Car hire at Nuremberg Airport - Exploring Northern Bavaria

Nuremberg’s modern and very stylish international airport first opened in the rustic Knoblauchsland market-gardening area of the city in April 1955. In fact, it was the first newly-constructed airport in Germany to open following World War II. Also known as Albrecht Dürer Airport Nürnberg after the locally-born 15th century painter, Nuremberg Airport registers around 5 million passenger movements a year, making it the tenth busiest airport in the country.

Following a long period of sustained development in post-war Germany, the airport finally welcomed its first Boeing 747, an aircraft that's better known the world over as the Jumbo Jet. A brand-new terminal building and metro station were later added and since then Nuremberg Airport has grown into a major air transportation hub in the heart of a strategically important area of Northern Bavaria, just 4.5 miles from the centre of Nuremberg and midway between Munich and Frankfurt, two of Germany’s most important cities.

The airport’s growth continued well into the new millennium, with recent improvements including an additional car park with 2,200 spaces, more shops in the Departures lounge and a new passenger control area. A growing list of airlines fly in and out of Nuremberg Airport today, including Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Swiss, Air France, KLM, Vueling, Eurowings, TUI Fly, Sun Express, Ryanair, Wizz and Corendon Airlines, with many more expected to be added in the future due to the increased interest in Nuremberg as both a modern business and tourist destination

Nuremburg never fails to surprise its many visitors, who are drawn to the city's wealth of attractions, most notably the Imperial Castle (one of the most historically important buildings in central Europe), the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (the largest museum in Germany) and Nuremberg Zoo, which is well over a hundred years old and set in 170 acres of prime Bavarian forest. You can easily immerse yourself in the rich culture and delightful landscapes of Bavaria by picking up your car hire at Nuremberg Airport, conveniently located in striking distance of all the region’s top tourist sights, including many royal castles and palaces and some of Germany’s most popular towns and cities, most notably Munich just 100 miles to the south. The airport is also well placed for visitors planning a road-trip along Germany's famous Romantic Road which extends as far as the Austrian border.

A leading global car hire broker for almost 70 years, Auto Europe offers a seamless, high-quality rental service at over 24,000 locations in more than 180 countries around the world. You can book your car in a few clicks of the mouse through the Auto Europe booking engine; just select your dates then choose from around a dozen different leading rental companies, including Dollar, Europcar, Sixt, National, Hertz, Avis, Budget and Alamo. With Auto Europe, you'll be able to book the right car at the best location, and always at the cheapest price, guaranteed. For more information about driving around southern Germany and other parts of the country, please consult our guide to driving in Germany for advice on travel distances, age restrictions, one-way rentals, etc. For more tips on where to go and what to see while you are there, why not take a look at our Germany travel guide where you'll find our suggested road-trip itineraries, visa info and a few selected phrases in the German language to help you get around.

Airport Information

Nuremberg Airport’s history is quite an interesting one. Not long after World War I, the cities of Nuremberg and Fürth asked the Imperial Treasury if the Atzenhof Military Airfield could be leased for civil aviation purposes. With the request granted, the first of several of the current airport’s predecessors finally commenced operations in August 1920. Marienberg Airport (as it was originally known) was used for wartime flight operations between 1939 and 1943 but was totally destroyed during a series of air raids, subsequently rising from the ashes and reopening in the Knoblauchsland district of Nuremberg on the 6th of April 1955. Business finally took off the following year when Lufthansa included the new airport in its scheduled Frankfurt-Nuremberg-Dusseldorf service and in 1956 Air France started operating there for the first time. Today Nuremberg Airport employs over 4,000 staff and handles about five million passengers a year, with this number destined to greatly increase in the years to come.

Nuremberg Airport (NUE)
Address: Flughafenstraße 100, 90411 Nuremberg, Germany
Telephone: +49 911 9370
Airlines operating at Nuremberg Airport: The growing list of airlines operating at Nuremberg Airport currently includes Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, Swiss, Air France, KLM, Vueling, Eurowings, TUI Fly, Sun Express, Austrian Airlines, British Airways (seasonal), Ryanair, Wizz and Corendon Airlines.

Where to pick up my car hire at Nuremberg Airport

When you rent a car at Nuremberg Airport with Auto Europe, you can choose from the world's most trusted suppliers in the car hire industry, including Budget, Alamo, Enterprise, Avis, Dollar, National, Thrifty, Hertz, Europcar and Sixt. As you would expect from such a modern airport, picking up your vehicle is a speedy affair with most of the providers represented in the main Arrivals Hall, with their reception desks easily visible after you've come through customs.

Car hire operating hours

	Alamo at Nuremberg Airport Flughafenstrasse 100 Nuremberg, Germany 90411 49 40 5540 3285	Opening Hours: 7am-11pm Mon-Fri & 8am-11pm at weekends
	Europcar at Nuremberg Airport Flughafenstrasse 100, Nuremberg, Germany 90411 +49 911 365 2966	Opening Hours: 7am-11pm daily
	Hertz at Nuremberg Airport Terminal Building, Nuremberg, Germany 90269 +49 911 527 719	Opening Hours: 7am-11pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & 10am-11pm Sun
	Thrifty at Nuremberg Airport Terminal Building Nuremberg, Germany 90269 +49 911 353 918	Opening Hours: 7am-11pm Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm Sat & 10am-11pm Sun

Terminals

Connecting the landside and airside areas of the airport, the main passenger terminal consists of one arrivals hall and two departure halls with around 40 check-in desks in total. With three modern air bridges and four finger docks, the building’s innovative design by local architects Grabow and Hofmann features plenty of steel, glass and natural daylight, thus greatly enhancing the passenger experience. Originally constructed to cater for about 3 million people per year, the main departures hall was extended in 1992 in order to cope with the sustained growth in passenger movements, which have recent risen to almost 5 million passengers. In December 2015, a brand-new security control area opened on the ground-floor between departure halls 1 and 2, making it one of the safest airports in the country

Airport Facilities

Passengers flying in and out of Nuremberg Airport have access to a wide range of excellent facilities, with a great choice of high-quality restaurants like the ever-popular Mövenpick offering traditional Swiss cuisine, a place where all the food is freshly prepared in an open kitchen and the menu extends from a healthy Mediterranean buffet, Sunday brunch and Rösti day to a romantic candle-lit dinner. Terminal90, likewise, is another first-rate eatery that stylishly combines two restaurants, a café, bar and comfortable lounge area where passengers can relax and dine before catching their flight. Shopping is another highlight for travellers passing through Nuremberg Airport, a particular attraction being the Duty Free and Travel Value Shop located very close to the boarding area where you can purchase all manner of quality products by Faber-Castell, Montblanc, Swarovski, etc. Besides this, the airport boasts an exhaustive range of facilities and amenities, including a hairdresser, conference centre, book shop, free Wi-Fi, numerous cashpoint machines, bureaux de change and an observation deck for watching the planes.

How to get to and from Nuremberg Airport

You can travel between the airport and the city centre a few miles away quickly and easily along the A3 Frankfurt-Nuremberg motorway. If you are using the local public transport system to pick up your car hire at Nuremberg Airport, the best way to get there is on the U2 underground line which takes about 12 minutes (with trains running every 10 minutes) without any need to change trains from Nuremberg Central Station. You can also reach Nuremberg's exhibition centre from downtown in about half an hour by taking the U1 line in the direction of Langwasser. Taxis are plentiful and the journey between the centre of Nuremberg and the airport costs approximately 25-30 euros and takes around 20-25 minutes outside the morning and evening rush-hours. Bus numbers 30 and 33 also serve Nuremberg Airport with convenient stops at most of the city's main transport hubs and downtown locations.

Parking Tips

There are about 8,000 parking spaces available at Nuremberg Airport across three large on-site car parks, with most of the spaces conveniently in very close proximity to the Arrivals and Departures halls. The newest facility is car park P3 comprised of seven levels offering over two thousand spaces. There are various prices from which to choose, ranging from the BusinessParken (business parking) price to UrlauberParken (holiday parking). If you want to freshen up your car rental at Nuremberg Airport after a few days on the road, there's also an efficient valet parking service in the P1 multi-story car park offering a series of additional benefits such as vehicle refuelling, complete car wash, maintenance and safe-keeping of valuables, if required. More car parks are under construction in line with the airport's expansion with all parking facilities no more than a five-minute walk from the terminal building. Furthermore, there are short-term parking spaces located on the airport forecourt in front of the terminal building. Parking in Nuremberg is subject to the usual constraints of any large city, with on-street parking quite limited and only available at quite a high price. When visiting the city, it's best to use the excellent Park & Ride facilities which are signposted on the main approach roads. Nuremberg also has a good selection of municipal car parks (around 20 in all) offering about 6,000 spaces in total.

Useful links

Nuremberg Airport

Additional Information About Nuremberg Airport