To ensure that you receive your visa in due time before the trade fair/exhibition starts, we recommend you apply for your visa as early as possible. Applications can be made up to three months before you enter the country.

General information about visa regulations is available on the website of the Federal Foreign Office. The specific visa regulations for entry to Germany and details of the documents you need to provide when applying for a visa can be found on the websites of the German missions abroad.

Visa applications must generally be submitted in person to the German embassy or consulate responsible for your place of residence, together with all necessary documents.

When applying for a visa, exhibitors are requested to submit an exhibitor admission document from the trade fair company; in this case, the visa can be issued free of charge.

As a rule, you will need the following documents for your visa application:

• Confirmed travel booking (flight, bus, train and hotel bookings)
• Proof of health insurance
• For exhibitors: additionally exhibitor pass, stand invoice
• For visitors: additionally entrance ticket

In a directive transmitted per e-mail in July 2013, the Federal Foreign Office informed the visa offices of German embassies and consulates worldwide that, as a matter of principle, an official invitation letter from the trade fair organizer is no longer required when applying for visas for trade fair visits in Germany. Please refer to this information when applying for your visa.

In case the visa section responsible for issuing your visa should nonetheless request that an official invitation letter be presented, please send us your personal data in good time by e-mail using the Invitation form.

You can request letters of invitation at the earliest three months before the event begins.

Please also note the following instructions when applying for a letter of invitation:

• Your personal data is taken directly from the online form. No changes or corrections can be made by us.
• If your invitation letter contains incorrect data, you will have to fill in the online form again.
• The invitation letter will be sent to you by e-mail as a pdf document. Sending by fax is not possible.
• The processing time is up to 10 days and cannot be accelerated.
• Please check your spam folder before contacting us about undelivered invitations.

We ask for your understanding that we do not process individual requests for invitations.

Tickets for the FareZone 100 apply for travel to the Messe/Leichtsandstraße tram and bus stop when a trade fair is on.

By tram

Messe/Leichtsandstraße or Messe Nord tram stops

From the city centre:

• Underground Line S2 (destination Rheinstetten).

From Karlsruhe central station:

• From the main train station, you can take various trains to the city center to change at the Europaplatz subway station:
  • Line S1/S11 in the direction of Neureut or Hochstetten
  • Line 2 direction Knielingen Nord
  • Line 3 direction Daxlanden or Rappenwörth

• At Europaplatz, change to Underground Line S2, direction Rheinstetten (stop Messe/Leichtsandstraße).

You can also take the Messe-Express service for certain events.

From Durlacher Tor:

• Line S2 (destination Rheinstetten).

More information including fares and departure times can be found on the KVV website.

By bus

Messe Nord or Messe/Leichtsandstraße bus stop

From Ettlingen:

• Bus Line 106 (destination Neuburgweier Breslauer Str.)

All of the timetables of the KVV bus network are available here.

Karlsruhe is a hub for ICE, InterCity, EuroCity and InterRegio trains, and is located directly on the Hamburg-Frankfurt-Basel intercity line. The east-west line Karlsruhe-Stuttgart-Munich begins here too. And the high-speed TGV train takes you from Paris to Karlsruhe in just three hours.

The best way to get there.

Pay as little as EUR 51.90 (one-way) with the Event Ticket.

Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress GmbH has partnered up with Deutsche Bahn to create an exclusive deal that allows you to travel conveniently to and from your Fairs and Congresses.

Take advantage and make the journey time yours. Use your outward and return journeys to work, read or relax. Whatever you decide to do, your long-distance travel with the Event Ticket will be powered by 100% renewable energy.

That special extra for you. Your Event Ticket at a single nationwide price, available at every DB station.

• Event Ticket for a single journey, for use only on one specific connection (subject to availability):
  • 2nd Class EUR 51.90
  • 1st Class EUR 84.90
• Event Ticket for single journey, for use on all connections (always available):
  • 2nd Class EUR 72.90
  • 1st Class EUR 106.90

This offer is valid until 2023-Dez-09.

Click here for the full range of information about DB's Event Ticket.

Click here to buy your ticket *

You can make the most of your travel time by using your journeys to and from your destination for work, relaxation or enjoying our on-board services. You can also rest assured that your long-distance travel is completely powered by electricity generated by renewable resources.

Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress GmbH and Deutsche Bahn wish you a pleasant journey!

The event ticket provided by Deutscher Bahn does not include the ticket for access to the trade fair or congress event of Karlsruher Messe- und Kongress GmbH.

Free shuttle services

• The City-Shuttle of the Hirsch Reisen Company provides roundtrip service between the fairgrounds and the city centre (Karlstrasse / Ludwigsplatz) .
• The Hauptbahnhof-Shuttle provides roundtrip service directly from Karlsruhe’s main railway station to the fairgrounds.

Messe-Express-shuttle schedule

Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre has excellent connections to at least 4 airports:

Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (approx. 30 minutes by road) and other major international airports such as Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Strasbourg (50–60 minutes by road).

Wheelchairs reservations

Free service for your visit to the fair: Please contact the colleagues from the DRK on site on the relevant day of the fair by calling 0721-3720 5230.

A wheelchair will then be brought to you for the duration of your visit to the fair. Please choose the main entrance of the fair.

Carparks

Carparks are available for you in the first row of the P1 carpark.

Trade-fair shuttle bus service

A complementary barrier-free shuttle bus service operates between the central railway station and the Trade fair for the duration of the event. More information about getting to the trade fair grounds by public transport can be found here.

Public transport

Information on the KVV’s reduced-mobility itinerary planning is available here, or please call 0721/6107-5886 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Deutsche Bahn

Please use the following service for more information about Deutsche Bahn’s rail links and train attendants:

• Telephone number: 030 65212888
• Fax number: 030 65212899
• Email: msz@deutschebahn.com

There is also a “toilet for everyone” at the trade fair. This toilet is specially conceived for use by people with multiple handicaps. It is additionally equipped with a lifter and an emergency-call mechanism. This toilet is open during the regular opening hours of the current event on the trade fair’s campus.

Wheelchairs:

• Free service for your visit to the fair. Please contact the colleagues of the DRK on site on the relevant day of your visit by calling 0721 3720 5230.
• A wheelchair (without electric drive) will be brought to you for the duration of your visit to the fair (subject to availability).

Free WLAN access

As a registered user, wireless Internet access is available for you free of charge throughout the entire campus during the trade fair.

Free WLAN on the trade fair’s campus

You will need a WLAN-capable device of your own with a Web browser function.

Please note the following details:

• To use the free WLAN, you need a WLAN-capable device with the globally common WLAN Standard IEEE 802.11 n/ac..
• When there are large numbers of simultaneous users, reception is not guaranteed at every location on the campus.
• The bandwidth per device is maximally 2 Mbit/sec. However, depending on the momentary traffic in the hall, the bandwidth may be less than this maximum.
• One user /device can go online with a mobile device for maximally 30 minutes.

Premium Wi-FI

If you need higher bandwidth, we recommend that you order our premium Wi-Fi for the highest online demands (without bandwidth restriction). A fee will be charged for this service. You may purchase it either online or in the Business Centre at Entrance West.

How do I connect to the WLAN?

Karlsruhe Trade Fair makes available for its visitors an EC automat directly on the fair’s campus. The automat is located in the Events Hall at the main entrance.

This automat dispenses cash without a fee for customers with accounts at Volksbank. This is also true for customers of savings banks in the city of Karlsruhe-Ettlingen, but not for customers of savings banks outside this district or customers of other banks.

On the exhibition grounds, there is a charge of 2 euros for the use of the checkroom service for items of clothing, and 3 euros for items of luggage.

You will find digital lockers in the entrance area (main entrance) on the left side.

12 of 24 LiveLockers are equipped with the possibility to charge batteries of mobile devices. To do this, after opening the LiveLocker, you will find

• a 220V/16A socket to connect your own power supply units, e.g. for charging laptops or bicycle batteries, and
• a USB type A and a USB type C socket with a combined output of 18W.

You can reserve these in advance for your stay at live-locker.com.

There is a charge of 5 euros per day for their use.

Visitors to Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre can use the charging stations for electric vehicles in car park P1 for free. A type 2 plug is required. Please note: Vehicular entrance to P1 is subject to a fee. Reservations are not possible.

The Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre has a mobile charging station which is available for free use in the Business Center for our customers.

The charging station is lockable, suitable for all common smartphones and offers for up to six devices a charging option. Each loading chamber is equipped as follows:

• 1 x Micro USB B and USB C charging cable
• 1 x certified iPhone charging cable
• 1 x lock with key

Take home your souvenir of art KARLSRUHE!

From a practical notepad to the popular Lorry Bag and from a stylish t-shirt to an environmentally responsible glass bottle: the art SHOP is open during the art fair, offering numerous articles to remind you of your visit to art KARLSRUHE or to give to friends of the fair as delightful gifts.

Have we piqued your curiosity!

Lost and dropped off items are collected by our control room.

Phone: +49 721 3720 5222

If you do not find what you are looking for, please contact the Lost and found office of the city of Rheinstetten, Phone: + 49 7242 9514 350.

or to the

Lost and Found Office of the City of Karlsruhe, Phone: + 49 721 133 3310.

Karlsruhe Trade Fair Centre does not permit any animals on its campus. Exceptions are guide dogs for people with disabilities, guide dogs and service dogs with the corresponding certificates.