Originally Posted by
mauld
Thanks for all the info, I'll probably go with Dusseldorf, for the shopping and walking around (that is if the weather is ok
). I assume there will be lots of trains from the Koln Hofbahnhof ? and that I will not need a reservation? Any suggestion for a casual lunch in DUS ?
There are a lot train running between this two cities. YOu usually do not need a resveration and in the local trains (RE=Regionalexpress, RB=Regionalbahn) it's even impossible to make a resvervation. The IC (=Intercity) and ICE (=InterCity Express (High Speed) trains need a surcharge and it's possible to make a reservation. But do me a favour, there is no need to book an IC/ ICE train, they are only a few minutes faster the RE / RB trains and not worth a surcharge. Try to avoid the peak times in the morning and afternoon while everybody is commuting to work.
If you go to Heinrich-Hein-Allee (or Steinstraße / Königsallee) you need a ticket for "Preisstufe A". But if you buy a NRW Ticket is includes the travel between Cologne and Düsseldorf on RE / RB and the city travel in Düsseldorf and Cologne as well (and in the whole state of Northrhine-Westphalia).
The main shopping dsistrich is around Köningsallee and the Schadow Arkaden are very close to Köningsallee (100 m).