My costs for a short weekend in Cologne

I had to travel to Cologne for work and I decided to make the most out of it and make a weekend out of it. I decided to travel by train as a solo female traveller and I found everything to be safe. It was a short weekend get-a-way and I travelled solo. Are you traveling to Cologne in the near future? Do you wonder how to set your budget and what will be your costs for a short weekend in Cologne?

My main tip for staying on budget while traveling is to actually set a budget and stick to it. You can only know your expenses when you keep track of them. Therefore, I give you my report on the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1 person.

What were my costs for a weekend in Cologne?

I only spent 2 days in Cologne, one of which was for work. I traveled by train, stayed in a hostel and only did free things around Cologne. My main goal was to see the Cologne Dom. I arrived on Sunday in the early afternoon and left Monday evening. Here is a breakdown of my expenses:

Costs to get to Cologne?

I wanted to see what it was like on the Cologne Main Train Station and it was easier for me to travel by train. Besides, I love traveling by train, so I booked 2 single tickets from my home town in the Netherlands to Cologne Train Station. The journey took me 2 hours and 40 minutes and I switched trains once per journey.

• One way train ticket for 1 person Netherlands-Cologne: €23,40
• One way train ticket for 1 person Cologne-Netherlands: €24,45

Total transportation costs for 1 person by train: €47,85

Costs for staying in Cologne

I found a hostel in Cologne, the Cologne Downtown Hostel. I paid €25 euro for a 4 person, ensuite mixed dorm-style room. This was for 1 night.

Total costs for 1 person on accommodation: €25

Costs for food in Cologne

Here is a breakdown of the costs for a short weekend in Cologne. I only had lunch and dinner on Sunday and breakfast on Monday.

Breakfast costs

The hostel I stayed at had a supermarket at the ground floor. I bought some cut meat, cheese and some breads and a bottle of juice for my breakfast on Monday morning.

• Breakfast meats: € 1,89
• Cheese: € 1,95
• Bread: €0,93
• Orange Juice: € 1,49

Total costs for groceries at the supermarket to make 1 breakfast: €6,26

I must say, it was more than enough to feed 2 persons. So I left the remainders in the fridge at the hostel and hope somebody else had a good lunch or breakfast with it.

Lunch costs

I didn’t exactly had lunch. I was hungry. It was around tea time and I stumbled upon a great coffee and cake house. I spend 10 minutes looking at all the cakes and finally decided on a chocolate layer cake with a latte macchiato. I didn’t even check how expense the cake was. As it turned out: not expensive at all.

• Chocolate layer cake which was too big to eat: € 3,50
• Latte Macchiato: € 2,95

Total costs for “lunch”: € 6,45

Diner costs in Cologne

It was the week before Carnival and I strolled around town. I found a nice and warm restaurant which was full with people dressed up for Carnival. I spend a few hours there and took my time. I ate too much and had a couple of beers. Oepsie.

• Schnitzel with salad: € 13,50
• Beers (2): €6,20
• Tea: €2,50

The small beer was cheaper than the tea, but ok. For more beer, try beer tasting in Cologne.

Total costs for a diner and drinks at restaurant Gilden im Zims in Cologne: €22,20

Costs for a short weekend in Cologne sightseeing

I only did free things

• Visit the Cologne Dom. I spent some time walking around the Dom and sat at one of the benches for a while to soak up the atmosphere.
• I walked around the old Town and checked the old houses and city gates.
• I visited one of the Romanesque Churches, the Big St. Martin Church.
• I walked across the Hohenzollern Bridge with the love locks on there

The things I missed

• Museums: there are several interesting museums in Cologne, but I felt my time was too short to visit them. The Roman-German Museum looked really interesting and at only €9, you won’t go broke.
• Climbing the Dome: I really wanted to do this. It was only €4,00 but I wasn’t allowed to take my backpack with me.
• More things to do on a day trip of Cologne by Go Beyond Bounds.

Total costs for sightseeing around Cologne: €0

Costs of getting around Cologne

I didn’t spent any money on transportation within the city. I walked everywhere. My step-checked calculated the steps I took:

Sunday: 11.714 steps
Monday: 10.532 steps

That’s a whole lot of calories burned and guess what: all for free.

Costs for getting around in Cologne: €0

Other miscellaneous expenses

I only tipped in the restaurant for €2,00. I didn’t buy any souvenirs or postcards. I could drink the water from the tap and kept all the rest of my money in my pockets.

Total costs for tipping: € 2,00

Recap of the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1

• Round trip NL-Cologne by train: €47,85
• 1-night hostel: € 25
• Total food and drink costs for 2 days: €34,91 / average per day: €17,46
• Total costs for 1 day of sights: €0
• Total transport costs 2 days: €0
• Miscellaneous: €2

Grand total:
€109,76 are the costs for a short weekend in Cologne for 1

Conclusion about the costs for a short weekend in Cologne

I recently did a costs report on the costs for a 5-day trip for 2 to Dublin. When I compare that to my weekend in Cologne, I notice that the transport costs to get to the destination are the same. For Cologne a train ticket for 1 person, for Dublin 2 plane tickets. I know our tickets to Dublin were dead cheap, but 43% of all expenses, the train tickets to Cologne seem rather expensive.

As I only had 2 days, I didn’t explore that much and did free things. Entree for the main Cologne Dome was free. I did spend some money on food, but I think I kept things rather decent.

What do you think? Did I spend too much? Do you keep track of your expenses? Please share your experiences in the comment section below.