Köln/Cologne Hbf (Köln / Cologne / Koeln)

Taking the train from Cologne/Köln to Amsterdam is usually blissfully simple, as the city's are usually liked every other hour by swish ICE trains.
Though what's a tad odd about this route is that the ICEs are high speed trains, but they only have the opportunity to travel at more than 270 kmh south of Köln/Cologne.
On this route to The Netherlands there are no high speed lines for them to whizz along.

As is the norm when travelling between major German cities by train, smart ICE trains provide hourly direct connections throughout the day on this route, so this is typically a very straightforward journey.

Aachen is close enough to Köln/Cologne to be served by Regio trains and if you will be buying tickets at the station for a spontaneous day trip, they are the logical option, they provide both the most frequent and cheapest service.

There are three options for a taking a direct train from Cologne/Köln to Basel:

1. The fastest and most frequent option for a daytime journey are the swish ICE trains.
2. For those who favor a scenic journey over a train ride with a wow factor, there are the EC trains which take the beautiful route through the Rhine Valley.
3. Or if you need to be in Basel in time for breakfast, there is also an overnight train (but it isn't a sleeper train).

All of these trains call at two stations in Basel, the first stop is the Basel Bad Bf, which is managed by DB, the German national rail operator, which therefore creates the illusion that you won't have left Germany.
The trains then continue on to Basel SBB station where connections are available to a swathe of Swiss destinations without direct trains from Cologne/Köln, including Luzern, Lugano, Locarno, Brig and Biel (for Lausanne and Geneva)

What matters about this is that the tickets to Basel Bad Bf will be cheaper as DB classifies this is a national journey, but the journey on to Basel SBB becomes an international journey.
So if you will be heading to Basel city centre, book tickets to Basel Bad Bf.

There are two options for a taking a direct train from Cologne/Köln to Frankfurt (Main).

1. The fastest and most frequent option for a daytime journey are the swish ICE trains.
2. For those who favor a scenic journey over a train ride with a wow factor, you can also take the beautiful route through the Rhine Valley.

Despite being one of Germany's busiest railway routes, there is no high speed line between Cologne/Köln and Hamburg, this part of country is so densely populated that it would send constructions costs into the stratosphere.

Though ICE trains are increasingly being switched to this route, as they have a more comfortable ambience than the IC trains and they also convey restaurant cars.
Up to three of the ICE trains also now offer an accelerated schedule with fewer station calls (except on Saturdays).

There are two options for taking the train from Cologne/Köln to Hannover:
1: the ICE trains which are more frequent and faster; despite the lack of a high speed line between Cologne/Köln and Hannover
2. Slower IC trains, which are typically cheaper.

Koblenz is close enough to Köln/Cologne to be served by Regio trains and if you will be buying tickets at the station for a spontaneous day trip, they are the logical option, they provide both the most frequent and cheapest service.

Taking a train from Cologne/Köln to Munich/München is very straightforward but there is an unusually high number of options for taking a direct train, and in summary they are:
1: the most frequent service of high speed ICE trains, which happen to depart from Köln Messe/Deutz station.
2: other ICE trains which depart from the city's main central rail station, Köln hbf.
3. taking a more scenic, but slower route.
4. Travelling in a bed or a bunk on a Nightjet train
5. Travelling through the night on an ICE train

There are two very different routes taken by direct trains from Cologne/Köln to Nuremberg/Nürnberg.

1. The faster ICE trains which use the high speed line between Cologne and Frankfurt, depart from Koln Messe/Deutz station and not the city center station, Koln Hbf
2. The slower trains do depart from Koln Hbf and they take the more scenic route between Cologne and Frankfurt.

These Thalys high speed services are the only direct trains from north-west Germany to the French capital

There are three optimum routings to choose from when taking a a journey by train from Cologne/Köln to Salzburg.

1. Boarding the only direct daytime train
2. The fastest option, but it involves departing from Koln Messe/Deutz station
3. Departing from Koln Hbf and also making a connection between trains in Frankfurt.

There are three options for taking a journey by train from Cologne/Köln to Stuttgart:

1. The ICE trains which depart from the main city centre rail station.
2. Alternative ICE trains, which leave from Messe/Deutz station.
3. Slower trains which take a more scenic route.

The journey by train from Cologne/Köln to Vienna/Wien is one of those routes on which travellers have a choice between:

1. making a long, but scenic journey during the day, or
2. travelling through the night on an overnight train

When looking up a Cologne/Köln to Zurich journey by train on the ticket booking websites there will be a swathe of options available, most of which involve making connections between trains.
Of these journey options, SMTJ's recommendations is to opt for the routing which involve making connections in Basel, because if the train from Germany is delayed, you will then be able to simply hop on any train on to Zurich.

However, there is usually a daily direct train available, so if the timings suit and you'd rather avoid making any connections, it's then becomes the obvious best option for making this journey.
It also takes a scenic route.

If you want or need to travel overnight there are no sleeper trains available on this route.
You will need to travel to Switzerland through the night on a train typically used for daytime services and then make a connection in Basel.

There is no getting away from the fact that this is a long journey which predominantly involves travelling across the flat plains of northern Europe.
Though despite the distance it is comparatively straightforward, with only transfer between trains to negotiate.

There are no direct trains from Cologne/Köln to Denmark, but is typically a straightforward journey with only one connection required.
Though travelling overnight is not an option on this route.

Taking the train from Cologne/Köln to Milano is typically a fabulous experience, with only one easy transfer required between two of Europe's smartest trains.
When looking up this journey you will see other options which require additional conditions, but there is no need to make more than one transfer.

If you would rather travel 'overnight' you won't be taking a sleeper train as they are not a viable option on this route.
Instead the through the night option, mirrors this daytime journey of taking an ICE train to Basel and an EC train on to Milano

There three options for taking a train from Cologne/Köln to Innsbruck:

1. The direct daytime option is the IC train which takes one of Europe's most epic rail journeys, it is the only train which travels through both the Upper Rhine Valley and the Arlberg Pass.
2. A much faster daytime option is to take a different route via Munich/Munchen on a combination of two trains.
3. The direct overnight train

When looking up a journey by train north-west Germany to central and southern France most of the options on the ticket booking services will involve taking a Thalys train from Köln to Paris and then a TGV on from Paris to Lyon.
However that routing involves an awkward cross Paris transfer, which can be avoided when following the two journey options set out below.
So they're worth looking out for when travelling by train between these areas of Europe.

The journey by train from Cologne/Köln to London involves making a transfer between high speed trains at Bruxelles-Midi station.
Eurostar provides the services on to London from the Belgian capital, but ICE and Thalys trains share the route between Köln and Bruxelles.
The split between these two services impacts on the end-to-end journey times and the ticketing; in terms of both price and availability.

Though due to the current reductions in the number of timetabled trains as a consequence of the pandemic, the departure and arrival times have become more important, due to the more limited options for making the end-to-end journey.

When taking a combination of ICE + Eurostar trains or Thalys + Eurostar trains, up to 8 connections per day are usually available, but for the time being there are only 3 or 4 departure options per day.

Fabulous state-of-the-art German ICE trains provide the super easy rail link between these two cities.
Connect at the main station in Köln / Cologne / Koeln for a swathe of other destinations in north-west Germany including Bonn, Koblenz, Mainz and Trier.

Every hour during the day a swish ICE train travels from Berlin to Koln / Cologne so this is an exceptionally easy journey.

Cities including Aachen, Bonn and Koblenz have less frequent trains from Berlin, so when the timings of those trains don't suit, connections are available in Koln hbf.

What's fairly unusual about taking the journey by train from Brussels/Bruxelles to Cologne/Köln is that alternative services operate on this route; the Thalys trains managed by the French & Belgian national rail operators and the ICE trains operated by Germany's national rail company.

They depart from Bruxelles/Brussels in different hours so if you need to depart from Brussels/Bruxelles or arrive in Cologne/Köln at a specific time, you'll be travelling on an ICE or a Thalys train.
The ICE trains typically offer the quickest connections from the arrival of a Eurostar from London.

Though if travelling at the cheapest price is your key criteria, be guided by that; it is timings rather than the type of train, which have a bigger impact on prices, the cheapest tickets inevitably sell out faster on the more popular departures.
SMTJ prefers the on the board ambience of the ICE trains, but it's not worth paying more to travel by them, particularly on such a comparatively short route.

Though rail pass users should take the ICE trains and ignore the Thalys trains.

There are options for travelling from München/Munich to Köln/Cologne by train during the day and overnight

During the day ICE trains take two different routes from München/Munich to Köln/Cologne.
The more frequent services take a route via Nurnberg and Frankfurt, but they don't arrive at the main station in Köln/Cologne as their route takes them through a station named Köln Messe/Deutz.
However, other ICE trains from München/Munich do arrive at the main station, Köln hbf.

So check the location of your final destination in Köln/Cologne and use the station info below, to see which route will suit you better.
Köln Messe/Deutz is further from the city centre, but if your ultimate destination is located along the U-Bahn (metro) routes; 1, 3, 4 or 9 then connections are available to these lines at Messe/Deutz.
While U-Bahn lines 5, 16 and 18 have stations linked to Köln hbf.

If your final destination is within walking distance of Köln hbf and you won't be travelling with luggage etc and you can find a cheaper price for train Messe/Deutz; or if the arrival times of those trains suit you better, then take the trains heading to Messe-Deutz.
You can then hop on a local S-Bahn train at Messe-Deutz (if you book to Koln hbf) and can be at the main station less than 10 minutes after you have stepped off the train at Messe/Deutz.

However, if you will be heading to a location near Koln hbf and will have luggage etc, or making an onward connection in that station, then do target the direct ICE trains to Koln hbf.
That's because the interchange between the ICE and S-Bahn trains at Messe/Deutz involves walking up a staircase.

When travelling overnight you will arrive at Koln hbf, but can choose between travelling in a bed or bunk on the Nightjet train, or travelling on the same ICE trains as used for the daytime services.

The only direct trains between Paris and north-east Germany are the high speed Thalys trains, so this is a straightforward journey.

Köln hbf, the main station in Cologne, offers connections on to a swathe of destinations with no direct trains from Paris, including Berlin, Bonn, Hannover, Koblenz and Wuppertal.

Despite the distance it's a very simple journey by train from Wien/Vienna to Köln/Cologne, thanks to direct connections between these two fabulous cities, both during the day and overnight.

When looking up a journey by train from Zurich to Cologne/Köln on the ticket booking websites most of the travel options will involve taking two ICE trains and making a connection at a German station, but there is a daily direct train available.
It also happens to take a much more scenic route!

There are three options available when taking a direct train from Basel to Cologne/Köln:

1. Taking the scenic option of travelling through the gorgeous Rhine Gorge on an EC train.
2. The fastest option of travelling during the day on an ICE train, which rushes along Germany's fastest railway during its journey.
3. Taking an ICE train through the night (there are no conventional night trains with sleeping cabins etc, available on this route).

Departing from Basel:

All three services depart from Basel SBB station, the main station in the city, and then call at Basel Bad ff.
Though if you'll be commencing an end-to-end journey in Basel city center, the quickest option is to join these trains at Basel Bad bf.
It will be cheaper too as the German national operator classifies the journey from Basel Bad bf as a national journey, but the trip from Basel SBB is classified as international route.

Though join the trains at Basel SBB station if you will be connecting from other destinations in Switzerland.
Rail pass users are also more like to find unoccupied seats on these trains, on which reservations are optional, when boarding at Basel SBB.

Look up a journey from Salzburg to Cologne on a ticket booking service and most of the options will involve making a connection in Munchen hbf (the main station in Munich) into an ICE train.
Not only is it fairly frequent it's also the fastest option, but take care that Koln hbf and not Koln Messe/Deutz is the station that you will be arriving at.

However, this is one daily option for taking a train from Salzburg to Koln/Cologne, which can get lost amidst the alternatives, hence it being singled out.
It also takes a much more scenic route!

There are no direct overnight trains on this route.

There are typically three optimum options for taking a train from Innsbruck to Cologne/Koln:

1. The direct daytime train, which also happens to take the most scenic possible between the two cities;
2. The faster daytime option is to travel via Munchen/Munich and make a connection there
3. Travelling through the night on a direct Nightjet service.