Skip to main content

Köln/Cologne, Bonn and Düsseldorf Travel Guide 2019


We have grouped these because both Bonn and Düsseldorf are only a short local train ride from Köln, and well worth a day trip each (but probably not longer).

Travel:

Eurostar from St Pancras changing at Brussels onto a Thalys or DB train
https://www.seat61.com/Germany.htm#London%20to%20Cologne%20by%20train
https://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/train
The timetables for the two trains tend to coincide well, but allow 30 minutes to change platforms, and for possible security checks. Read Seat 61 about using the quick change escalator to avoid queues and shops.

Hotel:

Hilton, Marzellenstrasse 13-17
https://www.hilton.com/en/hotels/cgnhihi-hilton-cologne/
5 minutes from the station, in a very safe area on the city side
good customer service, clean and modern, small gym, good breakfast
Hilton Honors members get free snacks from a special cupboard at reception!

Marriott, Johannisstrasse 76-80
https://www.marriott.co.uk/hotels/travel/cgnmc-cologne-marriott-hotel/
also 5 minutes, but go out of the east exit from the station towards the river
excellent customer service and palatial facilities

Tourist Card:

Köln Card
https://www.cologne-tourism.com/book-buy/koelncard/
valid for 24 or 48 hours
free transport inside the city, discounts in museums and on tours, and in some shops and restaurants
best to visit: Kolumba, Cathedral, Museum Ludwig, not much else
doesn't get you to Bonn or Düsseldorf

KölnTourismus tourist office is at Kardinal-Höffner-Platz 1, opposite the Cathedral
https://www.cologne-tourism.com/see-experience/poi/service-centre/

Food:

Café Eigel, Bruckenstrasse 1-3
https://cafe-eigel.de/
Fantastic variety of cakes to go with coffee or hot chocolate

Via Bene, Benesisstrasse 60-62
https://www.viabene.com/
Homely Italian restaurant in Western bar/clubbing district, down a side street

Boat Trip:

There are two main boat companies running trips from below the railway bridge east of the Cathedral.

KölnTourist Personenschiffahrt
https://www.koelntourist.net/panoramafahrten/koeln
They run 6 (or sometimes 12) trips a day May to September, and in winter 4 a day on Saturdays and Sundays.
Buy tickets just north of the bridge, by the Musical Dome on the riverside, or at the KölnTourismus
€12 with commentary in English.

KölnDüsseldorfer Deutsche Rheinschiffahrt
https://www.k-d.com/en/cruises/panorama-round-trip-cologne/
They run 6 trips a day April to October
Buy tickets just south of the bridge, by the Fishmarkt and Salzgasse, or at the KölnTourismus
€12 with commentary in English.

Sightseeing:

Dom (Cathedral), in the square next to the Hauptbahnhof
https://www.koelner-dom.de/en/first-page
This is worth the admission charge, and the Tower and Treasury are worth extra, with the latter set amongst the foundations of the Roman walls. The shop is on the outside wall and free to enter.

Museum Ludwig, Hein­rich-Böll-Platz
https://www.museum-ludwig.de/en.html
A permanent collection of international modern art with fantastic exhibitions
Closed Mondays
You get a discount if you have a Thalys ticket or the KölnCard

Wallraf Richartz Museum, Obenmarspforten
https://www.wallraf.museum/en/the-museum/
700 years of European painting well-presented in modern but monolithic block

Kolumba Art Museum for the Köln Archdiocese, Kolumbastrasse 4
https://www.kolumba.de/?language=eng
Described as "a museum of contemplation in which there is an ongoing dialogue between past and present" it aims to present two millennia of culture in a single space
Closed Tuesdays

MAKK - Art and Design, An der Rechtschule
https://makk.de/Start
A design museum with temporary exhibitions
Closed Mondays

Köln Sculpture Park, Rielerstrasse
http://www.skulpturenparkkoeln.de/en.html
Open free every day from 10.30am
A half-hour walk along the west bank leads to a vast park with very varied sculpture, something for everyone and great for families. Alternatively take lines 16, 18 or 19 from the station to Reichenspergerplatz or Zoo Flora

Chocolate Museum, Holzmarkt
https://www.schokoladenmuseum.de/en/the-museum
In the shape of a metal ship, this landmark easily visible from the boat trips has exhibitions on chocolate production, and a great gift shop. Behind it stands the Sports Museum, also recommended.
https://www.sportmuseum.de/

Hohenzollern Brücke (Bridge)
Alongside the railway, you can walk on either side of the bridge from the Dom to the east bank, where you will find cafes and restaurants on the Rheinboulevard. There is a tradition of lovers placing locks on the bridge railings, until they get too heavy and have to be removed! There are excellent views of the Dom at sunset.

Köln Messe and Rheinpark
North of the bridge is a large park with river access, and behind it the Köln exhibition hall, with its distinctive tower. It was created in 1957 for the Cologne Garden Festival. It is a pleasant walk to the Roman Thermae styled public baths and the cablecar.

Cablecar from Rheinpark to Köln Zoo
https://www.koelner-seilbahn.de/index.html
On the east bank the entrance is on the north of the park, between the baths and Auenweg. On the west bank the cars depart from outside the Zoo entrance.



BONN

There are at least four reasons to go to Bonn: it's a very pretty town, it has spectacular mountains and parks nearby, it was the seat of German government for many decades, and it has a Haribo outlet.

Getting There:

From Köln, you can take the S Bahn lines 16 or 63 (every 7 minutes but slower), a regional train RE5 RE26 or RB48 (two an hour, slightly faster), or the ICE trains from Deutsche Bahn (very fast, expensive, only stop at the Hbf).
We would recommend the regional train to Bonn Hbf, then using the S Bahn to get closer to the attractions listed below.
Buy a 24 Hour ticket at price level 4 (Preisstufe: 4) for around €20 which will cover you for the whole distance.
https://www.vrs.de/en/tickets/ticket-assortment/ticket/24stundentickets

Bonn city centre: Tourist office at Windeckstrasse 1 by Münsterplatz

If you are lucky enough to be in Bonn in April, you must visit the blossom district in the Altstadt. The streets are full of Kirschblüte, and they are nice streets full of small shops and cafes anyway, so well worth a visit. Start at the south end of Breite Strasse, just by Berliner Platz on the northern ring road. Walk up, turn left onto Paulstrasse, and then left onto Heerstrasse.
https://www.bonn.de/bonn-erleben/besichtigen-entdecken/kirschbluete.php

Beethoven House, Bonngasse 20
https://www.beethoven.de/en/museum
It was Beethoven's 250th birthday in 2020 and you can visit his house. There is also a large statue of him in Münsterplatz.

Bonner Münster, Gerhard-von-Are Strasse 5
https://www.bonner-muenster.de/
One of the oldest churches in Germany, with a 12th Century cloister, and crypt.

All over town are University buildings. Founded in 1818, it houses many museums, and next time we plan to visit the Arithmeum, https://www.arithmeum.uni-bonn.de/en/arithmeum.html, home to exhibitions on calculating machines.


South of the city:

Museum Mile https://www.kunstmuseum-bonn.de/en/information/museum-mile/
Many of these stops are also on the Path of German Democracy trail https://www.wegderdemokratie.de/en
Trams 16, 63, 66, 67 and 68 are the ones to catch


Haribo Outlet, Friesdorfer Str. 125
https://www.haribo.com/de-de/aktivitaeten/shops-fabrikverkaeufe
Take the S Bahn to the Bonn Wurzerstrasse stop, and walk two blocks south west past the LIDL. This enormous warehouse has every type of Haribo on sale, including international versions not usually available in Germany, plus branded souvenirs.


Further afield (and you'll need other travel tickets):
Bad Godesberg is the gateway to the beautiful countryside south of Bonn
Visit the Redoute Hall, the Draitschbrunnen fountain, and Godesburg Castle
Cross the river to Konigswinter, from where you can take the rack-and-pinion railway to Drachenfels mountain. An intermediate stop is at Schloss Drachenburg.
Take a boat trip from Bonn past Konigswinter to Linz, https://www.bonnschiff.de/en/



DÜSSELDORF

Getting There:

From Köln, you can take a VRS regional train RE1 or RE5, or the IC trains from Deutsche Bahn (only 10 minutes faster)
Buy two VRS single tickets at price level 5 (Preisstufe: 5), total €24, as you don't need a 24 Hour ticket
To be honest, DB costs about the same, but you can't use one operator's ticket on the other's trains, so you take your choice!

Tourist offices at the Hbf, Immermannstrasse 65 b, and the old town on Marktstrasse / corner of Rheinstrasse
https://www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/en

In the centre:

Königsallee
https://www.koenigsallee-duesseldorf.de/en/startseite.html
A beautiful waterway running for 4 blocks in the centre of the city, with grasses and gardens on both sides. From the Tritonenbrunnen fountain to Graf-Adolf-Platz, there are shopping arcades and restaurants along the road.
Check out Sevens, Galeria Kaufhof, Schadow Arkaden, Stilwerk Design, and KÖ-Bogen/Galerie/Center. So many shops!

Carlsplatz Market, Benratherstrasse and Mittelstrasse
https://www.carlsplatz-markt.de/
Monday to Saturday from 8am

Marktplatz and the Old Town Hall
https://www.duesseldorf.de/rathaus-online/rathausfuehrung.html
Guided tours on Wednesdays at 3pm

Kunsthalle (K20), Grabbeplatz 4
https://www.kunsthalle-duesseldorf.de/en/
exhibition hall for contemporary art

Hofgarten, north of the shopping district, near the old town, a park with waterways and animals. The parakeets fly back to Königsallee to sleep.

Kunstsammlung (K21), Ständehausstrasse 1
https://www.kunstsammlung.de/en/
Even more modern art

On the river:
Take a stroll on the Rheinuferpromenade along the east bank of the Rhine.
Burgplatz sits in front of the former castle, of which only the tower remains. In this Schlossturm you will find the Maritime Museum, spread over 7 floors
http://freunde-schifffahrtmuseum.de/
Just a few steps north is St Lambertus Church, Stiftsplatz, from 1206 with a weird twisted tower
http://www.lambertuspfarre.de/seite/116442/st.-lambertus.html
Below the promenade, you can see art in a tunnel:
https://www.kunst-im-tunnel.de/home.html

To the south:
Rheinturm, on the promenade, near the Bürgerpark
https://www.rheinturm.de/en/visit.html
240 metres tall, with a revolving restaurant. Early bird tickets from €5.
The flashing lights on the tower display the time in binary.

To the north:
Kunstpalast, on the river
https://www.kunstpalast.de/en/home
paintings, sculptures and modern art

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Berlin Travel Guide 2024

Don’t forget EHIC/GHIC – make sure you get one for free, never pay a scammer Travel Insurance – you’ll thank me one day Roaming Bundles – get the cheapest data bundle from your provider  Importing – into Germany you can’t take meat, milk or products containing these Airport to City Turn left out of Terminal 1 arrivals, following signs to Terminal 2. At the large Burger King, the tourist information centre is on the right. Here you can buy full-access Welcome Cards (with free museum entry). If you just need the travel Welcome Card (with museum discounts) you can buy that from ticket machines inside the arrivals baggage hall, or at the station below Head back to the big escalators down to Level U2 https://ber.berlin-airport.de/en/orientation/getting-here/public-transport.html   https://www.bvg.de/en/service-and-support/tourists/arrival-and-departure/berlin-brandenburg-airport   Don’t catch the first train that seems to be going in your direction, it may be a slow S-Bahn Use the BER App d

Advent Calendar 2023