Travel
Arriving in Cologne
Sometimes deciding on the best way to travel to the conference is difficult. Your decision should factor in a few things:
- Is it convenient to travel overland rather than fly?
- If you are driving, keep in mind that Cologne has a low emission zone, so unless your car has a green environmental sticker, plan where you will park and then take other transport further in.
- Look at your options, you can check Google maps, Rome2Rio or the Trainline for different ways to travel in.
Getting to the venue
The venue is the University of Cologne, or Universität zu Köln. The coordinates are: 50.928432236970636, 6.929339340687787.
The university has a detailed venue page which, although in German only, is easy to understand. Each building has a name and a number, if you click through you will see a list of rooms; once you click on the room name you can then select Lage des Hörsaals im Gebäude which is a building-plan map.
The buildings we will be using for the conference are the following:
Seminargebäude (106) Universitätsstraße 37, 50931 Köln, Germany
Hörsaalgebäude (105) Hörsaalgebäude, 50931 Köln, Germany
Hauptgebäude (100) 50931 Cologne, Germany
Philosophikum (103) Universitätsstraße 41, 50931 Köln, Germany

All directions below are from Cologne Central Station. For directions from other stops, please visit the Google Maps links below:
- Railway stop Köln Süd.
- Tram stop Universität, Neumarkt, Messe/Deutz.
- Bus stops Bachemerstraße and WiSo-Gebäude bring you directly in front of the Venue.
About Cologne
Cologne is the largest city in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region. It sits along the river Rhine and the city’s cathedral, Kölner Dom, is the third-tallest church and tallest cathedral in the world. Cologne’s commercial importance grew out of its position at the point where the huge traffic artery of the Rhine (German: Rhein) River intersected one of the major land routes for trade between western and eastern Europe. In the Middle Ages it also became an ecclesiastical centre of significance and an important centre of art and learning. This rich and varied heritage is still much in evidence in present-day Cologne.
Exploring the city
Using public transport
As part of your conference registration the organisers will supply you with a public transport ticket for the duration of the conference (30 May - 5 June 3am), which will allow you to travel for free on the public transport/KVB system. The codes you need to download/print your ticket are being sent out to all delegates by 20 May. Once you have the codes, follow these instructions, to obtain your ticket. If you have not received your codes, please check your spam box. If not there either, please contact the conference administrators.
Beyond the free pass, one can buy a KVB ticket or KölnCard during one's stay which costs €2 per person, per day. The KölnCard comes with up to 50% off at many museums, restaurants, shops and cultural attractions since the public transport is already covered. You can buy a KölnCard in one of the following ways:
Cologne has a good tram and underground network, you can use your KVB ticket and there are many step-free routes around the city. Have a look here for the maps: as with anywhere else, google maps will help you make sense of this and in selecting the best route to get you to where you need to go.
Using taxis/uber/bolt
App-based ride booking active in the city include Uber and Bolt, but there is a lot of choice available.
Taxis/Cabs can be found at the cab/taxi stand next to the Cologne Tourist Board, Burgmauer; at the cab/taxi stand at the Central Station (Bahnhofsvorplatz/Dompropst-Ketzer-Straße) Taxi-Ruf Köln (Tel.: +49 (0) 221 2882)
Cycle hire scheme & E-scooter rental
There are several bike or e-scooter rental options in Cologne, they include:
Things to do
Cologne offers a vast amount of activities to try out and places to visit. Take a look at the options we picked out below:
Mosques nearby University of Cologne:
Below is a list of Mosques near the University of Cologne:
- DITIB Mosque Friday prayer: turkish, Address: Venloer Str. 160, 50823 Cologne
- Abu Bakr Mosque Friday prayer: arabic/german, Address: Höninger Weg 5, 50969 Cologne
Childcare
Below is a list of childcare services near the University of Cologne. However most German services are currently completely full and it is unlikely that they will take short-term bookings from conference delegates - albeit they may have some last-minute availability. Children are however welcome at the conference. See the map below indicating nursing, parent child rooms, and diaper changing facilities around the university.
- HAPPY NEW KIDS INTERNATIONAL Bilingual; German-English (1-6 years)
- The Cologne StudierendenWerk (1-6 years)
- Nippeser Flohkiste eV (1-6 years)
- Nursery Flora eV (1-6 years)
- Villa Luna Cologne Neustadt-Süd (0-6 years)
- Vincerola Bilingual; English - German (0-6 years)
- The Cologne Bumblebees Bilingual; English - German (1-6 years)

Tips
Money
Where can I exchange currency/money?
- Ria Money Transfer (Hohe Straße 142, 50667 Cologne)
- Reisebank in the Central Station of Cologne (Trankgasse 11, Bahnhofsvorplatz, 50667 Cologne)
Plug Sockets
Remember to pack adaptors, you will need a European two-prong adapter if you have devices that use other plugs. In Germany, types C and F are the official standards, Only five Continental European countries use the slightly different, but fully compatible, French type E standard (France, Belgium, Poland, the Czech Republic & Slovakia).
ID
You should have your ID card or passport on you while in Cologne, it can be required for various things such as the use of public transport.
Printservices close to the University
- M & S Druckhaus: Kerpener Str. 1, 50937 Köln
- Copy-Star Copyshop Köln: Zülpicher Str. 184, 50937 Köln
- Hundt Druck: Zülpicher Str. 220, 50937 Köln
- Green Copy: Zülpicher Str. 58, 50674 Köln
Driving
You can get an environmental sticker for your car/vehicle at:
- the public office in downtown Cologne (Laurenzplatz 1-3, 50667 Cologne)
- the auto checkpoints and auto repairs which are generally responsible for major and exhaust pipe emissions of vehicles
- Markant Tankstelle (Rolshover Straße 420, 51105 Cologne; Tel.: +49 (0) 221 8301240, open daily 24 h)
- SB-Tankstelle Z. Hariklar (Schmittgasse 44, 51143 Cologne; Tel.: +49 (0) 2203 982111, opening hours Saturdays and Sundays: 8 a.m. till 8 p.m., Monday till Friday: 7 a.m. till 9 p.m.)
- SB-Tankstelle Keimes (Dellbrücker Hauptstraße 9-11, 51069 Cologne; Tel.: +49 (0) 221. 684754, opening hours Sundays: 8 a.m. till 10 p.m., Monday till Saturday: 7 a.m. till 10 p.m.)
More information on the Website of the City of Cologne (Only in German).
Weather
Cologne is in bloom from June to August. Summer is rarely overly hot, though the lack of air conditioning can make it steamy on humid days. The highest temperature on record is 39 C (102 F), with daytime temperatures averaging between 20 C (68 F) and 24 C (75 F). Rain is actually common in summer, coming in heavy bursts of thunderstorms.
What to pack:
Pack your favourite shorts or skirt, light-weight shirt, and good walking shoes to explore the city in summer. Also, remember your swimsuit for the many lakes and swimming pools in Cologne. However, take note that the sun can disappear, so bring something waterproof or a regenschirm (umbrella).