Getting There

By plane
Cologne Bonn Airport (IATA: CGN), handles international and domestic flights and is a hub for the lowcost airlines GermanWings and hlx. It also has a daily flight to New York/Newark with Continental Airlines. The airport is approximately 15 minutes by KVB S-Bahn (local train) to the center of Cologne.
Düsseldorf International Airport (IATA: DUS), The Düsseldorf airport also many offers intercontinental connections. Train ride from the airport train station to Cologne central station takes approximately 30 minutes.
By train
Cologne is served by two major train stations - Köln Hauptbahnhof and Köln-Deutz.

Cologne is linked with Amsterdam, Brussels, London and Paris by Thalys, ICE and Eurostar High Speed trains. Additionally, the Frankfurt airport (IATA:FRA) has direct service to Cologne and is within one hour by ICE trains.

By car
Plenty of motorways (Autobahns A1, A4, A3, A57, A555) lead to Cologne. During rush hour the streets are heavily congested, also due to massive construction of a new subway tunnel Nord-Süd Stadtbahn, crossing half the city centre.

Getting around
But, on the whole, the center of Cologne is not that big for a city of one million. It is entirely feasible to walk from one end of the center, say, the Rudolfplatz, to the other end, say, the Dom, on foot in half an hour. On the other hand, a trip by subway/tram line 13, which encircles the larger part of the town, takes close to 3/4 of an hour (Most sites attractive to tourists are located inside the #13 line's track or immediate outside it, and most sights are located within walking distance in the inner city).

Student Travel Tip: Student travel can be very cheap to and from Cologne, as well as the surrounding area. The German rail company (DB: Deutsche Bahn) offer a 'Schoene Ferien Ticket' during student holiday times and allows free travel throughout Northrhein Westphalia on local buses, trams, U-Bahn and some trains. Prices range from around €41 for summer holidays to €16 for Easter holidays, but prices can change year-on-year.

The ticket is available to anyone with valid student identification (student union card, enrolement card etc.) and personal identification (passport, driving licence etc.). Note: the ticket is only valid for student holiday dates of Northrhein Westphalia and the ticket is not valid for high speed express trains. Visit/contact Deutsche Bahn for more information before travelling to Germany.


Public transport:
Moving on in Cologne is never a problem, a well-developed bus, tram and subway system makes it fairly convenient to get around. The public transport network, shared with Bonn, is relatively high prized, but you can always buy daily or group tickets. Investing in a 24-hours-ticket or a three-day-pass makes getting around less expensive.

Cologne has a very good subway/tram and bus network "KVB"; one- and three-day-passes are available. The tickets are valid for subway, tram and regional train within the VRS-network. A map of the network should be found at any station, and official station maps are availbale online here [6].

Cologne's subway and tram-system, or U-Bahn, is a mixture between both systems: A subway line can go on street-level and end up as a tram or vice versa. There are vending machines or ticket-offices at larger stations The trains and busses also have vending-machines. See here [7] for printable maps of the subway/tram system.

Regional Trains are known as "S-Bahn", "Regional-Bahn" and "Regional Express". Not all the trains have ticket vending-machines so remember to buy a ticket at the station.

The subway includes sections which run at street-level (trams). Tickets can be purchased inside the subway stations at counters or at ticket machines, which you will find as well inside the vehicles. Before your first ride you have to cancel your ticket, because there are no conductors present.

Getting around by car:
Becauses the streets of Cologne are laid out in the form of five concentric rings, getting oriented is relatively easy. The innermost ring is called simply the "Ring", the middle one "Innere Kanalstrasse", the next "Gürtel", which is followed by the Militärring and, finally, the Autobahnring. Cheap parking is, especially in the weekend and in the centre, a huge problem. If you are not willing to spend lots of money for parking, buying a public transport dayticket is a good alternative.

On foot / By bicycle

The numerous sightseeing artractions in Cologne's city can be explored conveniently on foot. There are three pedestrian zones located in the very heart of the city: Hohe Strasse, Schildergasse and Breite Strasse.

Cologne has, like Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt, a Call A Bike - System. After you signed up to the system, using your credit-card to pay per minute, you can pick up or drop off one of the silver-red bikes anywhere in the city. See here [8] for details.

The paths running along the banks of the Rhine are especially suitable for cycling, as is the outer green-belt containing the city forest.