In May 2022 we visited Cologne in Germany. The weather was perfect and we were really positively surprised. Cologne is such a vibrant city and the best part? Everything is pretty much within walking distance and there are a lot of nice restaurants and cafes with terraces! We drove here from Amsterdam as it was quite a spontaneous trips, but it’s also a great destination for a citytrip by train.
Best breakfast/brunch
I wish we had more time to try more restaurants as there were so many places to choose from.
1. Café Buur
We started in a queue but it moved quickly and we ended up with a nice table on the terrace. The menu is big which I usually don’t like as I believe it’s better to focus on a selected number of amazing dishes instead of a bit of everything. However, the brunch options we ordered were all pretty yum and the presentation was on point as well. After changing my mind a million times (as usual), I ordered the Egg-Simit and Wiss ordered the Shakshuka. Since I generally prefer a sweet breakfast, we ordered the Vegan Umm Ali with berries and coconut ice cream for desert, an absolute must try!
2. ST. LOUIS
To be honest we didn’t actually eat here since it was fully booked during brunch time. We managed to find a table around 3 pm so we enjoyed a refreshing drink. We saw some dishes being served around us and I must say, they looked pretty damn good!
3. Balthasar
This place is located in a lively street full of restaurants and cafe’s. We only shared an Açai bowl and had a coffee as a snack on the first day, but the other plates looked big. The place was also packed with locals so I assume they must do something good..
Other must try food spots in Cologne
1. Moxxa; the place for coffee-addicts
Moxxa offers an extensive range of coffees and the guy preparing them is very passionate about it. He knows a lot and explains a bit about the coffee you’ve ordered, making it a really nice experience to have a coffee here.
2. Get cake at Oma Liebt Dich
Oma Liebt dich is a tiny kiosk/cafe owned by a cute couple that sells all kinds of cakes for a very good price. The slices were huge, so you can easily share 1 piece. Especially if you just shared a kebab sandwich (7). As usual I couldn’t decide so we grabbed 2 slices and kept one for later. It’s always good to have a back-up snack when you’re with a man that gets hangry. The couple working there was also very friendly, sadly enough my German is too rusty to have a proper conversation.
Mark this location in your Maps
3. Best Ice Cream in Cologne at Der Eismacher and Die Eisdielerin
It’s not a vacay if you haven’t had ice cream, am I right? At least that’s my opinion, especially if it’s sunny and above 20 degrees. These two places both serve some delicious flavours and pretty decent scoops as well. I honestly hate the tiny scoops of ice cream they often serve in the Netherlands.
4. Kebab sandwich from Kebabköln
If tender grilled meat, perfectly spiced is your thing, you have got to try the Kebab sandwich from Kebabköln. It’s not a fancy place, but the food is really good. There are a couple of seats, but we took it with us on the way to Oma (5).
5. Ain Café
Located in the Ehrenfeld neighborhood is the cute Ain Cafe, a not very hidden but real gem. It’s super light with big glass doors that can open completely. It has a vintage interior with lots of bamboo, wood and plants. On top of that there is a wall full of sticky notes in the back where people can share what they’re grateful for. How nice is that?! Besides drinks they serve a few dishes and sweet and savory snacks/pastries. It’s a great stop when you’re on tour to see the street art.
Location: Ain Cafe
6. Salon Schmitz
Salon or bar Schmitz is another lovely spot on the Aachener Straße(street). Since many other restaurants were full we ended up here with low expectations. However, we tried 2 pasta’s and they were actually not bad at all! I’m sure it’s not one of the top restaurants but it’s definitely a decent one to have as a back up plan. Next to the restaurant there is an Ice-cream place and the queue got extremely long around 9pm. I really wanted to try one but A. I didn’t feel like waiting and B. my stomach was overloaded from everything else I ate that day.
How to get to Cologne
Cologne is relatively close to the border with the Netherlands, so it’s definitely possible to drive. We decided a bit last minute to go on this trip, so we took the car. It took us about 3 hours to drive from Amsterdam to Cologne. It should be possible in 2,5 hours but we stopped for coffee and brekkie on the way. When you travel to Germany, make sure you buy a vignet or sticker in advance to avoid a fine.
Another, more sustainable option to reach Cologne is by train. Köln Hbf is easy to reach from different cities across Europe. The train station is also centrally located so it’s also a very convenient way to reach Cologne. NSInternational has a direct line from Amsterdam to Cologne which only takes 2 hours and 37 minutes.
How to get around in Cologne?
Public transport
Although the city isn’t very large it’s faster to use the tram (s-bahn) or underground (u-bahn) sometimes. If you expect to use it a couple of times it might be better to buy a 24 hours card. Look up the prices and timings on KVB.
Biking
Discovering a city by bike is always a good idea. Especially when it’s warm and you don’t want to waste too much time on walking. You can either rent a bike or go on a bike tour with for instance Baja Bikes. Baja Bikes offers bike tours in many different cities and also in Cologne.
Pick and reserve your preferred bike tour here.
Enjoy your trip and let me know if you find any more hot spots!
Electric Scooters
The city is full of these easy to use electric scooters. Apparently the bottom of the Rhine river is full of them as well.. These things are probably like the bicycles we have in Amsterdam. They’re everywhere and people don’t take care of them. However, it’s an easy way to cross the city as there is nearly always one around you. There are multiple brands but we personally used Lime. You can download the Android or IOS the Lime app and get yourself up and running (or riding in this case) in no time.
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