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Get around Cologne
Get around Cologne
Cologne has a very good subway/tram and bus network "KVB" (Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe); one- and three-day-passes are available. The tickets are valid for subway, tram and regional train within the VRS-network. Trips within the city limits require zone 1b tickets. For short trips of up to 4 stops on subway, tram or bus there is also the slightly cheaper "Kurzstrecke" (short trip ticket). A map of the network should be found at any station, and official Kölner Verkehrsbetriebe cologne station maps are available online here .
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 buses also have vending-machines. See the public bus, tram and subway-company KVB for printable maps of the bus/tram/subway system and for their official street map of Cologne.
Regional Trains are known as "S-Bahn", "Regional-Bahn" and "Regional Express". Most of them don't have ticket vending-machines so remember to buy a ticket at the station.
Cologne has, like Berlin, Munich and Frankfurt, a Call A Bike - System. After you sign up to the system, use your credit-card to pay per minute, and you can pick up or drop off one of the silver-red bikes anywhere in the city. See here for details. Also it's possible to rent a bike at many different places, by bike is maybe the best way to go around in the city.
But, on the whole, the centre of Cologne is not that big for a city of one million. It is entirely feasible to walk from one end of the centre, say, the Rudolfplatz, to the other end, say, the Dom, on foot in half an hour.
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 €48 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.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Cologne
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Cologne - updated May 2024
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Cologne Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.