Venue

ZAL is one of the biggest aviation research hubs in western Europe, a leading technological research and development platform for civil aviation.

Location

Brightcon 2024 will take place in the premises of the ZAL TechCenter of German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt, DLR) in Hamburg, Germany.

How to reach Hamburg

• 🚅 by Train. First: don't get confused! Hamburg has three train stations in the inner city - Main Station, Dammtor and Altona - going from east to west. They are all very well connected to certain city-parts and most of the long distance trains (ICE and IC) pass through all of them. Although Main Station being the one where you can catch basically all major lines of the public transport system.
• ✈ By Plane. Hamburg Airport (HAM) is directly connected to the city with the S-Bahn S1. The line spans from the Airport in the east to the western part of Hamburg and passes Main Station as well as Altona.
• 🚗 By Car. There are two highways surrounding Hamburg: the A7 builds the south-north connection ➡️ Flensburg/Kiel and Denmark, whereas the A1 connects to the east - ➡️Berlin. In principal Hamburg is quite free of parking fees, only in the inner city center you'll have to pay for parking spots. Most hotels have parking lots though.

How to reach ZAL Tech Center

ZAL Tech Center is a little well connected to Hamburg through ferry and the big tunnel under the Elbe. Once landed in Finkenwerder, it's a 10 minute walk to the Center itself (alongside the canal, it's cute).

• ⛴️ By ferry: We suggest Ferry 62, starting at S1, S3, U3 - Landungsbrücken, departing in a 15-minute frequent. It's a 30-minute ride on the Elbe, with stops at Fischmarkt, Dockland and Övelgönne (better option for those coming from the Altona station).
• 🚌 By bus: Bus 150 is starting in Altona going through the Elbtunnel. Caution: depending on the time, this option is not suggested due to frequent traffic jams. Public transport timetables are available from www.hvv.de/en