My wife and travel partner, Maureen, and I have traveled all over Germany, but we have consistently missed the beautiful city of Cologne. This city is world famous for its massive Cathedral, but also its many Christmas Markets at this time of year. We decided last year that this was the time to visit Cologne, and we were not to be disappointed.
Our visit began with a flight on Delta Air Lines from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and arriving at Brussels Airport (BRU). You can easily travel to Cologne by train from either Brussels (approximately 2 hours) or Frankfurt (approximately 90 minutes). We took a round-trip Intercity Express (ICE) train from Brussels to Cologne.
After we arrived in Cologne, Maureen and I immediately began walking through the town. Cologne is a lovely city on the Rhine River and is very easy to walk around. Cologne, technically, has twelve Christmas Markets, with five widely recognized as being the best.
We visited the three largest Christmas markets: the Christmas Market at the Cologne Cathedral, Heinzels Winter Fairytale, and the Cologne Harbor Christmas Market. While the Village of St. Nicholas and the Market of Angels were recommended, we decided to focus on the other Christmas markets during our visit.
We began with the Christmas Market at the Cologne Cathedral. It was huge and absolutely packed with people. There was a massive number of booths for both food and Christmas ornamentation, along with stage shows offering many musical groups. This market is dominated by views of the Cologne Cathedral, which is gorgeous, both inside and outside. The market is in the center of the city and easily accessible from the city’s main train station.
The second Christmas market we visited was Heinzels Winter Fairytale. This Christmas market, located in the Old Town, is very different from the first one. Heinzels Winter Fairytale Christmas market blends in beautifully with the image of Old Town Cologne, and it is much calmer, offering more food and drink options rather than religious ornamentation. This market also had two large ice skating rinks, one for skating and another for ice sports.
The third Christmas market that we visited is located at the Cologne Harbor Port. This market had a distinctly nautical feel and was complete with a Ferris Wheel and sailing ships on the river.
In Cologne, we stayed at the Cologne Marriott Hotel, which is beautifully located one block from the central train station and close to both the Cathedral and the Cathedral Christmas Market.
On the final day of our trip, we decided to return to Brussels and visit one of our favorite Christmas markets, The Winter Wonders Christmas Market in Brussels. This market is huge, vibrant, and wonderfully located, organized into three sections, beginning with the Grande Place. The Winter Wonders Christmas Market is renowned for its excellent light show in the Grande Place, which takes place every half hour and is not to be missed.
I must also mention that for quite a while now, the German Rail (Deutsche Bahn) has been highly unreliable and has canceled trains in the middle of trips, often leaving voyagers stranded to fend for themselves. Our trip was canceled in both directions to and from Cologne, and we needed to take local regional trains to complete the journey. In the future, renting a car may be a better option for us, as the distance from Brussels to Cologne is only 134 miles, whereas the distance from Frankfurt Airport to Cologne is only 111 miles.
While in Brussels, we stayed at the new Cardo Brussels Hotel, an Autograph Collection Hotel by Marriott, and it was excellent and quite futuristic. This hotel was formerly the Sheraton Brussels and is nicely located, close to Brussels Nord Train Station (North Station), and within walking distance of the Grand Place. It has taken almost ten years to rebuild and recreate this hotel. The hotel still features a beautiful indoor pool located on the 30th floor, offering sensational views of Brussels.
1 Comment
Loved your article on Cologne Christmas markets. Since I will be traveling as a single knowing where to stay and how to get around is very helpful. The first time I have seen your articles.