We will be staying in Cologne for one month and will have ample time to travel around. Can you give me a list of few one-day or several-day trips to explore that part of the world. We are a family of 4. We can rent a car for suggested trips, if it would make any of them nicer... Looking forward to your suggestions :)
Posted by
the Netherlands
2487 posts
ViaMichelin gives a map with popular tourist destinations. Might be helpful for a first orientation.
Posted by
Green Bay
20128 posts
You don't need a car unless it is for someplace really out of the way. Are there children in your family? They often ride free with parents or grandparents. There are local train passes available for a wide variety of day trips, from the Quer durchs Land ticket which covers all of Germany, to the NRW Laender ticket, to regional transit district passes. You are restricted to using regional trains (no ICE, IC, or EC trains) and travel after 9 am weekdays, any time weekends.
https://www.bahn.com/en/view/offers/regional/index.shtml?dbkanal_007=L04_S02_D002_KIN0060_ST-REGIONALE-ANGEBOTE_LZ01
Good trips:
Aachen, Bonn, Duesseldorf
Trip to Mosel Valley, Burg Eltz, and wine country
Trip to Bingen, then K-D cruise boat through the Rhine Gorge, then train back to Cologne.
Trip to the Zollverein coal mine museum in Essen
Trip to Wuppertal to ride the monorail
Those are just off the top of my head.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you all for your replies. My kids are 16 and 18, not children unfortunately any more... I will research all the suggestions above. But If I needed to make extended 2-3 day trips to visit neighboring countries, which cities or towns would make a nice travel route? Belgium/ Amsterdam and back, that's why I mentioned renting a car.. I would like to show them old lively towns, scenic routes, good food, etc. I read about Maastricht, Durbuy, Giethoorn , any recommendations?
Posted by
San Francisco
14520 posts
Hi,
From Köln as a day trip, I would suggest Bad Godesberg, Bonn, Aachen, Düsseldorf, Neuss, How far do you want the radius from Köln to be? If you don't mind the distance, then Koblenz, Bad Ems.
Posted by
San Diego, CA, USA
321 posts
If you have never been, I would suggest a 3-5 day train trip to Paris as a break from the smaller towns...
Have a great trip!!!....
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
If your kids are fed up with high culture, there's one of Europe's biggest theme parks, Phantasialand, at Bruehl near Koeln, which can easily be reached by tram or train.