EMA Bremen
A UNESCO-listed Hanseatic city on the river Weser, home of the Town Musicians fairy tale. Our Erasmus+ course center in Northern Europe for digital-learning and inclusive-education courses.
Courses at this center are open to participants travelling from a country other than Germany — a core requirement of Erasmus+ mobility.
Let's take a small tour of Bremen
Bremen is one of Germany’s oldest Hanseatic trading cities, sitting on the river Weser in the country’s north. Its medieval Marketplace — with the UNESCO-listed Town Hall and the Roland statue — and the famous bronze statue of the Town Musicians (immortalised by the Brothers Grimm) make the historic centre instantly recognisable.
Just steps away, the Schnoor quarter’s narrow lanes and crooked houses are Bremen’s oldest surviving district, while the riverside promenade and Böttcherstraße add a layer of Art Nouveau character — giving teachers on our Erasmus+ staff mobility course a compact, walkable city to explore between sessions.
Course topics running at this center.
“You’ll find something better than death anywhere.”
6 highlights of Bremen
A compact, walkable Hanseatic city — here are six places participants keep coming back to between sessions.
Photos: Town Hall — AssetBurned, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roland — Zairon, CC0 · Town Musicians — Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Schnoor — LBM1948, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Böttcherstraße — Luccio1973, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Schlachte — Jürgen Howaldt, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cathedral — Florian Hannemann, CC BY-SA 3.0. All via Wikimedia Commons.
Quick facts about Bremen
Before you arrive
Germany is a Schengen Area member, so entry requirements depend on where you're travelling from.
Visa & entry requirements
EU/EEA citizens travel freely with no visa needed. Visitors from outside the Schengen Area (UK, USA, Canada, Australia and others) can generally stay up to 90 days in any 180-day period without a visa — this limit applies across the whole Schengen Area combined, not per country. Some nationalities do need a short-stay Schengen visa in advance; check requirements for your own passport before booking.
Travel insurance
We recommend a policy covering medical expenses, trip cancellation and lost baggage for the duration of your stay.
Weather & packing
Our courses run across the year, so "what's the weather like" depends on when you're travelling — here's Bremen by season. If you're used to our Turkish course cities, note that northern Germany's maritime climate is a genuinely different pattern: cooler summers, colder and wetter winters.
| Season | Typical range | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Spring (Mar–May) | Cool, warming | A gradual transition from crisp to mild — layers are still useful into May. |
| Summer (Jun–Aug) | ~14–22°C | Mild rather than hot — noticeably cooler than our coastal Turkish centres. A light jacket is worth packing even in July. |
| Autumn (Sep–Nov) | Cooling, wetter | Temperatures drop steadily and rain becomes more frequent — waterproofs earn their keep. |
| Winter (Dec–Feb) | ~-1–5°C | Cold, damp and often windy, with January the coldest month — a proper winter coat and waterproof shoes matter here. |
Documents
Clothing
Electronics
Health & money
Getting to the venue
Bremen Airport (BRE) is unusually close to the city — a genuine advantage over centres with a longer airport transfer.
| From | Best option | Approx. duration | Approx. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bremen Airport (BRE) | Tram Line 6, direct from the terminal to Hauptbahnhof (main station) | A short ride — under 20 min, running every 6–20 min depending on time of day | A few euros, see current fares ↗ |
| Bremen Airport (BRE) | Official taxi | ~10–15 min | See current fares ↗ |
The course center on Bürgermeister-Smidt-Straße sits right in Bremen-Mitte, within walking distance of the Hauptbahnhof and the old town:
From central Bremen
The venue is in Bahnhofsvorstadt, the district immediately around the main station — most central hotels are a short walk or tram ride away.
BSAG trams & buses
Bremen's public transport (BSAG, part of the wider VBN network) runs a dense tram and bus grid across the city — day and multi-day visitor passes are available, worth asking about at the airport or your hotel.
On foot
Bremen's compact old town means many sights — the Schnoor, Böttcherstraße, the Marktplatz — are within easy walking distance of the venue.
Neighborhoods & accommodation
A few areas stand out for course participants:
| Neighborhood | Why stay here |
|---|---|
| Mitte / Bahnhofsvorstadt | Home to the course center itself — right by the Hauptbahnhof, with the old town and Marktplatz within walking distance. The most convenient base. |
| Das Viertel (Ostertor / Steintor) | Bremen's bohemian, café-and-bar district, popular with students — a short walk from the centre, with the liveliest evenings in the city. |
Bremen's hotel scene leans business-class rather than resort-style, with prices varying by season and how far ahead you book — compare current listings for Bremen ↗. Staying in Mitte keeps travel to the course center to a minimum.
Money
Bremen uses the euro — if you're already coming from a Eurozone country, there's nothing to convert.
Cards & ATMs
Major cards and contactless payment are accepted in hotels, restaurants and larger shops, but Germany remains a comparatively cash-oriented country — some smaller cafés, bakeries and market stalls are cash-only, so don't rely on your card everywhere.
ATM fees
Withdrawing from a machine outside your own bank's network can carry a fee (often a few euros) — check with your bank before you travel.
Before you fly
Notify your bank you're travelling if you're coming from outside the Eurozone, so a card payment doesn't get blocked as suspicious.
Tipping
Not obligatory but common — round up or add roughly 5–10% when you pay, stated as a total rather than left on the table (e.g. a €15.90 bill paid with a €20 note, telling the server "make it 18").
Safety & practical info
Germany is, in the UK Foreign Office's own words, a country where crime levels are broadly similar to the UK's — there's no specific warning for Bremen or the surrounding region. Ordinary city awareness covers most of what's worth knowing.
| Topic | Advice |
|---|---|
| General | Central Bremen (Mitte, the old town, Das Viertel) is comfortable to walk during the day and evening; use normal city awareness late at night, as anywhere. |
| Crowded places | As across the EU, official guidance notes that crowded venues — markets, shopping areas, events — carry a general, low-probability terrorism risk; it shouldn't change your plans, just your baseline awareness. |
| Valuables | Keep bags and valuables close at the Hauptbahnhof and in busy shopping streets, as you would in any city. |
| Currency & substances | Watch for counterfeit banknotes as with any cash transaction; drug offences carry serious penalties in Germany. |
Culture & etiquette
A few local habits are worth knowing before your first day of class:
| Topic | Guidance |
|---|---|
| Punctuality | Taken seriously — arriving late to a session or meeting reads as disrespectful, more so than in many other cultures. |
| Sunday quiet | Most shops close on Sundays, and loud activity (drilling, mowing, loud music) is discouraged by long-standing local custom — plan errands for a weekday. |
| Quiet hours (Ruhezeit) | Roughly 10pm–6/7am, noise is expected to stay down even on weekdays — standard hotel-neighbour courtesy. |
| Recycling | Waste sorting is taken seriously — separate bins for paper, packaging, organic and general waste, plus separate glass containers by colour. Don't be surprised if it comes up. |
| Communication style | Direct and to the point — getting straight to business isn't considered rude, it's the norm. |
Bremen food & dining
A few dishes and drinks that are genuinely from this region, not just "German food in general":
| Dish | What it is |
|---|---|
| Bremer Klaben | A dense, fruit-and-nut studded bread-cake with candied peel, traditionally baked for Christmas but sold year-round at bakeries in the old town. Protected by an EU geographical indication. |
| Kohl und Pinkel | Bremen's best-known local dish — curly kale served with kasseler (smoked pork) and pinkel, a northern German oat-and-spice sausage. A cold-weather classic. |
| Knipp | A close relative of pinkel — cooked pork with oat groats and spices, usually served with rye bread, pickles and apple slices. |
| Beck's | Yes, it really is brewed here — the Beck's brewery has operated in Bremen's Neustadt district since 1873, and still offers tours. |
We arrange tailor-made Erasmus+ sessions on demand — tell us your preferred topic and travel window and we'll schedule it.