Phantasialand and Cologne - anyone been?

[porridge]

We (husband and I) are thinking about taking a mini-break in October (just for a few nights) and were thinking about visiting Cologne and also paying a visit to Phantasialand for a day.

Has anyone been? We were thinking 1 day at Phantasialand and a couple of days in Cologne - maybe going up the Dom tower, Rhine boat ride, Koeln Triangle, Rjeinseilbahn, shopping, and eating cake

Hotels don't seem all that expensive (compared to London and Paris), and we fancy going on the Eurostar (still haven't done that) - to Brussels , then getting the other train from there.

I went to Cologne as a child (for a day) on an across-Europe rail holiday, and I remember standing outside the cathedral and thinking it was amazing.

Any tips or anything for Phantasialand? We would catch the train (or is it tram?) to Bruhl then the shuttle bus.

Any hotel advice? Anywhere else on our must do list? If the weather is nice we might go to the zoo or something too.

Many thanks

[zoebums]

Hi, not sure about themphantasialand but I used to live in Germany with an ex who was a soldier. We spent 3 years there. I can say that Koln (Cologne) as we say it is beautiful. Well worth a visit. The cathedral is stunning, very dark. Plenty of hotels etc. Dusseldorf is not too far either and that is lovely. X

[HobosMum]

We lived in Germany and visited Cologne a lot. Lovely city to spend a few days in and just wander. Phantasialand when we lived there (early nineties) was on a par with Alton Towers. Only went once and wasnt' too bothered about it. Don't know what it's like now as like most theme parks it will have under gone improvement and updating over the years.

[loves2plan]

Visited Phantasialand a number of times as a child and really loved it! Planning to take my children there at some point in the future, but can't help with it right now I'm afraid.

[porridge]

Thanks. I think we will give Phantasialand a go anyway.

[kcsunshine73]

Similar to everyone else, went to phantasialand as a kid. Similar to Chessington without the animals.

[Smithk2]

We visited Phantasialand earlier this month as part of a road trip. It's a great theme park although we easily covered everything in a day. There's a good mix of rides and also some great shows...see show schedule on park map - the ice skating show is particularly good. We stayed at one of the park's hotels - Matamba. It's not particularly cheap, althought they do sometimes offer deals including tickets. We had a huge room with a balcony overlooking the roller coasters.

We'll definitely return sometime, although prefer the larger Europa Park theme park 3 hrs south of it.

We've also visited Cologne albeit a couple of years ago just before Christmas. It was really amazing then due to all the Christmas markets there. The cathedral is very impressive although climbing up inside it was a little scary as it was really busy with people going up and down the winding staircase at the same time!

We stayed at the Novotel which was a 15-20 min walk from the cathedral... this didn't bother us tho as it was a flat walk along the river. This was a great hotel with the best breakfast selection we've ever had in a hotel and great, safe parking.

[sam7]

The zoo in Cologne is very good and there is a nice aquarium next to it. Loved Phantasia land when I last went, but it was about 20 years ago, would imagine it to still be well worth a visit, Cologne is also pretty. There is a cable car that goes across the river if you are brave enough.

[porridge]

Glad to hear you both liked Phantasialand and Cologne.

Europa Park is maybe a trip we will do next year - I wish it were nearer to Cologne.

By the way, we went to Efteling in May and loved that - would recommend if you have never been. Not many thrill rides, but a beautiful park.

[DIBBadmin]

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