Göttingen is a classic student city. Around 30,000 students (out of a total population of around 120,000) live and study here. About 15 per cent of them are international students. They all make the city young and lively and you always meet people you know! You can explore Göttingen's nightlife with its numerous street cafés, pubs, bars and clubs even before the first lectures begin. Students of the “WiWi-Fachschaft”, i.e. the student council at the faculty, and the “WiWi-O-Phase” organise pub nights and parties for our first-year students every semester parallel to the preliminary maths course and during the orientation week before the start of studies. The highlight is the big ZHG party at the end of the introductory week, when several thousand students making the foyer of the Central Lecture Hall Building (ZHG) vibrate. In addition, cinemas, sports and cultural clubs as well as the beautiful surrounding countryside offer attractive leisure opportunities. The university's sports programme provides over 150 sports, its own fitness centre, climbing and bouldering hall, various outdoor sports fields for football, basketball, beach volleyball and more, as well as major events such as the DIES Academicus or the Great Barrier Run. Usually, students live in flats or shared flats (WG) that are rented out by private providers or in halls of residence run by the “Studierendenwerk Göttingen” (available are, for example, single flats, shared flats or flats for families with children): Göttingen is also a city of short distances, where everything is within easy reach on foot or by bike. Business students study on the central campus in the middle of the city - the city centre and the train station are within a seven minute walk. If you want to travel, you will be happy about the direct ICE connections to Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt/Main or Munich, for example, which can be reached quickly in two to four hours. The Germany-wide semester ticket has been introduced in the 2024/2025 winter semester. Like the conventional "Deutschlandticket", the ticket is valid throughout Germany for local trains as well as bus and rail transport in cities. All students at the University of Göttingen also have a cultural semester ticket, or Kulturticket. In the form of your student ID, it offers you free or greatly reduced admission to various cultural institutions such as clubs, museums, the city's theatres or even to the games of BG Göttingen, Göttingen's Bundesliga basketball team. Would you like to know what it's like here on campus and in the city centre? Our student body (“WiWi-Fachschaft”) will show you in its virtual city and campus tour (in German). Discover Göttingen! Learn more about Göttingen's leisure activities, cultural offers and sights on the Göttingen Tourismus website (in German). Information for prospective international students about studying and living in Göttingen: Websites of Göttingen International/The International Office of Göttingen University
Living in Göttingen: Small city with international flair
Living in Göttingen
City of short distances with a central location in Germany
Semester Ticket
Experience the city and campus digitally
Get to know Göttingen
