Cologne Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport is the sixth largest in Germany.

It's on the up (which airport isn't) and a second terminal opened in 2000 has increased the number of visitors. UK flights currently heading there from London Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Edinburgh and Dublin. The airlines plying the routes in late 2008 are are as follows:

Easyjet - Gatwick

Lufthansa - Heathrow

Germanwings - Stansted, Edinburgh and Dublin

The new terminal has certainly made it bigger than on my first visit in the late 1990s, with the departure lounge set around a large seating area. Expect all you'll need, although it's not quite on the scale of a Munich or Heathrow.

If there are no flights that help you out, Dusseldorf Airport is all of 30 minutes by train and the airport has a direct main line link to Cologne.

Getting into town

By far the quickest way of reaching the city is via a direct trian link on the S-Bahn. Take the S13 line to Koln Hansaring - they run every 20 minutes and the journey takes a quarter of an hour to the Hauptbahnhof.

Getting there by train

Cologne has got even closer to Britain by train - with the actual travelling time from London St Pancras now well under five hours.

It's under two and a half hours travelling time from London to Brussels on Eurostar, and then a further two a bit hours from Brussels to Cologne. via the Thayls or ICE high speed trains. Expect a wait in Brussels Midi station of an hour depending on connections but it's perfectly conceivable to leave London at 8.30am and be walking out of the Cologne Hauptbahnhof in mid afternoon - and that's an hour ahead.

The cost isn't bad either.  Tickets start from £85 return. You can buy a through ticket via Eurostar, but it's also worth checking out getting a Eurostar ticket to Brussels and then buying a Brussels to Cologne ticket via Deutsche Bahn, as bizarrely they may be cheaper.

If you  live in the south east you can even buy a through ticket from your local station all the way to Germany, and this will be cheaper than getting a ticket to London and then a Eurostar ticket separately.

Remember to allow at least half an hour check in time at St Pancras, and at Brussels Midi on your return.

Also note that you arrive at Brussels Midi station but trains for Cologne may leave from Brussels Zuid station. They're one and the same station, just different platforms. Confusing.

Check out stellar rail site seat 61 more info. For Eurostar click here - and for the english language version of Deustch Bahn click here

Getting around Cologne

Cologne's large and impressive public transport network is made up of U-Bahn, S-Bahn and buses.

The u-bahn is underground for the most central stops but soon rises above the surface. This blends in seemlessly with the overground rail and trams, S-Bahn, which spread out into the suburbs. Buses plug the gaps in the map but to be honest, you're unlikely to need them.

Although you frequently do have to change lines, often all trains heading in similar directions stop at the same platform so it's simply a case of hopping off one and waiting for the next, rather than lengthy walks to other platforms.

First stop for the old town: Heumarkt

It will come as no great surprise that all (or a good many) routes lead to the combined Dom Hauptbahnhof stop.

The underground is relatively new. Progress on new lines is slow due to the number of historic buildings, but one is being dug right now right through the city's heart.

At present the U-bahn journey from Dom to Heumarkt involves a change along heavily congested lines running underneath streets and it's frankly quicker to walk. However, a new 3km underground route will link the Koln Hauptbahnhof and Breslauer Platz with Heumarkt through to Severinstrasse and beyond, linking some of the most popular destinations for the first time and including new stops, one at Rathaus. It's been in progress for several years, hence the construction work in the old town.

Click here for more information on fares and directions

Buying tickets

If you're in town for a couple of days, and will need the airport connection, it's probably as worth investing in a Koln Welcome card. It has some modest savings on vasrious attractions, but the real benefit is free use of all parts of the Colohne regional network, which includes the airport, FC Koln and Bayer Leverkusen.

A card for one person costs 14 euros for 48 hours, whilst a group ticket for up to three adults, ora  family of two adults and three children) will set you back 28 euros.

They are also available for 24 hours  and 72 hours

It does last exactly that time - if you get into town at 1pm for a 48 hour card, it'll expire at 1pm two days later. None of that running out at midnight so you only get a day and a half lark.

If you don't want to go for that a single short journey ticket - EinzelTicket - is available. However, expect to pay more on longer journeys, for instance to Leverkusen Mitte for the BayArena.

A day ticket - TagesTicket - for the central zones is available for either a single person or up to five people.

Click here for more information on fares and directions