Tournament
Road to Berlin - Group C
By
Jan 3, 2005, 19:07

C1 - Argentina
Group matches	Last 16	Quarter-final	Semi-final	Final
Hamburg	Leipzig	Berlin	Dortmund
Gelsenkirchen	Route as winners above, as runners-up below			Berlin
Frankfurt	Nuremberg	Gelsenkirchen	Munich
Not the worse group in geographical terms - nothing way down south or far out east, i.e. no games in Bavaria or Berlin.  Hamburg's on the north coast, Gelsenkirchen 200 miles down the road in the Ruhrgebiet and Frankfurt a further 160 miles away in a western central location in the country.  Believe me, this is a fairly close-knit grouping as World Cup 2006 groups go! But where to stay?  The Ruhr area (around Gelsenkirchen or Dortmund) wouldn't be bad - it's central for the group games and would be well placed for a possible later match in either of the two cities.  Hamburg's a bit out on a limb, so Frankfurt is the other option  - it's major transport hub, so good from that aspect.

Where to stay
Use the grid below to link direct to hotels, motels, hostels and self-catering holiday homes in and near to these venues.

Click 'GO' for availability. Click here for key to city codes..
 

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Expedia

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Formule 1

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Y. Hostels

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Hilton

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C2 - Ivory Coast
Group matches	Last 16	Quarter-final	Semi-final	Final
Hamburg	Leipzig	Berlin	Dortmund
Stuttgart	Route as winners above, as runners-up below			Berlin
Munich	Nuremberg	Gelsenkirchen	Munich
Who thought this one up?!  Hamburg to Munich is nearly 500 miles, and Hamburg to Stuttgart is also over 400!  So get ready for a lot of travelling if this is your group! If you're only watching group games, then being in Stuttgart gives you the least number of miles to cover (but it's still a lot!).  If your team ends up coming second, then you want to be down south (Nuremberg is down there, too), so Munich looks like a good base to pick.  If your team wins the group, heaven help you in terms of travel and where to base yourself!  Nowhere is really close to the later venues, but Hamburg is closer to the likes of Berlin and Dortmund than either Munich or Stuttgart, so it would be the best a bad lot.

Up to accommodation links

C3 - Serbia & Montenegro
Group matches	Last 16	Quarter-final	Semi-final	Final
Leipzig	Leipzig	Berlin	Dortmund
Gelsenkirchen	Route as winners above, as runners-up below			Berlin
Munich	Nuremberg	Gelsenkirchen	Munich
The three group venues are a fair distance apart, but the later games could work out well for you location-wise, depending on where you stay.  Leipzig is in the old East Germany, but further south and nowhere near as far east as Berlin, Gelsenkirchen is in the Ruhrgebiet in the north west and Munich is in deepest Bavaria, in the south east. If you had to choose one base just for the group matches, Munich would probably be most fun.  If you think you'll be staying on after the group stage, then, as you can see above, any of the 3 initial venues could work out well: if your team wins the group and you base yourself in Leipzig, the Dortmund trip for the semi-final (at 290 miles) would be the only really long hike in the knock-out stage; Gelsenkirchen works well for the runner-up team's quarter-final or the group winner's semi in neighbouring Dortmund; and Munich would be handy if your team comes second in the group, because Nuremberg is only 'just up the road'.

Up to accommodation links

C4 - Holland
Group matches	Last 16	Quarter-final	Semi-final	Final
Leipzig	Leipzig	Berlin	Dortmund
Stuttgart	Route as winners above, as runners-up below			Berlin
Frankfurt	Nuremberg	Gelsenkirchen	Munich
This one's easy: stay in Leipzig!  If your're lucky and your team wins the group and goes all the way, you're under two hours from Berlin for the quarter-final and the final and in town for one of the group games and the last 16 match.  Neither Stuttgart or Frankfurt are really much use to you after the group stage, although Frankfurt can always be regarded as a good base, as it has is a hub for all modes of transport.

Up to accommodation links

Third-placed play-off: If you're bothered, it's in Stuttgart! Places you won't be going to! If your team is in group C, you won't be watching them in: Cologne Hanover  Kaiserslautern

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