About Cologne: Travelling
Visa regulations for the Federal Republic of Germany
Non-EU citizens generally need to apply for a visa to visit Germany. Exact and official information about visa regulations can be found at the website of the Foreign Office.
Airports in Cologne, Düsseldorf and Frankfurt
Cologne can be reached by three major airports. South-east of the city centre, the Flughafen Köln/Bonn “Konrad Adenauer” (CGN) is the nearest of them. In the past few years, this airport has increased in mid-range connections within Europe, mostly due to the no-frills airlines. The only transatlantic connection is operated by Continental Airlines from Newark, NJ (EWR). Other airlines offer connection flights. The fastest way to reach the conference hotel from the airport the fastest way is the railroad that takes you to the station “Köln-Deutz”.
The Düsseldorf Airport is more specialised on long-range flights to America, Africa and Asia. The city of Cologne can be reached via railway. The airport has its own railway station “Flughafen Düsseldorf”. From there you can take non-stop trains to Köln-Deutz, the station nearest to the conference hotel. The fastest trains takes half an hour. The tickets have to be bought in advance at the station.
The Frankfurt Airport is the largest German airport and has non-stop and stop-over connections to destinations all over the world. The high speed train “ICE” brings you to Köln-Deutz in 50 minutes at a top speed of 300 km/h (186 mph)
Timetables for reaching the nearest railway station from the airports:
Cologne/Bonn Airport -> Bf. Deutz (pdf)
Düsseldorf Airport -> Bf. Deutz (pdf)
Frankfurt -> Bf. Deutz (pdf)
Trains, buses and tramways in Cologne
Cologne has an extended system of public transportation. The tramway (streetcar) is the most common carrier for travelling inside cologne. On some lines, the tramway also operates as an underground (“U-Bahn”, marked with white “U” on blue background). Public transportation in the suburbs is mainly provided by buses.
The schedule for public transportation and transport planning can be found at http://www.vrsinfo.de/eng/index.php
The transportation system of the city of Cologne, the city of Bonn and other smaller towns are connected and tickets are identical. Since 2007, there is a single tariff for travelling within one city, and a second, more expensive tariff for travelling between two cities. Both the Cologne/Bonn Airport and Cologne-City are located within the same tariff-zone “Cologne”. Therefore,regardless of the means of transportation, the ticket “Preisstufe 1b/CityTicket” at 2.30€ can be used to travel between the airport and Cologne-City. For short trips within Cologne (up to 4 stations), a short-trip ticket can be bought at a price of 1.50€. There is also a day-ticket available for tourists: the WelcomeCard offers free travelling within the whole Region as well as discounts in museums, restaurants, etc.
Please note, that tickets can be bought from vending machines at railway stations, tramways, inside tramways, inside buses but not inside railroad trains. Travelling without a ticket may result in a fine of 40€ and law prosecution. Only trains marked as “S-Bahn”, “Regionalbahn” or “Regionalexpress” can be used with the local transit tickets (“VRS-tickets”). For all other trains, e.g. if you plan to travel within Germany, nomal rail tickets have to be bought at the railway stations. The nationwide train schedule can be found at http://www.bahn.de .
The tramway lines in Cologne have 1- or 2-digit numbers, the local railways a 1- or 2-digit number with a trailing “S” or “RE”, buses have a 3-digit number.
Also note that in Cologne two tram stations within a distance of 1 km of the tramway have very similar names, “Heumarkt” and “Neumarkt” that should not be confused.
The conference venue is located near the stations "Bahnhof Deutz" and "Deutzer Freiheit":
Courtesy Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg
Cabs
Cabs can be called with 0221/2882 by phone and are marked with the word “TAXI”.
Driving a car in Cologne
As everywhere in continental Europe, traffic is right-hand.
Parking in the centre of Cologne is expensive. Public parking garages are available. For 4 hours of parking, you should calculate 8€. On the street edges, parking spaces may be marked with “Anwohnerparken” or “Anwohner mit Parkausweis” (resident parking), where only residents' cars with special permissions are allowed. Parking spaces may also be marked with “Nur mit Parkschein” (only with ticket). In that case, a vending machine will be available nearby where a ticket has to be bought and placed on the dash inside the front window of the car.
The speed limit in the city is 50 km/h and radar enforcement – as a practical application of Doppler measurement – is common. On country roads the speed limit is 100 km/h and yes, in Germany there is no general speed limit on freeways, unless indicated otherwise by traffic signs. Overtaking is allowed only on the left side. Law requests drivers and passengers to buckle up, driving with more than 0.5 per mille of blood alcohol is strictly forbidden, and over 0.3 per mille leads to prosecution and liability in the case of an accident. Driving totally sober is still the safest. For car drivers the use of a mobile phone while driving is only allowed with a handsfree set.
Important information for visitors who plan to travel by car to Cologne:
Since the beginning of 2008, the municipal government has introduced a “Low Emission Zone” in the centre of Cologne. Only cars that comply with strict pollution constraints and that have a special sticker on their front window are allowed to drive in the centre (including the conference hotel area). If your car conforms to the pollution constraints, you can buy a sticker for 5€ (see below). The municipal government has put emphasis on the fact that foreign cars also have to bear a sticker. Failing to do so will result in fees that have to be paid instantly.
If you plan to drive to the conference by car, be sure to visit this official website (in English):
http://www.stadt-koeln.de/en/lowemissionzone/index.html
Recently in the TV news it was said that some internet shops try to sell stickers at very high prices to foreigners, so don’t get fooled, use only the official website!
Most rental cars should have the sticker already.
Nearby cities
Cologne is part of a trio of three large cities. Located north of Cologne, Düsseldorf is the capital city of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The shopping street “Königsallee” is famous for expensive and exclusive designer fashion. The Düsseldorf airport is the second largest in Germany (after Frankfurt) and offers more intercontinental connections than Cologne/Bonn airport has. There is a sort sort of traditional "love-hate" relationship between Cologne and Düsseldorf, but it should not be taken too seriously.
Bonn, the former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, is located south of Cologne. This town has many places reflecting the history of post-war German democracy such as the Museum Alexander König, where the constitution was ratified, and the former parliament building (see the page “The path of democracy"). Today Bonn is the seat of some institutions of the United Nations and still of some federal ministries. The “Haus der Geschichte”, the museum of contemporary German history is very interesting and free of charge. Next to the main station, the “Arithmeum” exhibits historical computing machines.
Both cities can be reached by railway. Düsseldorf is not part of the uniform tariff and special prices apply.