Nürburgring
The Green Hell. The Nordschleife is the longest, most demanding circuit in the world and the pilgrimage most UK drivers make once and then repeat forever — plus a modern GP circuit next door for structured track days.
- Length
- 20.832 km
- 12.944 miles
- Direction
- Clockwise
- 73 corners
- Noise limit
- Nordschleife
- check with operator
- Elevation
- 578 m
- above sea level
Live conditions
Live weather is temporarily unavailable. The circuit guide and observed rain radar are still available.
Rain forecast & radar
forecast: next 24h · radar: past 2h (observed)Rain forecast — next 12h
Forecast data is temporarily unavailable. Please try again shortly.
Forecast rain map — play the loop to see where the model expects rain over the next 24 hours around the circuit.
Observed rain radar — which way the rain has actually been moving. A dry paddock doesn't mean a dry apex.
Track map
Nordschleife · Clockwise · 73 corners- 01Hatzenbach
- 02Flugplatz
- 03Schwedenkreuz
- 04Aremberg
- 05Fuchsröhre
- 06Adenauer Forst
- 07Metzgesfeld
- 08Kallenhard
- 09Wehrseifen
- 10Ex-Mühle
- 11Bergwerk
- 12Kesselchen
- 13Klostertal
- 14Karussell
- 15Hohe Acht
- 16Wippermann
- 17Brünnchen
- 18Pflanzgarten
- 19Schwalbenschwanz
- 20Galgenkopf
- 21Döttinger Höhe
Outline traced from surveyed map data (© OpenStreetMap contributors). Corner markers are indicative — not a substitute for the circuit's own briefing map.
The full 20.8 km lap, run either as public touristenfahrten or as booked track time. There is no other circuit like it — treat it with respect.
What's on
Track days
- Most evenings & weekends, Mar–Nov
Nordschleife Touristenfahrten (public sessions)
Nürburgring
- Year-round
Bridge-to-gantry track days and car hire packages
RSR / Rent4Ring / various
- Selected dates
GP-Strecke sessioned track days
Various operators
Race meetings
- Spring to autumn
Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie endurance rounds
VLN / NLS
- Late spring
Nürburgring 24 Hours
ADAC
- Season-long
GP circuit championship rounds
DTM / GT Masters
Curated by hand and shown as typical timing rather than confirmed dates. Always check the operator's or organising club's own calendar before booking travel.
Key info
- Noise limit
- Nordschleife touristenfahrten: 130 dB(A) pass-by limit; GP circuit events typically 95–98 dB(A) drive-by
- Elevation notes
- Around 300 metres of elevation change on the Nordschleife. Crests at Flugplatz, Schwedenkreuz and Pflanzgarten genuinely unload the car, and the Karussell is a banked concrete ditch that compresses everything.
Known tricky sections
- Learning the lap
20.8 km and over 70 corners, much of it blind. Do not chase a time on your first visit — learn it in sections, ideally with an instructor or a passenger who knows it.
- Fuchsröhre
Blind, fast downhill plunge into a heavy compression then immediately uphill. One of the highest-consequence sections anywhere.
- Pflanzgarten
Two jumps in quick succession at high speed. The car lands turning — get the line wrong and there is no recovery.
- Weather and traffic
It can be raining at Adenau and dry at Döttinger Höhe. On touristenfahrten you share the track with everything from vans to GT3s; mirrors matter as much as apexes.
Nearby amenities
- Fuel
Shell Nürburg / Aral Adenau
Both within five minutes; 100/102 RON widely available in Germany.
- Food
Pistenklause, Nürburg
The classic stone-grill restaurant of the Eifel — book ahead on busy weekends.
- Food
ED's / Devil's Diner, Nürburg
Quick food between laps, right by the Nordschleife entrance.
- Accommodation
Nürburg, Adenau & Meuspath
Dozens of guesthouses within 10 minutes; Adenau is the best value base.
Travelling from the UK
Nearest airports
Cologne/Bonn (CGN) ~1h; Frankfurt-Hahn (HHN) ~1h15; Düsseldorf (DUS) ~1h45; Brussels (BRU) ~2h30.
Typical routes
- Eurotunnel Folkestone–Calais then E40/A61 via Liège — roughly 4h from Calais.
- Dover–Calais ferry with the same road route; cheaper, slower door to door.
- Hull–Rotterdam or Harwich–Hook of Holland overnight if you're towing — around 3h from the port.
Documentation & border notes
- UK-registered cars need a UK identifier — a UK sticker, or a number plate carrying the UK identifier. GB stickers are no longer valid.
- Check your road insurance covers EU driving and carry proof; a green card is not currently required for EU countries.
- Track driving is excluded from virtually every road policy — arrange separate on-track cover before you travel.
- Carry your V5C (or VE103 for a hire/lease car), photocard licence and passport.
- Germany requires a warning triangle, hi-vis vest and first aid kit in the car.
- Umweltplakette (emissions sticker) is needed for low-emission zones in German cities — not for the Eifel, but relevant if you route through Cologne.
- Touristenfahrten laps count as public road use: your car must be road legal and normal traffic law applies.