EURO 2024: tips for football fans
Football Euro 2024 in Germany is closing in and if you’ve already bought tickets for one or more matches, it’s time to start planning your trip to Germany. The European Consumer Centre would like to remind you of the best ways to avoid problems with accommodation and transport. This also applies to holidays outside the championships.
International events are a godsend for fraudsters. It is the perfect opportunity for them to offer fake accommodation options. To lure you in, they would post adverts on the internet outside the normal brokerage platforms, and their offers sound too good to be true, often at prices that outstrip the competition.
To avoid the trap:
– book through reputable online platforms
– Compare prices and cancellation policies in case you end up unable to go
– Check if the photos match another advert and the geographical location.
– Contact the advertiser directly and ask for a written description of the accommodation.
– Do not pay if you are not sure of the identity of the owner.
– Make sure you are on a secure site before paying online
– If you are using a German-language booking site, make sure you have not booked the accommodation by mistake. You may just want to check the price. “Jetzt kaufen” (“buy now”) or similar buttons mean you agree to pay.

Are you driving? Of the ten German cities hosting Euro 2024, nine have set up an eco-zone. These areas, called “Umweltzones”, exclude the most polluting vehicles, as is the case in France’s “ZFE-mobilité”.
To drive in the cities of Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Leipzig, Stuttgart and Munich, your vehicle must have an “Umweltplakette 4”. This green sticker is mandatory for all German and foreign vehicles. A list of the environmental zones and how to order the eco-plaque can be found on the internet, and there is also an interactive map with the cities that require the plaque.
Will you be travelling by train? Then you have several options to choose from. ICE trains are the fastest, but also the most expensive. Regional trains (RB, RE, IRE) are definitely cheaper, but your journey will be longer. Whichever one you choose. To make up for any delays and avoid a stressful platform change, we recommend choosing a connection with at least 45 minutes.
Seat reservations are not compulsory and are not included on German high-speed trains. This additional option costs EUR 4.90.
Your rights, not only in rail transport, in case of delays or cancellations, can be found for example on the website of the European Consumer Centre Czech Republic www.evropskyspotrebitel.cz.

This article was published in the dTest magazine 04/2024.