Leisure & Pleasure

Kaiserslautern celebrates all the year round. The local residents' most favorite events are the May Market and the October Market, the largest of their kind in the Western Palatinate. The Old City Festival in July and the Christmas Market around the historical Stiftskirche are unrivalled attractions. For more information about the city take a look at the city's website.

Other Markets and Festivals Are:

  • Flohmärkte: Flea markets offer the opportunity to find second hand things at very low prices. It is usually held during the weekends at the Messeplatz, Opelkreisel and Kammgarn.
  • Wochenmarkt: The farmers’ market, is on Tuesdays and Saturdays at the Stiftsplatz from 8:00 in the morning till around 13:00 in the afternoon. Here, you can buy fresh vegetables, cheese, meat, honey, fruit and regional products. Fresh flowers and plants are also sold here.
  • Maimarkt: This fair with carousels, music, and booths with, food and drinks during the end of May and beginning of June takes place at the Messeplatz.
  • Altstadtfest: The old city festival, held every year during the month of July, grandly celebrated in and around Steinstraße.
  • Autofreies Lautertal: A Sunday in the month of August where there are no vehicles on the roads. Ideal for biking tours or inline-skating.
  • Barbarossa-Woche: This is during the month of September. Diverse carousels, music, food are offered.
  • Oktober-Kerwe: It is during the golden autumn month at the Messeplatz. Diverse carousels, music, food are offered.
  • Weihnachtsmarkt: The Christmas market naturally takes place during December, in and around the Stiftskirche and Schillerplatz. Other famous Christmas markets worth visiting in Germany are in Heidelberg or Neustadt an der Weinstraße and, most famous, the Nürnberger Christkindelsmarkt.

Cinemas

  • AStA-Kino: During lecture period films are shown every Wednesday. The films are often multicultural or international and are shown at a very modest price − but in a lecture hall.
  • Central-Kino: This movie theater is situated on the Osterstraße in the city center and shows all the new released films (Website German only)
  • Union: This is a small cinema at the edge of the city center where you can watch special movies, often from foreign countries or low-budget-production (Website German only)
  • UCI-Kino: The UCI is a very big movie theater with several halls where you can watch the latest films. It is situated at the PRE-Park at the edge of the city (Website German only)
  • Broadway Kino, Merkurstraße 9-11 in Landstuhl, offering movies in English, English movie schedule phone: 06371-937 037(Website in German & English)
  • Sneak Preview: Every wednesday (alternating between Union and Central Kino) you can watch a film before the official release date. However, you do not know which film will be shown in advance, so you're in for a surprise.

Normally, cinemas offer student concessional rates and special prices on a certain weekday. Just ask at the cash counter!

Regional Markets, Festivals and Carnevals

  • Dürkheim's Wurstmarkt: Takes place in autumn in Bad Dürkheim, one of the largest and entertaining wine festivals in Germany. Almost comparable with the Oktoberfest in München. (Website)
  • Deutsches Weinlesefest in Neustadt: A very large, 2-week wine festival which takes place in october. During the festival, the well known Wine Festival Parade/Winzerfestzug takes place. (Website German only)
  • Various local wine festivals: There are hundreds of wine festivals in the palatinate every year. Each wine growing village organizes at least one wine festival. (Calender German only)