The Stellplatz: Parking the bus at Euro 2024

Words: Pete Hitchman

Images: Pete Hitchman

Wohnmobilstellplatz -TOPPARK. Dortmund.

The best thing about football is the people you meet. Stellplatz translates literally as ‘parking space’ – it’s essentially an overnight car park for motorhomes and camper vans, often with basic facilities, like a French aire.

They’re popular on the continent (up to 4,000 in Germany alone) but I wasn’t sure what to expect from my first experience, having travelled to Germany for three days of Euro 2024.

I thought it might be soulless, I thought it might lack the community feel of a campsite like those where I spent my childhood holidays. How wrong I was.

In fact, when we arrived in Dortmund on the afternoon before Germany v Denmark in the round of 16, it was an immediate introduction to the football festival that was about to envelop us.

©Pete Hitchman/ Terrace Edition. Stellplatz. Dortmund.

You can find Pete on X: @_pete_hitchman_

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