← Volksbank-Münster-Marathon·3 nights

The Rhine-Ruhr Run: Dortmund and Cologne

A rail-only route from Münster through the Ruhr's industrial heart to Cologne and Bonn, giving three or four nights of contrast between coal-and-steel Dortmund and the old Rhine cities without a car at any stage.

Duration3 nights
TransitRegional and Intercity trains throughout, no hire car required
DepartsMünster Hauptbahnhof

After the Volksbank-Münster-Marathon: The Rhine-Ruhr Run

The Route: Münster Hauptbahnhof → Dortmund Hauptbahnhof → Köln Hauptbahnhof → Bonn Hauptbahnhof → Cologne Bonn Airport (optional fourth night in Bonn) Logistics: Regional and Intercity trains link every stage of this route directly, with no single leg longer than around ninety minutes. No hire car is needed at any point. Marathon Month: September Duration: 3 nights (a fourth night in Bonn extends the trip comfortably)

Münster Hbf ──(approx. 1 hr RE/RB)──> Dortmund Hbf
                                            │
                                ──(approx. 1 hr 15-30 mins IC/RE)──> Köln Hbf
                                                                          │
                                                          ──(20-25 mins RE/S-Bahn)──> Bonn Hbf
                                                                                          │
                                                        Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) ◄──(30-40 mins bus 670)──┘

A runner with the better part of a week free after finishing on Prinzipalmarkt can turn the ground between Münster and the Rhine into a single continuous journey rather than a single side trip: east into the Ruhr for its industrial and football culture, then south down the river through Cologne to Bonn, the modest city that spent four decades as West Germany's capital almost by accident of geography. September suits the whole route: the Ruhr's parks and lake promenades are still in full late-summer use, and the Rhine cities' outdoor terraces have not yet closed for the year. Every leg runs on regional or Intercity rail with no need to book weeks ahead, since none of these city pairs sees the kind of demand that pushes German fares up sharply on short notice.

Night One: Dortmund

The first stop is the shortest hop, around an hour by regional train from Münster Hauptbahnhof. Dortmund's identity runs on coal, steel and football rather than the old-town character the rest of this route offers, and the contrast is worth the short journey on its own. The Deutsches Fußballmuseum, directly opposite Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, and the Dortmunder U, the ceramic-tiled tower of a former brewery now given over to contemporary art, are both level, largely indoor stops within easy walking distance of the station. Phoenix See, a flat, fully paved lake promenade on a former steelworks site in the Hörde district, is the better outdoor option if the legs and the weather cooperate, a loop of roughly three kilometres with cafés at the water's edge and a tram back to the centre. Stay near the Hauptbahnhof: the Steigenberger Hotel Dortmund or the Radisson Blu Hotel Dortmund on Berswordtplatz both keep the next morning's train simple, and Wenkers am Markt on the Alter Markt serves the city's own beer alongside a straightforward German menu for a first dinner.

Nights Two and Three: Cologne

A further hour to ninety minutes south by direct or one-change Intercity service brings the route to Cologne, where the cathedral rises directly beside the Hauptbahnhof exit. Two nights allow both halves of the city to be seen properly: the Rheinuferpromenade, a flat, paved riverside walk past the Hohenzollernbrücke's thousands of padlocks, on the first evening, and an indoor option, the Museum Ludwig for its Picasso collection or the Schokoladenmuseum in the Rheinauhafen for a shorter visit, if September rain sets in on the second day. Stay near the cathedral at the Dom Hotel Cologne for the first of the two nights, and consider the Wasserturm Hotel Cologne, a converted nineteenth-century water tower a short tram ride from the cathedral, for the second. Früh am Dom, a short walk from the cathedral, pours Kölsch in the traditional small glasses alongside Rhineland dishes such as Himmel und Äd.

Night Three or Four: Bonn

A further 20 to 25 minutes south by direct train reaches Bonn, West Germany's former capital and Ludwig van Beethoven's birthplace, a fact the city has built a small museum quarter around. The Beethoven-Haus, the composer's birth house on Bonngasse, is compact and level throughout, a shorter visit rather than a full afternoon. Rheinaue, the large riverside park south of the centre, is the better recovery walk: broad, flat gravel and paved paths run for kilometres along the water, popular with local runners and families, with benches at regular intervals and no meaningful incline anywhere in the park. Stay near Bonn Hauptbahnhof for a straightforward route both into the centre and out again; the compact old town within walking distance holds a reasonable spread of casual restaurants for a final dinner around the Markt square.

Getting Home

Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN) is the natural exit from Bonn, reachable by the 670 bus from Bonn Hauptbahnhof in roughly 30 to 40 minutes, or from Köln Hauptbahnhof by the SB60 bus or a taxi if returning via Cologne instead on the three-night version of this trip. For a wider choice of onward routes, Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) remains reachable by direct train from any point on this route, typically under an hour, and is worth checking against CGN's smaller network before booking the return flight.