Address and Map

 

Directions

by car

 
Take the Cologne Autobahnring to the southern junction (AB-Kreuz Köln-Süd). Follow the signs for Köln-Bayenthal. When you get to the circle, follow the signs for Köln-Bayenthal again. This will put you on Bonner Strasse, which you stay on for 2.5 km until you see a train underpass. Get in the left-turn lane and turn left after the Shell station onto Bonner Wall. Turn right at the next light onto Vorgebirgstrasse (which later turns into Ulrichgasse).
 
After 1 km - when you have crossed the Sachsenring (street car tracks) and passed the Ulrepforte on your right (remains of the medieval city wall) - the institute, a 5-storey brick building, is on your left at the corner of Paulstrasse (the third street after the ring) and Ulrichgasse. But you should turn left one street earlier, onto the second street on your left, Vor den Siebenburgen. Take your second left, Waisenhausgasse, and then your first left, Kartäuserwall, in order to find a parking space (parking on Paulstrasse is difficult). On Kartäuserwall, which runs parallel to the Sachsenring, many of the spaces are designated for all-day parking. Pay at the central meter and put the ticket behind your windshield.
 

The Cologne Low Emission Zone

 
Drivers, please note that downtown Cologne has been declared a low emission zone. The MPIfG is inside the zone. You need to buy an emission sticker to drive into the zone - if you don't, you can be fined. The type of sticker you get depends the car's EU emission group. Many neighboring countries have established procedures for getting stickers there. For information about getting a sticker for a foreign plated car, see the city's website or this commercial site. You can also ask the MPIfG visitor's liaison for assistance.
 

by train

 
From Cologne main train station (Hauptbahnhof Köln), you can take
 
a taxi. It takes about 10-15 minutes and costs about 8 Euro. Tell the taxi driver to take you to Paulstrasse, corner of Ulrichgasse in the Südstadt. This is important since there is more than one Paulstrasse and more than one Max Planck Institute in Cologne.
  
public transportation. When you arrive at Cologne main train station, follow the signs marked U/Dom/City to the exit on the west side of the station near the cathedral (Dom). Go down the steps to the subway (U-Bahn). Buy a CityTicket 1b at the window or the machine. Go down the steps marked Neumarkt. Take Line 16, which is marked Neumarkt and Bonn-Bad Godesberg. Get out at the sixth stop, Ulrepforte (about 15 minutes). Cross the tracks and the Sachsenring to your left. Walk along the Ulrichgasse for about 5 minutes, passing Kartäuserwall and Vor den Siebenburgen, until you get to the MPIfG at the corner of Paulstrasse and Ulrichgasse.
 
If your train stops at the Köln-Deutz train station, you can also take the subway from the Bahnhof Deutz-Kölnarena stop, Line 3 or 4 marked Bocklemünd or Mengenich (CityTicket 1b), to the Severinstrasse stop. You can see how to walk from there to the institute (500 meters) via Severinstrasse and Josephstrasse on the detailed map.
 

by plane

 
From Cologne/Bonn Airport, you can take
 
a taxi, which takes about 30 minutes and costs about 25 Euro. Tell the taxi driver to take you to Paulstrasse, corner of Ulrichgasse in the Südstadt. This is important since there is more than one Paulstrasse and more than one Max Planck Institute in Cologne.
 
public transportation. Take the regional train (S-Bahn 13) from the airport station to Cologne main train station (Hauptbahnhof Köln); travel time about 15 minutes. From the main train station, follow the directions above "By train, public transportation." Fare: the CityTicket 1b covers the whole ride via regional train and local public transit.
 
From Düsseldorf Airport take the regional train (Regionalexpress) toward Aachen or Koblenz to Cologne main train station (Hauptbahnhof Köln); travel time about 40 minutes. From the Cologne station, follow the directions above "By train, public transportation." Fare: the RegioTicket 5 covers the whole ride via regional train and local public transit.

 

 

Instructions for GPS Users and Taxi Passengers

 
There is more than one Paulstrasse and more than one Max Planck institute in Cologne. Visitors to the MPIfG are often taken to the wrong place. Tell your driver to go to the corner of Paulstrasse and Ulrichgasse, near Ulrepforte. GPS users be sure to enter the postal code 50676 and Paulstrasse 3 or 5 (as some systems don't respond to No. 3).