GroupForum

The Piazza

The GroupForum and its Piazza are the starting point for your visit to the Autostadt. From the Wolfsburg railroad station, a footbridge leads across the Mittelland Canal to a glass building with an atrium that stands 20 meters or 66 feet high. The Autstadt claims that the tall, electrically-operated glass doors (each of which weighs as much as 32 VW Polo automobiles) are the largest revolving doors in the world.

Inside the GroupForum, you can buy tickets, pick up maps, etc. at the Welcome Desk. One- and two-day tickets are available. You can also buy a combined ticket for the Autostadt and Wolfsburg's outstanding Phæno science museum, which is just across a footbridge.

(A word of warning for animal lovers: Dogs and other pets aren't allowed in the Autostadt, which comes as a surprise in a country where Haustiere are loved even more than cars.)

While you're in the atrium, spend a few minutes with Ingo Günther's "Field of Globes," a collection of 70 globes that range from a five-ton, 1:1,000,000 aluminum model of the Earth (see top photo) to illluminated globes beneath a glass floor that illustrate different aspects of ecology and world population.

Nearby, "Red Blue Yellow" structures highlight the entrances to the GroupForum's movie theatres and the car-delivery center for VW buyers (see page 7).

Other attractions in the GroupForum include the hands-on AutoLab (where you can learn about mobility and car design), the Biosphere (where you can plant seeds for biofuel by computer), two Cinemas (one movie about car safety, the other a documentary about life in the world's largest auto plant), the MobiVersum (with several family-oriented attractions), and showroom-style displays of new or current VW cars (with representatives on hand to answer questions or demonstrate features).

Finally, the GroupForum has a children's drop-in center where you can leave your kids for up to 90 minutes while you enjoy the AutoStadt's exhibits or collect a new car.