The state of Hesse ('Hessen' in German) is slightly west of the centre of modern-day Germany.
It borders Bavaria to the southeast, Baden-Württemberg to the south, the Rhineland-Palatinate to the southwest, and North Rhine-Westphalia to the northwest, Lower Saxony to the north, and Thuringia to the east.
The capital of the state is Wiesbaden, although the largest and most important city is Frankfurt am Main. Other important cities include Darmstadt in the south and Kassel in the northwest.
The most popular option would be the airport at Frankfurt, the largest in Germany and one of the busiest in the world. The wide range of airlines and international destinations and the good connections to Frankfurt city centre and other parts of Hesse via train and bus make it by far the best choice.
Website: www.frankfurt-airport.com
Hahn Airport is situated near the centre of the Rhineland-Palatinate and is mainly used by budget airline Ryanair, who somewhat controversially refer to it as Frankfurt Hahn. (The airport is more than 120 kilometres to the west of Frankfurt.) The airport offers flights from a limited number of European destinations.
Website: www.hahn-airport.de
Cologne-Bonn Airport is located midway between the two cities to the east of the Rhine river. It is about an hour's rail journey by high-speed train from Frankfurt. Flights are available from a wide range of European destinations and a limited number of airport in the Middle East.
Website: www.koeln-bonn-airport.de
Stuttgart Airport is centrally-located on a main motorway connection and with regular regional train services into the city. The airport would be an option for destinations in the southern part of Hesse. The airport is one of the largest in Germany and offers a range of flights within the country and some scheduled options around Europe (including various budget airlines).
Website: www.stuttgart-airport.com
The central location of Hesse in Germany means that it has excellent access to both north-south and west-east rail routes across the country.
High-speed services run between Cologne and Frankfurt as well as Hanover to Würzburg.
The Rhein-Main S-Bahn regional train service centred on Frankfurt connects to the major cities of Wiesbaden, Mainz, Darmstadt, Offenbach and Hanau, as well as Frankfurt Airport
One of the best rail bargains in any state is the day pass for the (slower) regional services. In the case of Hesse this is called the Hessenticket and offers unlimited travel on local services in Hessen from 09.00 to 03.00 the following day (or from midnight on weekends).
The single price is moderate (41 Euros at the time of writing) but the real bargain is that up to four extra people can travel on the ticket. Thus five people can have unlimited travel for a day in the Hessen region. (Note that this ticket operates slightly differently from other regional day tickets, where the price changes with the number of people, and that Intercity services are not included.)
Website: www.bahn.com
As you might expect, with Hesse's central position in Germany (and therefore one of the most important European economies), the region is well-served by important motorway connections.
In fact, the motorway interchange near Frankfurt Airport is reckoned to be the busiest in Europe, with more than 300,000 vehicles passing through it each day.
The following major national motorway routes run through the state:
The German automobile club is called ADAC and it offers information on traffic and road conditions on its website (German only):
Website: www.adac.de