Getting Around Mainz
Mainz is compact enough that visitors can cover much of the centre on foot, and its public transport network — buses, trams, and the S-Bahn — makes it easy to reach the surrounding districts and neighbouring cities. The main station, Mainz Hauptbahnhof, sits on the western edge of the city centre and acts as the general hub for local traffic, so it is a natural starting point for most journeys.
Walking the City Centre
The centre of town is accessible on foot from Mainz Hauptbahnhof, which makes walking the simplest way to get oriented when you arrive. Signposts and maps are placed throughout the city centre, and you can also pick up a map from the DB information desk in the station. Because the historic core is walkable from the main station, many visitors find they only need public transport for trips further afield.
Rail, S-Bahn and Trams
Mainz has several train stations, but the biggest — and the only one where InterCity and InterCityExpress trains stop — is Mainz Hauptbahnhof. A second noteworthy station is Mainz Römisches Theater, south of the centre, which is served by regional and commuter trains. Both are reachable from Frankfurt by S-Bahn line S8.
Mainz is connected to Frankfurt am Main by the Rhine-Main S-Bahn rapid transit system, which is the backbone of longer local trips in the region. Behind the Rhine bridge, the station Mainz-Kastel is served by S-Bahn lines S1 and S9 as well as the Stadt-Express SE10 running from Frankfurt to Wiesbaden.
Within the city, light rail (tram) lines complement the buses. The Deutsche Bahn site provides maps, timetables, and route guidance for getting around Mainz via the city's bus and light rail systems, and Google Maps shows the locations of tram and bus stops — clicking a tram or bus symbol gives you the name of the stop and a list of routes serving it.
Buses and Other Public Transport
Mainz Hauptbahnhof is also a hub for local bus traffic, serving the surrounding countryside and Wiesbaden. The local transit operator is MVG (Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft), which runs the city's buses and trams and offers a website in German.
For ticketing, a day ticket covering Mainz and Wiesbaden is available for use on buses, trams, S-Bahn and Regionalbahn, and a single ticket is also offered. If you plan to explore further, the Rheinland-Pfalz/Saarland Ticket gives unlimited travel on local trains for up to five people within Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. For Hessen — which includes Mainz but not the rest of Rhineland-Palatinate — there is the similar Hessenticket. Note that the day ticket and single ticket are issued under the MVG and RMV systems.
Long-distance buses, including Flixbus, serve Mainz and usually halt at Hauptbahnhof, where there is an intercity bus station.
Taxis and Ride-Hailing
Ride-hailing apps Uber and Free Now both cover the city, giving visitors a convenient alternative to taxis for point-to-point trips.
Bikes
The local transit operator runs a bike rental system with stations all around the city. Rental costs €1.20 per 30 minutes. To use it, get the meinRad app for Android or iOS, register in the app, and you can start riding. A map of available stations is published online.
Getting In from the Airport
Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) is the main gateway for Mainz. From the airport, the local train S8 towards Wiesbaden stops at Mainz Hauptbahnhof, or optionally at Mainz Römisches Theater. The train runs at least every 30 minutes daily and takes around 30 minutes to reach Mainz. Regional trains towards Koblenz and Saarbrücken also stop in Mainz. Both options share the same local tariff, though regional trains are faster and somewhat more convenient. Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in about 30 minutes by commuter railway or by regional trains RE 2, RE 3 and RB 31.
Other airports offer different connections. Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is served by a direct ICE connection. From low-cost hub Frankfurt-Hahn Airport (HHN), there is a direct shuttle bus connection to Mainz — a service that runs roughly every 90 minutes, takes approximately 60 to 70 minutes, and stops at the ORN bus stop just outside the main train station's police department.
Arriving by Train or Car
Mainz Hauptbahnhof is the main rail gateway, and Flixtrain serves the city from Berlin via Hanover and Frankfurt. Nightjet, ÖBB's sleeper train, runs three times each week on routes between Brussels and Vienna via Munich and Salzburg, Berlin and Brussels via Frankfurt, and Amsterdam and Zurich — though Mainz is a few hours from these terminal stations, so sleeper trains stop here after midnight or before 05:00.
By car, Mainz is ringed by the A60 from Bingen/Rüsselsheim and the A643 and A671 from Wiesbaden, at the northern end of the A63 from Kaiserslautern. Other approaches include the A61 from Koblenz, the A66 from Fulda, and the A3/A67 from Frankfurt am Main. When parking in Mainz, using your EC debit card or credit card in the entrance and exit machines instead of pressing for a pay-at-machine ticket gets you a discount on the parking fee. Alternatively, taking a ticket from the machine on entrance allows four people to travel for free on buses and trams in the city.