3 Days in Köln and Düsseldorf
Recently on a long weekend, we went to Köln and Düsseldorf for a short holiday. These two cities are located 45 kilometers apart and can be visited as a part of one trip. We did a three days holiday, but if you have four days available, then two days in Düsseldorf and two days in Köln would cover quite a few places. In this article, I am writing about
- The plan that we made and how it finally turned out to be
- Stay/Accommodation
- Information and review about the places we visited and the restaurants we ate in
- Our learnings and my recommendations for those who are planning a trip to these two cities
So, here goes how we went about planning our holiday.
Accommodation :
Usually, when we travel as a family, we prefer Airbnbs over hotels. Airbnb accommodations are big and spacious. At the price of a hotel room or sometimes just a little more, one can get separate rooms, a kitchen, in many cases 2 bathrooms too. But this time around, since the plan was made at the last moment, we couldn't find any Airbnb at the location we preferred. Hence, we booked a room at Holiday Inn Express.
The major difference between a Holiday Inn and a Holiday Inn Express is that the former is full service, while the latter is limited. In holiday Inn express, you wouldn't find extra amenities like a swimming pool, fitness center, etc., which are available at Holiday Inn, thereby making Holiday Inn more suitable for families and Holiday Inn Express ideal for short-stay business travelers.
However, since we didn't plan to stay in the hotel room and had plans of being outdoors most of the time, we chose Holiday Inn Express.
If you plan to stay there as a family and want your children accommodated in the same room, then you can ask for a double bed and a sofa cum bed. That way, the room can accommodate four people. However, I will point out here that the rooms are small. With four people, it can feel stuffy and cramped.
My review of Holiday Inn Express is available here.
A note for my readers: A stay in Holiday Inn Express is ok for single travelers or couples. A single room for a family is ok only if you choose to use the room for the night and plan to be outdoors most of the time. If you wish to spend more time indoors, choose another hotel or Airbnb.
However, I am sharing both the booking links with my readers:
Airbnb: Click here.
Holiday Inn Express: Click here.
Travel :
Since we traveled around the time when the 9 Euro offer was valid ( June 2022-August,2022), we made use of it wherever we could. However, we didn't choose the regional trains for traveling between Frankfurt and Düsseldorf because we wanted to save travel time and avoid huge crowds.
So, here was how we planned our travel.
Darmstadt -Franfurt Fernbahnhof : RB (9 Euro ticket)
Franfurt Fernbahnhof-Düsseldorf : ICE
For travel within Düsseldorf + Düsseldorf - Köln + Other day trips near Düsseldorf : RB/RE/S bahn (9 Euro ticket)
Düsseldorf-Franfurt Fernbahnhof: ICE
Franfurt Fernbahnhof-Darmstadt.: der Airliner (9 Euro ticket can be used but additional 3.8 Euros need to be paid per person)
Tickets for Deutsche Bahn can be booked at https://www.bahn.de/
A note for my readers:
Ours was a three days trip, and we stayed for two nights in Düsseldorf and made a day trip to Köln. Although Düsseldorf and Köln are not far, going by public transport and returning on the same day can mean time wastage in travel and delays. A better thing to do is to stay one night in Köln and one night in Düsseldorf. If you have more days and plan to see both the cities and nearby sites, split your stay between the cities. That way you can save time and use it to spend time in the city.
Itinerary:
Our planned Iternanary was :
Day 1 : Reach Düsseldorf ; Visit Neanderthal museum,Konigsalle, Rheinuferpromenade, Rheinturm
Day 2 : Day trip to Köln - see Köln Cathetral and do a panaroma tour on the Rhein
Day 3 : Visit Schloss Benrath ; Head back to Darmstadt
How our Iteranary finally turned out to be:
Day 1: Reached Düsseldorf by afternoon ; Saw Rheinuferpromenade, Rheinturm
Day 2 : Day trip to Köln - saw Koln Cathetral. Rhein views by taking a walk along the Rhein ; Early return to Düsseldorf. Evenig, we saw Konigsalle in Düsseldorf
Day 3 : Schloss Benrath, Neanderthal museum. Headed back to Darmstadt
Day 1: We reached Düsseldorf and checked in. After lunch, we relaxed a bit and then headed towards Rheinuferpromenade.
About Rheinuferpromenade:
Rheinuferpromenade is a 1.5 km long promenade lined with cafés, restaurants, galleries, and shops on one side and the mighty Rhine on the other.
The stretch is very active, especially in the summers when tourists and locals flock in to enjoy the sun and sights of the mighty Rhein river. One can walk along enjoying the lovely views or relax in a cafe or restaurant and savor some local food and beer.
You can also find my review of the Rheinuferpromenade here.
The stretch leads you to the Rhein Turm.
About Rhein Turm:
Rhein Turm is a 240-meter-tall telecommunications tower. From the M168 viewing platform (at the height of 168 m ), one can enjoy spectacular views of the city. You can buy a ticket and use an elevator to reach the viewing platform.
The interesting thing is that the Rhein Turm is open till late at night and there are discounted tickets if you wish to see it in the morning or at night. You can see even as far as the Köln Cathedral when the weather is nice. It also houses a snack bar where you can sit with your favorite snack and drinks and treat yourself to this unique experience.
Here are some views from the viewing platform:
You can also find my review of the Rhein Turm here.
A note for my readers:
If you want to visit these two places and plan a meal along with the visit, you need at least 3-4 hours. If you are planning to see other places too on the same day, consider that there is a reasonable amount of walk along the Rheinuferpromenade, which may make you tired. Do make these considerations when you are planning a visit.
After our wonderful experience at the Rheinuferpromenade and Rhein Turm, we headed to a restaurant named bona'me, recommended by a friend. It turned out to be a fantastic experience.
My review of the restaurant is available here.
After dinner, we called it a day.
Day 2 :
After breakfast, we took the S-Bahn to reach Köln. As mentioned earlier, Köln is located just 45 kilometers from Düsseldorf and is easily reachable by car or public transport. By S-Bahn, it takes about an hour to reach there. By RE, it takes about 40 minutes.
As soon as you exit the Köln railway station, you are greeted by the mighty Kölner Dom ( Cologne Cathedral).
About Kölner Dom:
Kölner Dom is a Roman Catholic church whose construction began in 1248 and was completed in 1880. It is said that after the attacks of the 2nd world war, when the city was in ruins, this Cathedral stood intact and undamaged. It was considered nothing less than a miracle and has been a symbol of the 'will to live since then.
The Cathedral stays open, and visitors are allowed to enter free of cost. If you wish to know more, you can also book a guided tour through their website:
My review of the Kölner Dom is available here.
With just a few minutes of walk from the Cathedral, you can reach the banks of the Rhein river. It is lined with cafes and restaurants and looks lovely.
Around 3:00 pm, we took S-Bahn and headed back to Düsseldorf. Since it was a pretty hot day, we rested for some time in our hotel room and, in the evening, headed to Königsallee.
About Königsallee:
Königsallee, called Kö by the locals, is a boulevard in the city center of Düsseldorf. The Kö is one of the leading luxury shopping streets in Europe. The stream of water called the Stadtgraben, bordered by trees, gives it its characteristic design.
It is an active place, especially in the summers, as you can find people walking, jogging, reading a book on one of the benches along the Stadtgraben, or tourists busy exploring the area, clicking pictures, or checking out the shops. The Königsallee connects to the Hofgarten, which is a massive garden and an ideal place for a peaceful walk in the evening or even a picnic.
Information about the shops, galleries, hotels, etc at Königsallee can be found on their website:
We explored the Hofgarten on foot and then headed back to the hotel.
Day 3:
After breakfast, we headed to the Neanderthal Museum.
About Neanderthal Museum:
The Neanderthal Museum is located about 20 kilometers east of Düsseldorf city center. It is where, about 160 years ago, the first recognized Neanderthals were found. It is easily accessible by car and public transport and worth visiting when you are in Düsseldorf.
It has various exhibits, multimedia installations, audio presentations, and informational texts that tell the story of humankind starting at 4 million years ago. Using the museum app or the headphones (which can be plugged in to hear the relevant audio), one can get a good amount of information about the site and the story the exhibits convey.
The audio is available in both English and German.
The museum also houses a cafe with a terrace and a museum shop.
Tickets for the museum can be purchased at the site or booked on their official website.
My review of the Neanderthal Museum is available here.
A note for my readers:
Reaching the Neanderthal site by public transport from Düsseldorf city center can take about an hour, as it requires some changeovers. So, do account for about 2 hours of travel time to and fro. Apart from that, if you see all the exhibits, you may need about 2 hours at the museum. So visiting the museum can be considered a half-day activity.
After visiting the Neanderthal museum, we came to the city and had lunch at an Indian restaurant by the name Jaipur near Düsseldorf central railway station (Hauptbahnhof).
My review of the restaurant is available here.
Now was the time to visit Schloss Benrath.
About Schloss Benrath:
Schloss Benrath is a Baroque-style pleasure palace located about 15 kilometers from Düsseldorf city center. It was constructed for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodor, and his wife, Countess Palatine Elisabeth Auguste of Sulzbach. The construction of the palace began in 1755 and was completed in 1770.
As you enter the palace campus, the first thing that catches your eye is the beautiful pond with a fountain right in front of the palace. The palace complex has a main building called corps de logis ( which was used by the royal family) flanked by two arched symmetrical wings, the Maisons de cavalière (which initially served as a house for the servants). Behind the palace is a park open for visitors during the day.
Today, the main building, corps de logis, can be visited with a tour guide. On the website, it is called the 'The Palace ticket'.The two wings house the Museum for European Garden Art and the Museum of Natural History. Tickets can be purchased for visiting these museums on their official website.
We took a guided tour of the palace. It lasted about 1 hour. Our guide showed us the rooms and explained the meaning and significance of some of the artworks. She also explained the design aspects considered while designing the palace, the materials used, etc.
My review of the tour is also available here.
A note for my readers:
Since we had little time, we just took the guided tour to the palace. However, if you have more time and want to visit the palace, the museums, and the park, it can take more than half a day. Also, if you travel from Dusseldorf city center to the palace by public transport, you can account for roughly 2 hours of traveling to and fro. That can make visiting the Schloss a full-day activity. So, consider all these before planning your trip to the Benrath Palace.
After the palace visit, there was just enough time left to pick up the luggage that we had left at the hotel locker room and head for Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof to catch our train to Frankfurt Fernbahnhof. From Frankfurt Fernbahnhof we took the der Airliner to reach Darmstadt.
Here are some more pictures that we took while walking on the streets.
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