Cologne Travel Guide

Getting There

By Air

The Cologne/Bonn Airport (+49 22 03 40 40 19/ http://www.koeln-bonn-airport.de) is located approximately 17 km from the central Cologne. Its terminals dock some of the world's largest airlines including:

Air Baltic (+49 1 80 5 24 72 25/ http://www.airbaltic.com) Air Berlin (+45 30 41 47 75 10; http://www.airberlin.com) Air Europa (http://www.air-europa.com) Air Malta (+49 69 920 35 22 26/ http://www.airmalta.de) British Airways (+49 1 80 526 65 22/ http://www.british-airways.com) Condor (+1 800 524 6975/ http://www7.condor.com) Easy Jet (+33 8 25 08 25 08/ http://www.easyjet.com/) Germanwings (+44 870 252 12 50/ http://www1.germanwings.com) Hapag-Lloyd Express (+180 509 3 509/ http://www.hlx.com) Iran Air (+49 69 25 60 06 13/ http://www.iran-air.de) KLM (+491 80 521 42 01/ http://www.klm.com) Lufthansa (+49 18 05 83 84 267/ http://www.lufthansa.com) Scandinavian Airlines (+49 1803 234 023/ http://www.scandinavian.net) Sky Europe (+421 2 4850 1111/ http://www.skyeurope.com/in.php) Spanair (+49 1 80 568 06 81/ http://www.spanair.com) Sun Express (+45 30 0180 59 59 59 0/http://www.sunexpress.com.tr) Thomson Fly (+43 0192 89 598/ http://www.thomsonfly.com) Turkish Airlines (+49 22 03 40 26 76/http://www.turkishairlines.com) Wizz Air (+48 22 351 9499/ http://www.wizzair.com)

Regional buses are available to and from Cologne via Stadtbahn (urban railway) Line 7 and Line 161.

Cologne's public transit authority (VRS) (http://www.vrsinfo.de) also offers service to and from the airport and the city.

Taxis are easy to find. Expect to pay around EUR25 for the trip to central Cologne. Depending on traffic most rides last 35-40 minutes. Taxi service providers including Colonia Taxi and Taxi Ruf Koeln are ideal transport options.

Rental car companies at the airport include:

ANS (+49 22 03 40 24 59) Avis (+49 22 03 40 21 38/ http://www.avis.com) Budget (+49 22 03 40 23 50/ http://www.budget.com) Europcar (+49 22 03 40 25 55/ http://www.europcar.com) Hertz (+49 22 03 40 25 01/ http://www.hertz.com) By Train

Cologne is a major train hub with train services to and from Bonn, Frankfurt, Berlin, Munich and more. If your visit to Cologne is part of a larger trip, it may be cheaper to buy a rail pass than point-to-point tickets. For non-European citizens, there are a range of passes available, depending on whether you are visiting Germany only or other countries in Europe as well. Information about the different passes and train travel in Europe can be found at http://www.europrail.net. Europeans can buy an Interrail pass instead - it is cheaper to buy one in your own country, so call your local train station for more information.

By Bus

Eurolines (+49 8 89 89 513/ http://www.eurolines.com) is a popular international bus service that has a stop in Cologne. The bus station (Busbahnhof) is located behind the Hauptbahnhof on Breslauer Platz.

By Car

Cologne is a major autobahn hub, encircled by the Kolner Ring with exits heading in all directions.

Getting Around

The public transport network (VRS) (http://www.vrsinfo.de) is the most convenient way to get around via bus, tram or subway. Daily or 3-day passes are worthwhile if you plan on traveling much throughout the city.

Driving throughout Cologne is fairly easy with the streets laid out in five concentric rings. However, expect to pay big bucks for parking, especially on the weekends.2008-08-02T07:29:22.000 32