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FAYA
Travel guide · Cologne · Golden Flame
Coming from Berlin, Brussels or further away? Lovely to have you. This guide covers everything for the trip: getting to Cologne, finding our venues, where to stay and getting back after the event.
See you by the Rhine.
Golden Flame is the event series by FAYA from Cologne, Germany. We celebrate in three places: open airs by the Rhine at the Rheinterrassen, Halloween at Wartesaal am Dom and our masked ball Golden Mask at the Flora.
House music to arrive, then more and more party, with hits and sing-along songs, plus live moments like saxophone and vocals. And people who simply enjoy life. Entry is 18+.
Which venue it is this time, and all dates, are on our tickets page (in German).
Cologne is one of the easiest cities in Germany to reach. The main station, Köln Hauptbahnhof, is one of the busiest long-distance stations of Deutsche Bahn, served by ICE, Eurostar, Intercity and regional trains, and it sits right next to the cathedral.
Roughly how long the fastest regular trains take (2025 timetable):
Depending on the connection it can take longer. The DB Navigator app shows current times.
Closest
The airport has its own train station right by both terminals, served around the clock by S-Bahn, regional trains and buses. The S19 and the RE 6 run without changes via Köln Messe/Deutz to the main station.
Many flights
The SkyTrain takes you from the terminal to Düsseldorf Flughafen station, where regional and long-distance trains stop, up to the ICE. The RE 6, for example, runs directly to Cologne main station.
Long haul
From the long-distance station at Frankfurt Airport, ICE trains run directly to Cologne on the high-speed line.
By coach
Cologne Bonn Airport has its own coach station right next to Terminal 2, with buses from destinations across Europe. From there, take the S-Bahn into town.
Inside the main station
The historic waiting hall is inside Cologne main station itself, on Johannisstraße right next to the cathedral. If you arrive by train, you are practically there. By tram: Dom/Hbf or Breslauer Platz/Hbf.
Deutz · Rheinpark
Rheinparkweg 1, 50679 Köln. From the main station, take any S-Bahn (S6, S11, S12, S13 or S19) one stop to Köln Messe/Deutz, leave the station towards the Rhine and follow the signs to the Tanzbrunnen, about a ten-minute walk. Or walk from the cathedral across the Hohenzollern Bridge.
Riehl · by the zoo
Am Botanischen Garten 1a, 50735 Köln, about twelve minutes from the main station: tram line 18 towards Thielenbruch to Zoo/Flora, or line 16 towards Niehl Sebastianstraße to Kinderkrankenhaus, then a few minutes on foot. The Flora has no parking of its own.
Trams & buses
On nights before Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, most tram lines in Cologne run through the night, usually every 30 minutes, plus night buses. Check your connection on the way in, in the KVB app.
Taxi & apps
Call Taxi Ruf Köln on +49 221 2882, or use FREENOW, Uber or Bolt, which all operate in Cologne. There is a taxi rank at the main station.
From further away
Long-distance trains are few and far between in the middle of the night. If you are not from the region, staying over and travelling back well rested is the most relaxed plan.
At every Golden Flame event there are more security staff than required, out and about and right there for you.
Being close to a station matters more than being close to the venue. These are the areas we would look at:
Want a specific tip? These hotels suit an event weekend in Cologne, grouped by style. All of them are close to a tram or train stop, and each card tells you how to get to our venues.
Smart & affordable
Deutz · €
Well-designed rooms at a small price, about 100 metres from Köln Messe/Deutz station. The Rheinterrassen are about a ten-minute walk, and the main station with Wartesaal am Dom is one S-Bahn stop away.
Belgian Quarter · €€
On the Hohenzollernring, where popular German late-night talk shows were once produced, and it shows: neon, chrome and a bar that is open around the clock. Friesenplatz stop is a two-minute walk, with lines 3 and 4 to Deutz and line 5 to the cathedral.
Golden Flame perk: with the code 787210866 you save 12% on the current flexible rate. Just book directly with Ruby and enter the code under “Rate preference” › “Corporate Special Rate” in the “Corporate ID” field. You’ll need a credit card to book.
With character
Friesenviertel · €€
Retro-futurist design in a listed round building. The Monkey Bar on the 8th floor has a terrace with a view of the cathedral, lovely for a drink before the event. Friesenplatz is a few steps away.
Gereonsviertel · €€€
A neo-Gothic building filled with mid-century design classics and photographic art, tucked away by the Gereonskloster. The cathedral and Wartesaal am Dom are about a 15-minute walk.
Near Rudolfplatz · €€
Often called an artists’ hotel: the rooms hold works by Martin Kippenberger, Rosemarie Trockel, A. R. Penck and many others, a sign of their bond with the house. Rudolfplatz is about five minutes on foot.
For a special occasion
Deutz · €€€
Right on the Rhine in Deutz, facing the cathedral and the old town across the river. The Rheinterrassen are about ten minutes on foot along the river, Wartesaal am Dom about 15 minutes across the Hohenzollern Bridge.
By the cathedral · €€€
A grand hotel since 1863, right next to the cathedral, with a spa and gym on the 5th floor. Wartesaal am Dom is two or three minutes away on foot, and tram line 18 to the Flora leaves from Dom/Hbf.
Wellness & recovery
Near the main station · €€€
Sees itself as a wellness hotel: the Savoy Spa has a sauna, bio sauna, steam room, ice plunge pool and infrared cabins, just right for the day after. The main station and Wartesaal am Dom are less than ten minutes on foot.
Rheinpark · day visit
Not a hotel, but a tip for the morning after: this thermal spa sits in the Rheinpark, about a quarter of an hour on foot from the Rheinterrassen, with thermal pools, saunas and a view of the cathedral.
Independent tips: we receive no money from any hotel, take no commission and use no affiliate links. We’ve arranged a guest code with Ruby for you, and we don’t earn anything from it. The price level from € to €€€ is our rough estimate, current prices and availability are on the hotel’s own website. No guarantee, as of October 2026.
Prefer a hostel? These two have character, are close to a tram stop and also have rooms just for your group.
Hostels with character
Near the main station · €
A hostel in a former church: the old place of worship is now a large common room. Every room, from twin rooms to dorms, has its own shower and toilet, and reception is staffed around the clock. Wartesaal am Dom is less than ten minutes on foot, and tram line 18 to the Flora leaves from Breslauer Platz around the corner. As a youth hostel, it requires a youth hostel membership, which you can take out online.
Belgian Quarter · €–€€
A café-bar, a tiny theatre and a hostel where every room tells its own story: a spaceship bed, Bollywood flair, a ballet studio or a boat bunk. There are single and double rooms, rooms for three to five people and four large dorms, two of them for women only. The shared showers on each floor are separated by gender, each with its own changing room. Rudolfplatz is about five minutes on foot, with line 1 running straight to Deutz.
The same goes for the hostels: we receive no money from any of them, take no commission and use no affiliate links. The price level is our rough estimate, current prices and free beds are on the hostel’s own website. No guarantee, as of October 2026.
More detail, with well-known hotels in each area, is in our guide Übernachten in Köln (in German).
Rather browse on your own? These two links open the search for Cologne straight away, for two adults. You can change guests and dates there at any time.
Hotels, apartments, hostels
The widest choice in one place. The map view helps you find something close to a tram or train stop, and the free cancellation filter keeps your plans flexible.
Entire homes
Lovely for the whole group: a flat just for you, getting ready together, breakfast together. Entire homes are preselected. Look for plenty of good reviews, self check-in and the house rules on quiet hours.
Independent like all our tips: we receive no money from any hotel, hostel or booking platform, take no commission and use no affiliate links. The links simply open the regular search.
Next up · Golden Flame
Next event – Spooky Flame: Sat, 31 October, 10 pm – 4 am, Wartesaal am Dom, Cologne, 18+. Tickets →
Take tram line 18 towards Thielenbruch to Zoo/Flora, or line 16 towards Niehl Sebastianstraße to Kinderkrankenhaus. The ride takes about twelve minutes, and the Flora is a few minutes on foot from the stop.
From the main station, take any S-Bahn (S6, S11, S12, S13 or S19) one stop to Köln Messe/Deutz, then walk about ten minutes towards the Rhine, following the signs to the Tanzbrunnen.
Inside Cologne main station, on Johannisstraße right next to the cathedral. If you arrive by train, you are practically there.
For the Rheinterrassen, Motel One Köln-Messe and Hyatt Regency Köln in Deutz are both about a ten-minute walk away. Wartesaal am Dom is two or three minutes on foot from the Excelsior Hotel Ernst and less than ten minutes from the Savoy Hotel Köln. There are hardly any hotels right by the Flora: from Dom/Hbf, tram line 18 takes about twelve minutes to Zoo/Flora. All tips are independent: we receive no money from any hotel.
Yes. Our favourites are Pathpoint Cologne in a former church near the main station, less than ten minutes on foot from Wartesaal am Dom, and Die Wohngemeinschaft in the Belgian Quarter, with design rooms and two dorms for women only. Pathpoint requires a youth hostel membership. All tips are independent: we receive no money from any hostel.
The airport has its own train station by the terminals. The S19 and the RE 6 run without changes via Köln Messe/Deutz to the main station.
On nights before Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, most tram lines run through the night, usually every 30 minutes, plus night buses. Taxis (Taxi Ruf Köln, +49 221 2882) and apps like FREENOW, Uber and Bolt are available too.
Entry is 18+. Please bring your original ID or passport, a photo of it is not enough.
Route sorted, bags packed. Check when the next Golden Flame event is on.
In German, your browser can translate them.
