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Planning a day trip driving to Cologne for Sunday, April 27 but was wondering what kind of traffic problems I may encounter? We'll be crossing the Rhein on the Zoobrucke/55a; and then coming down the Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer; hope to park somewhere near the Hauptbanhof. How heavy is the traffic on a typical Sunday? Is the 27th a typical Sunday (nothing special which may cause traffic problems)? Any other advice or tips would be much appreciated.
Just an advise in advance. Cologne downtown is an environmental controlled local city area and you need a special emission sticker on your vehicle. PJ
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PJ, yes I've read this - I'll be renting our car in Amsterdam (Office located @ Overtoom 197), will obtaining a rental with this 'certificate' be problematic (we're renting a subcompact)? And do you know of Sunday traffic situation in Cologne?
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autobahn.nrw.de/olsim3_5/koe... and click on "long term prognosis". Sunday should be no problem from the traffic. And also parking should be available as the shops and offices are closed. Low emission zone is the bigger problem. stadt-koeln.de/en/lowemissio... Don't think your rental car will have the right sticker. This law/rule is brand new and is just applied since 1st March 2008. As rental cars are however always rather new it will for sure satisfy the criteria to obtain a green sticker.
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I doubt the Dutch rental car will have an emission sticker. Inform upfront at the rental company. It will cost the rental company Euro 12,50 per car for getting the sticker. PJ
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I do not know anything about the sticker but generally Sunday is the day with least traffic in all German cities, as in Germany shops are closed on Sundays, and you do not have the commuter traffic of weekdays. So traffic-wise clearly the best day to travel.
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I just read over this low emission page. The only problem seems to be the purchase of the sticker, and if the rental company buys it or you. They write on the website: If your vehicle is registered in the Netherlands, you can also buy emission stickers there. Please note that the emission sticker costs 17,85 Euro there. If the rental company does not get you the sticker I would park outside the city centre and use public transportation. Most attractions are at walking distance in the city centre, and others can be reaches by tram or bus, and you can travel a lot until it would cost you the 17.85 Euro you would have to pay for the green sticker.
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English language information here... do inquire with your rental car company whether it has the plaque... Info-Page in English here: umwelt-plakette.de/int_engla... Sunday is generally very quiet in Cologne. Parking exactly next to the Hbf could be a problem as there is a large subway construction site. PS: I am driving in Cologne 3 days a week and so far I have not been checked at all. The majority of traffic wardens don't work on Sundays. Police might check for an environmental badge, but your chances to get caught are rather minimal -- it's not like the London congestion charge zone where they run automated controls...
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Thanx to you all for your responses. Still awaiting info from the rental agency on the sticker. I see there is a 'Park & Ride' lot near the zoo & outside the 'low emissions zone'. Looks to be very convenient to my route.
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