I'd give at least an hour to get to the stadium from the city centre, and would advise you avoid the 'fan fest' altogether. There's a better atmosphere in bars in the centre of town.

Can recommend a good bar just beside the HauptBahnhof, called Hibernia. They serve Gruben Pils there and the stuff is like amber nectar. The big screen is quite good too.

We had three Gelsenkirchen games, and stayed in Cologne or Dusseldorf for each of them. Would recommend either place ahead of Gelsenkirchen. (Dusseldorf is a little closer to Gelsenkirchen, but isn't a host city.)

Hibernia Brauhaus: Bahnhofsvorplatz 2, Gelsenkircen;
tel: 02 09 20 8531;
www.brauhaus-hibernia.de

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Munster has the Kuhviertel, with loads of different bars and clubs, also for the religiously inclined there are more churches than you can count.

Munster is 50 miles from Gelsenkirchen and there are regular trains services between the both places

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We all know that you British love to have a good time after the match regardless of whether you win or lose. And we all agree Gelsenkirchen is not the place you want to stay.

Nearest city for having a good time would be Bochum with its 'Bermuda Dreieck' next to the main station. Best city would be Dusseldorf with its famous 'Altstadt' and lots of international people, and lots of Irish Pubs if you don't want to party with us. Cologne will also be a very good place to party but Dusseldorf has got far better local beer. Actually I think Dusseldorf or Cologne will be best because of the airports. I guess it is very likely most of you will depart from either Cologne/Bonn or Dusseldorf airport.

Just my 2 Cents

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I was in Gelsenkirchen for the US-Czech match and can confirm, there is not a whole lot to do in town. Nevertheless, the advantage of Gelsenkirchen being a small town is that that atmosphere before the match is fantastic.

If the match I saw there is anything to go by, you have to make sure you get the tram/bus up from the centre of town to the stadium early, because there were simply not enough trams.

If you are looking for a good night out, stay in Cologne and just travel up to Gelsenkirchen on match day.

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I recommend FC Shalke's former stadium in Gelsenkirchen, the Glückauf-Kampfbahn, where I saw the Germany/Sweden match on a giant screen with 20,000 flag-waving locals. Facilities and atmosphere impressive; it is open 11am-1am every day. The city is also opening an English Fan Zone with 80,000 capacity at the "trotting race course".

I suggest staying in Essen - it is very near Gelsenkirchen (around 10 minutes) by tram/bus/train, and an hour's train journey from Cologne.

For more information see fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/d/c/gelsenkirchen.html

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Go to Bochum after the match and head for the Bermuda Triangle, with over 20 different bars. Gelsenkirchen is pretty run down except for the stadium and (at least to my knowledge) doesn't offer much except for ze football.

Regular train services run from Gelsenkirchen to Bochum and take 25 minutes

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I hope the person sitting in seat 2, row 7, block 26 in the Arena enjoys the game, that's my season ticket seat!

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There is one fantastic thing to see in Gelsenkirchen: the inside of the music theatre, painted by the French artist Yves Klein in the late 1950s. His "monochromes bleus" cover the walls, intense blue plaster and sponge reliefs. It was an amazing coup for Gelsenkirchen, and a brave one at that. Coincidentally, the local club Schalke 04, who play in "koenigsblau" blue last won the league around the time that Klein was at work in Gelsenkirchen.

In the post-war years, such quantities of paint were hard to come by and much material was "lifted" from building sites in the area. The builders told Klein he should drink milk to avoid poisoning himself with paint fumes but he would always say, "I am a Frenchman, I only drink red wine", which undoubtedly contributed to his deteriorating health. Possibly anticipating Warhol's sense of art and commerce, he actually patented the blue colour he used, IKB - International Klein Blue.

Kennedyplatz, Gelsenkirchen;
tel: 209 4097 243;
www.musiktheater-im-revier.de

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I was in Gelsenkirchen for the Argentina - Serbia & Montenegro game and used the tram to get from the city centre to the stadium. It's the best way to get to the ground, much quicker than going by car, and it's too far to walk. However, you need to leave the city centre well before kick-off time. We left for the stadium about 90 minutes before kick-off and it was wedged at that stage. If we had left it much later, we may have had difficulty getting on. At the Argentina game, the atmosphere at the stadium was as good as that in town. Coming back after the game, we literally had to fight like Tokyo commuters in rush hour to get onto the small tram. And pray that Saturday's not a hot day, because you'll probably have your face stuck in somebody's armpit for good measure.

Follow the signs from the train station. Or ask - everybody is incredibly friendly

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Everybody has been to Kathmandu, Bali and Prague these days so perhaps visiting Gelsenkirchen will give you some kind of status in travellers' circles. It is not exactly the cultural capital of the world, but Essen, which is about two miles away, will be in 2010. The Folkwang museum there has an excellent collection of expressionist paintings, and the Villa Hügel, ex-residence of the Krupp family, regularly has world-class exhibitions. Also next door in Bochum, is an interesting mining museum, well worth a visit.

Folkwang Museum: Goethestrasse 41, Essen;
www.museum-folkwang.de/

Villa Hugel: Essen;
Tel: 0201 61 6290;
www.villahuegel.de/english

Deutsches Bergbaumuseum: Am Bergbaumuseum 28, Bochum;
tel: 0180 5877 234;
www.bergbaumuseum.de

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Don't be disappointed if your beer comes in a small glass; this is not Bavaria. It just means you can drink more of them doesn't it? You will also have to be patient as it takes a few minutes to pull a perfect Pils, experts say 20 minutes, so order your next one well in advance! For every beer you drink , the barman will put a pencil mark on your beer mat and you pay before you go.

Try the many different sorts of Pils. Any bar will serve you a decent beer.

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This is a grilled sausage, cut into small pieces and smothered in spicy ketchup. Sounds horrible but it is actually delicious. Eating a Bratwurst before the game is a serious tradition here. If you don't fancy the curry version, eat a plain grilled wurst tucked into a bread roll and garnished with German mustard. Costs about 1.80 euros

There are numerous 'Imbiss Buden'' in Gelsenkirchen. The best place to get your pre-match snack is on the way to the Veltins Arena at an open-air stand. Wash it down with a half litre of Pils to get yourself into the right mood.

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This is a suburb of Gelsenkirchen (which is hosting several World Cup games) and it is much prettier, with a pleasant shopping street and lots of cafes and restaurants like Kronski, Zutz and La Scala, all within walking distance of each other. There are quite a few pubs with beer gardens too. As Gelsenkircheners are enthusiastic football fans, they will most probably give visiting fans a friendly welcome. They're a bit like Northerners - direct and straightforward. Take a guided tour of the Arena as well if you get the chance, it's fascinating to go behind the scenes of this huge stadium.

You can take a bus or tram from Gelsenkirchen to Buer, it only takes about ten minutes or you could even walk there from the Veltins Arena;
www.aufschalke2006.de/ge_stadtportrait_en.php

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