Köln and Hamburg, Germany

Köln & Hamburg Highlights

Köln Cathedral
Museum Ludwig
River Rhine
Hamburg town hall
Miniature Wonderland

Why visit Köln & Hamburg?

For safe and walkable European cities with kid-friendly museums and activities.

Getting there and around

We visited Köln and Hamburg as stopovers on our voyage by rail and boat from London to Iceland in August 2022.

We used Undiscovered Destinations to arrange transport and accommodation for us. They selected more expensive accommodation than we’d usually opt for, but it also gave us ATOL protection should anything go wrong.

Before departing London we purchased an e-sim data package from Airalo which enabled us to access maps and use the internet without paying roaming chargers to our usual mobile provider.

It cost £10 for for 3GB data for a 30 day e-sim and we could use it in all the European countries we visited, including Germany. It worked brilliantly and we felt it was great value for money.

Köln

To get to Köln we took the 2 hour Eurostar train from London to Brussels. We were really impressed with the quick and organised Eurostar departures process at St Pancras station.

We then caught an InterCity Express train (ICE317) from Brussels to Köln which was supposed to take 2 hours. However, the train was cancelled at Leige and we had to take 3 slower local trains to reach Köln (which added 2 hours to our journey).

On the plus side this meant we got to see some very pretty parts of Belgium. But the diversion extended our journey time and the trains were very very crowded and hot.

Despite this minor setback, the kids were super adaptable and resilient, coped well with the crowds, and took it all in their stride.

Hamburg

Our train to Hamburg from Cologne took 4-hours and thankfully was cancellation free. However, our seats were double booked and instead of taking the line that there had been some kind of mistake, the train guard threatened to put us off the train and call the police. We convinced him we had paid, moved to some unreserved seats and kept our heads down for the rest of the journey!

FFP2 masks are required on public transport in Germany, and this rule is well adhered to. The trains in Germany were on the whole unreliable. They were also hot and very crowded, but this could have been due to the €9 euro train travel offer which the German government introduced to lure people back onto public transport after the pandemic.

We walked in both Köln and Hamburg. They are safe and walkable cities and all the main sights are within walking distance. In Hamburg we took the bus to and from Miniatur Wonderland.

Accommodation

We stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Köln. The hotel was in a convenient location right next to Köln station and Köln Cathedral. Our spacious family suite had two connecting rooms and two bathrooms. The staff were very kind and helpful. We were grateful to have such a pleasant place to rest after our long, hot journey from London. We really liked this hotel.
Our star rating: 4
Our cost rating: 3

Hilton Cologne

In Hamburg we stayed at the Barcelo Hotel. The hotel was 5 minutes from Hamburg HBF station. We had a junior suite which had a king size bed and a double sofa bed. The sofa bed was not made up when we arrived. We asked for the sofa bed to be made up but they misunderstood and provided a baby travel cot instead. Once the hotel staff did get around to making up the sofa bed it was very uncomfortable. The restaurant was closed due to staff shortages. Our room was on the 9th floor (but sadly with no view), which meant waiting for a lift every time we went anywhere. So for these reasons sadly we wouldn’t recommend this hotel for families.
Our star rating: 2
Our cost rating: 2

Barcelo Hamburg

Köln Cathedral

Museum Ludwig, Köln

We were impressed with this modern art museum in Köln which has a dazzling collection including Warhol, Lichtenstein, Klein, Rothko, Picasso, Mondrian and Kandinsky. There was also a room for kids with colouring and craft activities.

River Rhine, Köln

We enjoyed a lovely sunny stroll along the river in Köln watching the pleasure boats and cargo barges go past. The riverside was a well designed green space with shade and water areas along the way.

Miniatur Wonderland, Hamburg

We spent most of our time in Hamburg exploring this model city. Spread over three floors, the displays are extensive with models of most countries in Europe plus a sizeable chunk of South America. Currently the model makers are working on Monaco, complete with F1 race track, and Patagonia. The models were impressive, with working trains, helicopters, hot air balloons and cable cars.
Our favourite part was a 10 minute VR experience where we immersed ourselves in Venice and then the Swiss Alps. It was lots and lots of fun!
Miniatur Wonderland was very very busy however, with (pushy) crowds and no social distancing. We had timed tickets but the place still seemed very full which somewhat detracted from the experience.

Alster Lake, Hamburg

The hotel in Hamburg was in a nice area close to the Outer Aster Lake, an artificial lake formed by the river Alster. This made for pretty views and pleasant evening strolls.

Nearby was Vietbowl, an excellent restaurant where we enjoyed fantastic Vietnamese food. There were lots of other restaurants and interesting shops in this area to explore.

Hamburg is a city by the water, with rivers and canals everywhere you look. The building housing Miniature Wonderland was surrounded by water. This area of Hamburg reminded us a lot of Kelham Island in Sheffield or Deansgate in Manchester.

Final Thoughts

Because we had to catch onward connecting trains, we only had a day to explore each city. Both cities had interesting architecture and fun sights but sadly we also found them to be dirty and smelly which was a shame. Nonetheless we would like to come back to see more of the attractions on offer.