Summary
As one of Europe’s best countries for plane spotting, Germany has many opportunities to enjoy aircraft and airliner action.
The country has many busy international and regional airports, including Cologne/Bonn, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt International, Hamburg, Hannover, Leipzig and Munich.
Thankfully, unlike many countries, most German airports have dedicated viewing areas or terraces to enjoy plane spotting.
But what about spotting after dark or early in the morning? There are some great plane spotting hotels in Germany.
Our recently updated book Airport Spotting Hotels (available here) lists the following that you might find useful to book on your next spotting trip to Germany:
Bremen
Atlantic Hotel Bremen Airport
Flughafenallee 26, 28199 Bremen | +49 421 55710 | www.atlantic-hotels.de
Linked to the terminal via a walkway. This hotel is only just taller than the terminal buildings, so a top floor room will have some views of aircraft on the taxiway and distant runway.
Cologne/Bonn
Photo (c) Spencer Bennett
Leonardo Hotel Cologne-Bonn Airport
Waldstrasse 255, Cologne 51147 | +49 22 03 5610 | www.leonardo-hotels.com
Conveniently located for the airport and motorway. Rooms can be expensive at times. The hotel is not ideally suited for viewing, although some upper rooms may offer views of the passenger apron and aircraft on finals to Runway 14R.
[Cologne Bonn Spotting Guide]
Dusseldorf
Photo (c) Dusseldorf Airport
Sheraton Airport Hotel
Terminal-Ring 4, 40474 Düsseldorf | +49 21 14 1730 | www.marriott.com
The most convenient hotel at Düsseldorf Airport, and connected to the terminal via a walkway. Rooms on higher floors with numbers ending in 10 will give views of the domestic ramp and distant taxiway. Photography is not possible.
Frankfurt International
Lufthansa Airbus aircraft (c) Erik Ritterbach
Hilton Garden Inn
Am Flughafen, The Square – East, 60549 Frankfurt | +49 69 45002500 | www.hilton.com
Situated near the terminals, above the railway station, this hotel also has TV screens in the lobbies with aircraft registrations (including the freighters) and some rooms with views of movements. There is an upgrade cost to book one of the quoted ‘airport view’ rooms. Useful to have flight tracking websites or equipment.
Sheraton Frankfurt Airport
Hugo-Eckener-Ring 15, Flughafen/ Terminal 1, 60549 Frankfurt am Main | +49 69 69770 | www.marriott.com
A little closer to Terminal 1 than the Hilton Garden Inn, with slightly superior views from certain rooms on the top floor. You can see parts of the parallel runways and terminal’s gates. Part of the hotel recently split to become a Marriott hotel.
Leipzig Halle
7 Days Premium Hotel Leipzig-Airport
Leipzig/Halle Airport, Terminalring 8, 04435 Schkeuditz | +49 341 2243270 | www.7dayspremiumhotel.com
A modern budget hotel with six storeys located alongside the car park and train station outside Leipzig Halle’s passenger terminal. Rooms facing north have a distant view of the northern runway and one cargo ramp, whilst those facing south have distant views of the southern runway, passenger terminal and DHL cargo areas. Photography not possible, but logging with a good pair of binoculars is fine.
Munich
Photo (c) Erik Ritterbach
Hilton Munich Airport
Terminalstraße Mitte 20, 85356 München-Flughafen | +49 89 97820 | www.hilton.com
A central hotel at Munich Airport located between the two terminals. Not particularly tall, you’ll need an executive room on the top floor for views of movements.
[Munich Airport Viewing Mound Spotting Guide]
Do you know of a good spotting hotel in Germany, or have an update on any of the hotels listed in this article? Leave a comment below.
Airport Spotting Hotels (2nd Edition)
A complete guide to hundreds of hotels at airports all around the world that are useful for plane spotting.
Includes contact details, address, and information on what the views are like.
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