Getting Around the Nuremberg Toy Fair

The Spielwarenmesse Nuremberg Toy Fair, which takes place from February 3 - 8, 2011, is by a magnitude the largest toy exhibition in the world. As an American and the Spielwarenmesse's Ambassador to the United States, I can speak to how daunting (and exciting) the sheer size of the event can be.

I therefore want to give you a guide to the event so that when you attend you will feel right at home. So here goes:
If you look at a map of the show and you count up the number of halls, you will see that there are, in total, 17 Exhibition Halls. Each Hall has a theme so if you are looking for a particular type of product, you can put your energy into a specific area rather than ranging across all buildings.

The Halls can be categorized as follows:

Hall 1 Dolls, soft toys and baby
Hall 2 Baby and infant
Hall 3 Wooden toys, craft work and gifts
Hall 4A Model railroad and accessories
Hall 4 Mechanical, electronic and action toys
Hall 5 Technical, education and action toys
Hall 6 Technical, education and action toys and Country pavilions
Hall 7A Model construction, hobby
Hall 7 Model construction, hobby, sport, leisure, outdoor and Country pavilions
Hall 8 Sport, leisure and outdoor
Hall 9 Festival, trend, carnival, arts & crafts, creative design, school, stationary
Hall 10 Games, books, learning, multimedia
Hall 10.1 Games, books, learning, multimedia
Hall 11 Best of China, Country pavilions
Hall 11.1 New exhibitor center, Country pavilions
Hall 12 Country pavilions
Hall 12.2 Multi-products

There is, of course, any number of ways to work the show. You can work it by category or just start at one end and just keep going. I do, however, suggest that you take the first day to do the latter. It is amazing to just walk and take in the crowds, the varieties of products, the smell of wiener schnitzel and sausage in the many food courts as well as  the sounds of the many languages being spoken (never fear, though, English truly is the world language and most people speak it.)

It's a good time and its good business.  Click here to register.