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Four of the best day trips to do from Cologne

The city of Cologne is known for its twin-spired Gothic cathedral and lively culture, but it's also a great starting point for escaping the city. Here are four of our favourite day trip ideas from North Rhine-Westphalia's largest city.

Published: 21 August 2024 15:24 CEST
Updated: 24 August 2024 07:57 CEST

If you've had enough of 21st century life, this medieval city is just a short trip from Cologne. (Photo: Günter Hentschel on Flickr)

Climb Germany’s highest railway bridge

Scaling Müngsten Bridge is not for the faint-hearted. (Photo: Thomas Becker from Pixabay)

This isn’t one for those who are scared of heights, but if you fancy a bit of an adrenaline rush and the promise of spectacular views over the Wupper valley, a climb up the impressive 107-metre-high Müngsten Bridge is a great option. Built in 1897, it was made using a whopping 5,000 tonnes of steel and 950,000 rivets.

There’s a via ferrata all the way to the top, allowing you to safely climb the bridge which connects the cities of Remscheid and Solingen in the beautiful Bergisches Land.

If you fancy it, you’ll need to join a 2.5-hour guided tour (book your ticket online), don a helmet and get strapped into a harness set – so there’s no danger of falling. Slightly unnervingly, trains still run over the bridge, including while you’re climbing!

And if that’s not daring enough for you, they also run the tours at dusk (the next one’s on the 13th September) and there’s the option to test your nerve by walking the 100-metre-high narrow beam that crosses to the other side…

How far is it from Cologne? Just over an hour by car or public transport.

www.brueckensteig.de

Take to the water at the Rursee

The peaceful Rursee is a great spot for escaping the city. (Photo: Robert Brands on Flickr)

The Rursee is one of Germany’s largest dams, so it’s a paradise for water lovers – whether you opt for swimming, paddleboarding or kayaking – as your means to explore the area. There are several dedicated bathing spots and you can hire boats and boards, too.

And if you’d rather stay on terra firma, you can walk or bike part or all of the 27 kilometres around the reservoir. It sits in both the Eifel highlands and the lush national park itself, so there’s plenty to admire in addition to the peaceful waters.

How far is it from Cologne? You can get there in about 90 minutes by car or two and a quarter hours if you’re taking public transport.

Head back to the Middle Ages in Zons

The picture-perfect entrance to the old town of Zons. (Photo: Günter Hentschel on Flickr)

Go way back in time with a visit to the almost perfectly preserved little town of Zons on the west side of the Rhine. It used to be called Zollfeste Zons (toll fortress Zons) because it was one of the tollways for traffic along the river.

Even now, most of the medieval walled city’s fortifications remain intact and it’s the perfect size for exploring on foot as there are only about nine streets in total.

You’ll encounter interesting museums, a castle, churches, a 600-year-old windmill and gorgeous views as you wander the narrow cobbled streets. The open air theatre where fairytales are regularly performed is also a must-visit. Come mid-September, the town is turned over to the Matthäusmarkt, a sort of renaissance fair with entertainers, craftspeople selling their wares, a jousting tournament and period costumes everywhere.

How far is it from Cologne? It’s a 40-minute drive or about an hour on public transport. Or you can hop on one of the boat trips that sail between the two towns.

www.zons-am-rhein.info

Soak up the panoramic views with a hike up the Drachenfels

You’ll be rewarded with spectacular views if you make it to the top of the Drachenfels. (Photo: Farahim Gasimov from Pixabay)

If you’re after stunning views over the Rhine valley and the lush Siebengebirge hills with glimpses of Cologne in the background, then how about a walk up to the top of the Drachenfels? It takes about an hour to reach the peak and its castle ruins, but if you’d rather let the train take the strain, there’s a rack railway that takes you to the summit, too.

Legend has it that the hill got its name because of the dragon Fafnir that lived in a cave on the Drachenfels (literally: Dragon’s Rock). It was slain by Siegfried, the hero of the epic poem the Nibelungenlied, who took a bath in its blood to become invincible.

Legends aside, while you’re exploring the charms of Königswinter, don’t miss the fairytale neogothic Schloss Drachenburg. You can access it by walking up the (rather steep) hill in 30 minutes or, in summer, hop on Germany’s oldest rack railway to get whisked up there in just a few minutes.

How far is it from Cologne? It’s about a 30-minute drive or a 45-minute trip on train. Or, again, go down the river on a boat.

www.der-drachenfels.de

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What's considered a good salary for foreigners in Cologne and Düsseldorf?

North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany’s most populous state and home to several bustling cities, including Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Wuppertal and Dortmund to name just a few.

Although only around 30 minutes apart, Cologne and Düsseldorf have a long-standing (and mostly friendly) rivalry, with each city famously taking pops at the other during carnival celebrations. However, due to their close proximity, many people live in one and work in the other, or in the surrounding region.

Cologne is known for its historic and cultural offering with nearby nature, while Düsseldorf is famous for its fashion and arts scene.

Both cities on the Rhine river attract people from abroad looking to settle in Germany.

Of the just over one million people who live in Cologne, around 42 percent of all residents had a migration background in 2023, and around one in five Cologne residents was non-German (20.9 percent), according to city statistics released this year.

Düsseldorf is smaller, with about 640,000 residents. Around 164,000 people have a foreign background, according to Statista figures for 2022. The city is also known for its vibrant Japanese community, with around 8,400 Japanese nationals making it their home.

Cologne is home to a large mix of industries and sectors covering IT, media, life sciences and finance, while Düsseldorf is known for fashion, trade and the energy sector.

Some notable employers in the region include Bayer, Deutsche Telekom, Deloitte, Douglas, L’Oreal, Adidas, E-on and Trivago.

Although these are large and often multi-national companies, there are also plenty of smaller businesses and startups – many of which want to diversify their workplace and seek international talent.

People attend Japan Day in Düsseldorf in 2023.

People attend Japan Day in Düsseldorf in 2023. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Henning Kaiser

What’s the average and median wage in Germany?

Firstly let’s look at the big picture. According to data published by Germany’s statistical office (Destatis), the average monthly salary across Germany in 2023 for full-time employees was €4,479. This corresponds to an annual salary of approximately €53,748 before tax.

The average is calculated by adding up all of the individual values and dividing this total by the total number of values.

Another way to look at this is through the median. It is calculated by taking the ‘middle’ value, the value for which half of the salaries – in this case – are larger and half are smaller. Is is often thought to give a more realistic picture.

According to career portal Stepstone’s 2024 report, the median gross salary in Germany is around €3,645 monthly, which works out at around €43,740 per year before tax.

But salaries in Germany differ significantly depending on where you live. For instance, there are major income differences between eastern and western states nearly 35 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

What can you expect in Cologne and Düsseldorf?

According to Stepstone’s analysis released at the start of 2024 and based on findings from November 2023, the median gross salary (before tax) for full-time employees in Cologne is €50,000 per year. It is placed fifth in a ranking of large German cities. Düsseldorf comes fourth, with a median gross salary for full-time employees of €50,750.

The top three-earning cities in Germany, by the way, are Munich, Stuttgart and Frankfurt am Main. Munich is the city where employees get the highest salaries in Germany, with a median wage of €56,000. Stuttgart follows with €54,500 and in Frankfurt the median gross salary is €54,250, according to the analysis.

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For a snapshot of how different salaries in Germany can be, the median salary in Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, is €39,000, according to this analysis, while in Berlin it’s €46,500.

When it comes to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as a whole, the median gross salary is €44,000. But people in management positions can earn around €73,750 and the median salary for academics is €56,500.

What’s left after tax?

Your gross salary (Bruttolohn) is your pay before taxes and deductions. So it’s important to think about what your salary will be after taxes (Nettolohn), which is what you’ll have left to spend.

Germany’s tax rate starts at 14 percent for people earning just over the €11,784 threshold, but most full-time workers can expect a tax rate of between 25 and 42 percent on earnings over the threshold. Your exact tax rate depends on how much you earn and other factors including your marital status and whether you have children or not.

You also have to pay social security contributions. As an employee, you pay a fixed percentage of your salary for social security membership, and your employer pays a fixed percentage as well. The amount you’ll pay will be split evenly between you and your employer.

Meanwhile, if you are a member of the church, you will pay church tax to the tax office.

Is cost of living high in Cologne and Düsseldorf?

There’s no doubt that high inflation following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has had an impact on most people’s lives in Germany. The cost of everyday goods and services have spiralled upwards, making activities like eating out a much more expensive business.

Compared to other German cities, Cologne and Düsseldorf are not the most expensive – but that’s not to say that they are cheap.

In this year’s Mercer Cost of Living survey, eight German cities were said to be among the 100 most expensive cities in the world, with Düsseldorf landing in the 51st spot. Berlin took the top spot as the most expensive German city, mainly due to the rising costs of renting an apartment in the capital.

Beer in Cologne

The iconic Cologne beer, the ‘Kölsch’. Photo: Carola68/Pixabay

According to cost of living site Numbeo, which compiles information from users and reputable sources, a single person in Cologne faces monthly costs of around €1,000 without rent, while a family of four’s living costs amount to about €3,425.

A one-bedroom apartment in the city centre could set you back around €1,000 per month, and about €790 outside of the centre of Cologne, according to these figures.

Meanwhile, a three-bedroom flat could be around €2,000 in a central location in Cologne, and about €1,300 in a less central zone.

In Düsseldorf, Numbeo found that a single person has monthly costs of about €1,044 without rent and a family of four could see living costs of €3,500.

For a one-bedroom flat in the centre of Düsseldorf, it could amount to around €918 per month and about €813 outside of the centre, according to these figures.

A three-bedroom flat in the city centre might set you back €1,900, and it could be about €1,465 on the outer zones.

Which jobs pay the most or the least in Germany?

Stepstone’s 2024 salary report for Germany lists median salaries for a number of professions which gives a picture of what you can expect in different industries.

According to the report, medical doctors earn the most with a gross median salary of €94,750 This means they earn more than twice as much as the national average.

Employees in the banking and finance sector, with €57,000 gross per year, and engineers with €56,000, are also among the top earners.

At the other end of the scale are retail, catering and hotel employees, with a gross median salary of around €35,500 per year.

Germany’s minimum wage (€12.41 per hour in 2024) amounts to about €26,000.

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