Dusseldorf & Cologne - what to do?

Basq

Hello all,

Flying into Dusseldorf late next month (30th) for a week but since Cologne was nearby.. I might do a few nights in both so any recommendations on which to give my 4 nights to and which to give 3 nights?

Anyone been? Hotel recommendations etc? Any advice or tips would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Victor

I was there about 9 years ago. Cologne is much nicer than Dusseldorf.

Cologne - Cathedral, zoo, cable car, shopping

Dusseldorf - old town

Both - beer halls

Basq

Cheers Victor.

Cologne seems to be the more favourable from the articles and guides I've read online alright.

Fr Clint Power

I'm heading over to Cologne in a few weeks too, one of the things that I am looking forward to seeing is 'EL-DE Haus' the old Cologne Gestapo headquarters, if you are interested in that sort of thing it should be worth a visit.

Lucy Lu

Yes, Cologne is the nicer of the two cities but Dusseldorf has improved a bit too. The old town is nice. As the are only about 40 minutes apart by train its easy to go between the two. There is more to see and do in Cologne in my opinion.

It would alsoo be worth hiring a car. There are some beautiful towns and scenery south of Cologne.

CantGetNoSleep

There is the biggest brothel I have ever seen beside Dusseldorf train station if thats what your into

Basq

Yeah, we were looking at a hotel across from the railway station and they said it was a seedy area. It's the Red Light District, right?

We're just finishing our hotel bookings anyways - we're doing the 30th July (Thursday) to the 2nd August (Sunday) in Hotel Friends, Dusseldorf and the remainder of the holiday in the AZIMUT in Cologne.

Both close to the city centre and well-reviewed on TripAdvisor (#38/239 for Hotel Friends & #8/293 for Azimut).

I tend to pay a bit more for hotels as I prefer them close to the centre of the city and preferably not a dive. Got a double room in both of them for €365 for 7 nights.

Victor

I remember seeing that building, speeding by in the train. I think its just the one building on the far side of the railway from the centre of town.

While the station area is busy, its more Dublin 1980s than Dublin 2000s. While, there were one or two eyebrow raising shops, e.g. gun shop with pistols in the window display, the area didn't seem to be seedy.

Basq

Victor wrote: »

the area didn't seem to be seedy.

Bear in mind, I did read that on TripAdvisor.. "nuff said" really!

chocolatepan

Been to both briefly a few years back, both are quite small but have a nice atmosphere, if your into architecture, the Frank Gehry Neue Zollhof in Dusseldorf is worth a look. There's also a themepark about an hour from Dusseldorf at Bottrop, its called Movipark, kinda like Germany's answer to Disneyland, I was there at halloween and they went all out to be scary, it was crazy but not sure whats it would be like normally. Good day out though!

Quint

The Cologne Dom is one of the most spectacular buildings you'll ever see. Enjoy

Victor

Oh, there is also Phantasialand in Bruhl, between Cologne and Bonn.

Basq

Victor wrote: »

Oh, there is also Phantasialand in Bruhl, between Cologne and Bonn.

Sounds like one of those shops in the Red Light District, Vic!

mike65

Stand outside Kling Klang studio and intonate "we are the Robots" as you shuffle back and forth.

Victor

http://www.phantasialand.de/eng/

olaola

Dus-Dus-Dusseldorf! Have been here a few times, great town to head out for a few beers! Good shopping, great bars, nice restaurants and good museums too. The altstadt is known as the 'longest bar' in Germany as there are so many places to wet your whistle. You'll have plenty to keep you busy in both Cologne & Dus, and the train between them is only 40 mins.

Slunk

I stayed in the AZIMUT last month in Cologne. Very nice hotel, breakfast was great. Staff were very frioendly and helpful. Its just a little doorway beside the saturn music shop which you should pop into. Just scan any barcode from any cd to the earphones and you can listen to the entire album. Pretty cool. Use the train to get into the main station in less than five minutes if you dont want to walk. Train station is right next door to hotel.

Also if the weather is nice, which it was while I was there, was fcuking lovely . Walk up the river and get a cable car over (watch out for the nudists on the other side :P), walk through the park and then relax on the man made beach by the riverside. It costs €4 entry but that gives you a chip for a drink at the bar. Its to stop free-loaders. Also bring ypour empties back the bar for money off next drink. Get there early and you can secure your own double bed to waste away the day.

http://www.km689.rhein-terrassen.de/