Germany
Cologne, and the Cathedral You Can See From the Motorway
Two hours forty each way for one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in the world, and a city along the Rhine that most day trippers never leave the station for.
CologneGermany
The route from Amsterdam
~266 km, about 2 hours 40 each way. For comparison, direct trains run in roughly 3 hours.
Cologne is the furthest German city we would recommend as a day trip, at about two hours forty each way. The cathedral is the reason people go, and it earns it: 157 metres, six hundred years of building, and it sits directly beside the main station so the first thing you see is the whole thing.
Be honest with yourself about the shape of the day. Five and a half hours in Cologne is enough for the cathedral, the old town, a walk along the Rhine and lunch. It is not enough for the cathedral plus three museums, and anyone selling you that is selling you a rush.
Why take a private driver
The train does this route directly in about three hours, so speed is not the argument. What a vehicle gives you is the Rhine: Brühl's Augustusburg palace is twenty minutes south and on the UNESCO list, and the riverside villages are a different Germany from the city centre. Neither is convenient by rail.
A sample day
This is how we would plan it. Nothing here is fixed — the point of a private day is that it bends to you.
Pickup at your hotel
Early, because the drive is the longest part of this day.
Arrive in Cologne
Parked near the cathedral; the old town is walkable from there.
Cologne Cathedral
Free to enter. The tower climb is 533 steps and the view is the whole Rhine valley.
The old town
The lanes between the cathedral and the river, the Great St Martin church, and a brewery house for Kölsch if you want it.
Lunch
A traditional brewhouse, which is the local way and not a tourist construction.
The Rhine and the Hohenzollern bridge
The walk across and back, with the padlocks and the view of the cathedral from the far bank.
Optional: Brühl or a museum
Augustusburg Palace is twenty minutes away, or the Ludwig and Roman-Germanic museums are at the cathedral.
Drive back
Two hours forty.
Back at your hotel
Door to door.
What is included
- Private vehicle and driver for about 10 hours
- Hotel pickup and drop-off in Amsterdam
- Fuel, tolls, parking and all road costs in both countries
- An optional stop outside the city
What is not included
- Tower climb, museum and palace entry
- Lunch and drinks
- Gratuity
Questions
Is one cathedral worth five hours of driving?
For some people yes and for others no, and we would rather you decided before you booked. If the cathedral is the whole plan, it is a long day for one building. If you want the old town, the Rhine and something outside the city as well, it holds together.
What about the German environmental zone?
Cologne has an Umweltzone that requires a windscreen sticker, unlike the Belgian system which works by camera. We handle that on our side; there is nothing for you to arrange.
Can we add Düsseldorf?
They are forty minutes apart, but adding a second city turns a comfortable day into a rushed one. Cologne and Aachen works better, because Aachen is on the way home.