Karlsruhe & Accomodation

As a student in Karlsruhe, you should budget living costs for housing, food, transportation, etc. of an average of 750 € We can assist you during your search for the right accommodation.

Are you a Karls student looking for an accomodation or would you like to advertise your apartment? Take a look at our accomodation channel in Microsoft Teams! If you don't have access to MS Teams yet, you can inquire whether new apartments are currently advertised via email at info@karlshochschule.de (if you are from Germany) or at international@karlshochschule.de (if you are from abroad).

Factsheet on accommodations in Karlsruhe

 

As a newcomer, you will find all important information about the city of Karlsruhe in the following factsheet and on the website. Feel free to exchange information with your fellow students!

Factsheet on the city of Karlsruhe

Student Life

There is one question I never need to ask a student in Karlsruhe: How do I fill my time? In Karlsruhe, there is always something going on.

Do I want to spend the evening out and about with my friends and fellow students? No problem: A host of cafés and bars, clubs and open-air parties, or wine festivals and beer gardens are all waiting to help us socialize into the small hours.

And if I'm looking for some culture? I can visit one of the numerous galleries or spend a day in ZKM, the city's art and media centre. Of course, I might want to get more active and join one of the many cultural initiatives at the university, such as the theatre group, the KarlsBeratung university association, or the choir.

What if I want to spend time hitting some greener spots? The city is full of parks and tranquil retreats. And it is situated in one of the most beautiful countryside areas of the Baden region – and one of the sunniest regions in Germany.

What about getting some exercise or being sporty? Thanks to our cooperation with the University of Karlsruhe, I can take part in all its sporting activities and courses. Or I can just get on my bike and set off by myself. If I still have time to spare after all that, I can help to make sure the 'pulse' of the city never stops beating. For example, I can join the editorial team at the university newspaper or the student event agency erlebnisrausch, which plans and carries out all sorts of events.

Transportation

Local transport

Karlsruhe offers a well developed system of public transportation (bus, tram, city and regional railway). You can reach all districts in the city easily and quickly by public transport. Karlshochschule is situated in the city center and has good access to public transport facilities.

The closest tram station (Karlstor) is situated in front of the university. International students can use local and regional public transport within the Karlsruhe region by using their student ticket. If you register with the Registration Office (Einwohnermeldeamt), you will get one student semester ticket for free. At www.kvv.de and www.efa-bw.de you will find information about timetables for public transportation.

Regional transport

The German railway company Deutsche Bahn offers a good train network system for national and international destinations. If you want to visit our region for a small amount of money, you can purchase the Baden-Württemberg-Ticket, which allows up to five people to travel in regional trains through the whole federal state of Baden-Württemberg for one day.

For long distance travels, the high-speed trains ICE and IC are recommended. If you would like to travel by train to or within Germany, please check the train schedule and prices at www.bahn.de. The regional and international main train station (Hauptbahnhof) in Karlsruhe is located close to the center of Karlsruhe, about 30 minutes by foot or 6 minutes by tram from Karlshochschule. At this station, you can also find several long distance busses. In order to find out, which option suits best to your needs, you can use websites like omio.com and compare prices.

Additionally, a lot of young people in Germany use the Internet platforms blablacar.de, bessermitfahren.de or drive2day.com in order to look for a cheap possibility to travel within Germany and Europe. Mitfahrgelegenheit means "carpooling", i. e. an arranged shared use of a car by the driver and one or more passengers. Via the platform you can look for travel opportunities from one place to another on your requested day. A little announcement shows you the contact details of the driver in order to discuss the meeting point, the time and the price. If you are travelling by car yourself, you can also offer to give other people a ride.

Airports

There are three international airports close to Karlsruhe: Baden Airport, Stuttgart Airport and Frankfurt Airport. The closest one is Baden Airport in Baden-Baden, which is about 40 km away from Karlsruhe. Stuttgart Airport is about 80 km away from Karlsruhe and takes about 90 minutes to reach by train. And the largest one, Frankfurt Airport, at 144 km's distance from Karlsruhe, can be reached in just one hour by fast train (ICE), with hourly connections to Karlsruhe during day time. Frankfurt International Airport is the biggest one in Germany and serves most international destinations.

Culture and leisure activities

Situated in the Rhine river plain between the Black Forest, Alsace and Palatinate Karlsruhe is a lively cultural and academic center with some 300,000 inhabitants. It is located at the center of a dynamic, growing industrial and technology region with the highest concentration of researchers in Europe.

The city is renowned for its joie de vivre – people here know how to enjoy life. The city features a varied cultural scene with concerts, museums, galleries and several theaters. Approximately 40,000 students at the city's world class university (KIT), the universities of applied sciences and the music and design colleges make it an exceptionally lively city for young people. More than 1,800 hours of sun per year, a relaxed, southern ambience, extensive parks right in the center of the city, cafés, cinemas and a lively pedestrian shopping area offer a broad range of leisure activities.

Over 800 hectares of public parks and green spaces – such as the Palace Gardens with the botanical garden and the zoo in the City Garden – invite people to stroll and relax. You will find information on bike paths and tours in Karlsruhe at www.rad-karlsruhe.de.

The Badische Staatstheater (state theater), several private theaters, the Akademie der Bildenden Künste (Academy of Fine Arts), the Musikhochschule (Conservatory of Music), the Badischer Kunstverein (Art Museum), the Stadtmuseum (City Museum) in the Prinz-Max-Palais, the Ständehaus with the public library and many other institutions offer a wide range of cultural possibilities. The Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe is one of the largest picture galleries in southern Germany, with works representing all periods of German painting. The Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), a center for art and media technology, opened in 1997 as a production site for media art.

If you are interested in movies you can find cinemas like Filmpalast am ZKM and the Universum-City, where blockbusters are shown, as well as arthouse cinemas like the movie theater Schauburg or Kinemathek, where current independent productions and classic, experimental movies with subtitles are presented. Please be aware of the fact that movies are dubbed in Germany! Some movie theaters, e.g. Schauburg, play the original ones occasionally. Movies in the original with subtitles are marked with OmU or OV.

There are all different kinds of events in Karlsruhe. One annual highlight in the music scene is Das Fest – an open air event with over 100,000 spectators – that takes place in July. The Europäische Kulturtage (European Culture Days), the Händel-Festspiele (Händel Music Festival) and many other festivals complete the list of ongoing cultural activities in Karlsruhe. Since October 2003, the Neue Karlsruher Messe (exhibition center) provides space for a variety of sports and cultural events. In the Europahalle and the dm-Arena, many rock concerts featuring famous groups take place.

The cultural and sports program is enriched by events in the nearby cities e. g. Baden-Baden, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Stuttgart and Strasbourg.

Food and snack bars around Karlshochschule

In the close surroundings of Karlshochschule there are many lunch cafeterias and restaurants where I can eat for € 5 to € 7 per meal, such as Lehner's (Karlstraße 21) or Aposto (Waldstraße 57). Furthermore, I can find a couple of student snack bars like Stövchen (Waldstraße 54) or Café Bleu (Kaiserallee 11). Right next to Karlshochschule is the small, cosy Italian snack bar and café called Da Serio (Karlstraße 42-44). Additionally, the Europaplatz is surrounded by fast food restaurants like McDonald's or Nordsee, bakeries etc. If I am looking for a nice place to eat and drink in the evenings I can go to a German brewery, e.g. Brauhaus Kühler Krug (Wilhelm-Baur-Straße 3a) or Vogelbräu (Kapellenstraße 50), which offer their own beer and regional food.

Moreover, the city offers a variety of supermarkets and grocery stores. Asian, Indian or Arabic food, which is not offered in all supermarkets, can be found in smaller stores or "Asia Shops". Organic food is sold in supermarkets and health food stores (Reformhaus). If I want to buy fresh fruit, vegetables or cheese, I can visit one of the many farmer's markets where local producers offer fresh products. At Europaplatz the farmer's market takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays morning. Worth a visit is the farmer's market at Gutenbergplatz that takes place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays (tram exit Yorckstraße).

 

International Grocery ShoppingPubs, Restaurants, Cafés and Markets

Baden-Württemberg - a leading technology region

As one of the 16 federal states of Germany, Baden-Württemberg is situated in the border triangle of Germany, France and Switzerland. Its special location in combination with a tradition of self-reliance and ingeniousness has fostered an open and innovative climate.

Baden-Württemberg is one of the most dynamic and successful states in Germany and a leading technology region in Europe. It is home to 78 universities and approximately 130 research institutes as well as numerous small and medium-sized enterprises, many of whom have achieved leading positions in niche markets worldwide. Its economy is renowned for mechanical engineering, car manufacturing and software engineering, with the headquarters of organizations such as Daimler, SAP and Heidelberger Druckmaschinen.

Research concentrates on the development of new technologies in the areas of information, environmental and bio sciences. The region has a long-established tradition in R&D and innovation that dates back to famous inventors such as Gottlieb Daimler and Robert Bosch. However, perhaps one of the greatest strengths of Baden-Württemberg has been the ability to maintain this climate of innovation over centuries. Indeed, today the state boasts a closely knitted network of research institutes and the highest number of patent registrations in the country.

It is also one of Germany's most attractive tourist locations, with its mild climate in the Rhine and Neckar valleys, where first-grade wines are produced, picturesque villages and homesteads, and charming mountain regions ideal for hiking and winter sports. Rich in thermal springs, the state contains numerous spas, the best-known of which is Baden-Baden. Its history dates back to the Romans, who built extensive baths around the hot springs, accompanied by the first settlements, laying the foundations for the modern spa town, which today is also popular for its casino, international horse races and festival theater. Lake Constance offers a range of water sports possibilities as well as lovely old towns, the Mainau garden island, the historical abbey at the island of Reichenau as well as a unique open-air museum in which lake dwellings from different periods of the Iron Age have been reconstructed.

People are outgoing and hospitable and love to celebrate outdoors. In summer, Baden-Württemberg's rich cultural offering includes many open-air events such as concerts and plays in historical settings, open-air cinemas, street festivals or Germany's biggest open-air stage in Ötigheim, close to Rastatt.

Baden-Württemberg is famous for its culinary art and wines. Traditional dishes from the region include a large variety of pasta, asparagus, Black Forest cake, onion cake, roast venison, snail soup and meat salads, to name but a few. Baden-Württemberg's cuisine has also achieved international renown, with a restaurant in Baiersbronn in the Black Forest having been awarded three stars by Guide Michelin.