings you within 10 minutes directly to our instiute. Leave the bus at the stop "Ackermannweg". The institute is across the street.
You can also take bus lines  54, 55 or 58; leave at the stop "Friedrich-von-Pfeiffer-Weg". Then you take the pedestrian bridge crossing the divided highway (the Saarstrasse) entering the campus. There you turn right, i.e. follow the same direction in which your bus has just left. You do so until the street turns left.

Follow this street until the Mensa (campus cafeteria) appears on your right hand side. After you passed the Mensa, you turn right and enter a pedestrian path into a lawn area, going west again. After that "park" you cross the west campus parking lot.

Then you see in front of you a nice white building. This is the Max Planck Institute. Enter at the main entrance (the cylindrical part of the building) and let the receptionist know you have arrived. If you happen to come at non-office hours, you can dial the number of your contact person (there is a directory at the entrance). The walk from the bus stop to the institute should take you less than 15 minutes. A map of the campus is available.

4. By car

If you come from Mainz city, just follow the road signs leading to the University / Autobahn A60. Leave the city on the Saarstrasse going west. After having passed most of the campus on your left, you exit from the Saarstrasse and then turn left. After you have crossed the Saarstrasse through an underpass, you turn left (follow road sign "Universitaet"). You then enter the visitor parking lot at the west end of the campus. The white building right at the parking lot is the Institute.

If you come from another city, it is easiest to get onto the Autobahn A60 which passes Mainz south and west. You exit at Mainz-Finthen/ Saarstrasse, and follow the road sign "Innenstadt". You then drive towards downtown on the Saarstrasse. After crossing the "Europaplatz" (a roundabout) you exit the Saarstrasse (follow road sign "Universitaet"), and go to the visitor parking lot.

A map for accessing Mainz by car is available.

5. Taxi

The fare from the airport to Mainz is approx. 50 EUR (travelling time ca. 30 min).

6. Information on Mainz

University Mainz
Downtown City map
Bus schedule Mainz
Verkehrsverbund RMV

7. Note

If you find errors or misleading descriptions in this guide, or if you have suggestions how to improve it, please let me know (webmaster@mpip-mainz.mpg.de).