Brussels Midi/Zuid

Station Brussel-Zuid/Midi (IATA: ZYR) is the largest railway station in Brussels, Belgium. There is a subway station at the train station. Every day, 1000 trains pass through the two stations in Brussels.

The station has 22 months of trains, including the Eurostar, Hercules high-speed train, TGV, ICE and so on. This station is the terminus of the HSL 1 railway route. To the east of the train station is Fonsny / Fonsnylaan Avenue and to the west is Rue de France / Frankrijkstraat. The subway station was named Gare du Midi / Zuidstation and was opened in 1988. Since 1993, the station has also provided premetro (underground tram) services on different platforms. The shuttle service to Brussels South Charleroi Airport departs from the stop at Rue de France / Frankrijkstraat.

The tallest building in Belgium, the South Tower, is located in front of the main exit of the station (Fonsny / Fonsnylaan Avenue and the intersection of Rue Couverte / Overdektestraat), next to the Pension Service Centre (FPS).

Koeln Hbf

Köln Hauptbahnhof (Köln Hauptbahnhof) is the main railway station in Cologne, Germany. It serves 280,000 passengers a day and is the fifth busiest train station in Germany. Because Cologne is close to France, the Netherlands and other places, the station has become a stop for many high-speed trains and overnight trains, such as ICE, Thlays and so on. The central station is located in the city centre, next to the famous Cologne Cathedral and a few minutes walk from the banks of the Rhine. The station was first opened in 1859 and rebuilt after the war. The current station was built in 1957.

The station is an important place for national and international train hubs, with many ICE, Thalys and Intercity trains, as well as RegionalExpress, RegionalBahn and local S-Bahn trains. EuroNight and DB NachtZug night service are also parked at the station. The train connects Frankfurt with the Cologne-Frankfurt high-speed rail line, which starts in the south of Cologne.

The various channels below the track contain shops, cafes and food and drinks. The station is a very safe place, even late at night. The station number is from 1 to 11. The station is not very large. You can walk from station 1 to station 11 within 2 or 3 minutes, even if you have luggage. The station departure screen will show which platform your train departs from. High-speed and long-distance trains such as IC, ICE, and EC use 1-9 stations. The ICE train goes to Brussels and Thalys trains to Brussels and Paris, using 5-9 stations. The S-bahn train goes to Koln Messe / Deutz and goes to platform 10, which will be used every few minutes.

There are 9 stations for long-distance and regional trains, 2 suburban trains (S-Bahn) platforms and 2 subway (U-Bahn) platforms. There is another important station in Cologne, located at the KölnMesse/ Deutz train station opposite the Rhine, about 400 metres from the train station. The station is connected by the Hohenzollern Bridge, a six-track railway bridge with sidewalks on each side. Frequent train services connect two stations. If you have a DB long-distance ticket, you can use the DB First Class Lounge, which offers complimentary tea, coffee, beer and snacks as well as free WiFi. The entrance is on platform 1 and follow the signs to the DB Lounge. It is usually open daily from 07:00-21:00. There are many cafes, shops and kiosks in the passage below the platform for guests to buy food and drinks. The best place is the REWE To Go supermarket located in the passage below the 6 and 7 platforms.

WiFi is available at the station and is free for the first 30 minutes. There are various ATMs around the station. If you need to store your luggage, check the Baggage Locker page for pricing and opening hours. Cologne has an innovative left-luggage system – a self-service luggage storage machine that takes your luggage to the ground and stores it when you enter your password. The machine is located in the main passage outside the DB Travel Center.

Brussels (French: Bruxelles [bʁysɛl] or [bʁyksɛl]; Dutch: Brussel [ˈbrʏsəl] ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the capital of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital Region is located in the central portion of the country and is a part of both the French Community of Belgium and the Flemish Community, but is separate from the Flemish Region (in which it forms an enclave) and the Walloon Region. Brussels is the most densely populated and the richest region in Belgium in terms of GDP per capita. It covers 161 km2 (62 sq mi), a relatively small area compared to the two other regions, and has a population of 1.2 million. The metropolitan area of Brussels counts over 2.1 million people, which makes it the largest in Belgium. It is also part of a large conurbation extending towards Ghent, Antwerp, Leuven and Walloon Brabant, home to over 5 million people.Brussels grew from a small rural settlement on the river Senne to become an important city-region in Europe. Since the end of the Second World War, it has been a major centre for international politics and the home of numerous international organisations, politicians, diplomats and civil servants. Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union, as it hosts a number of principal EU institutions, including its administrative-legislative, executive-political, and legislative branches (though the judicial branch is located in Luxembourg, and the European Parliament meets for a minority of the year in Strasbourg) and its name is sometimes used metonymically to describe the EU and its institutions. The secretariat of the Benelux and headquarters of NATO are also located in Brussels. As the economic capital of Belgium and one of the top financial centres of Western Europe with Euronext Brussels, it is classified as an Alpha global city. Brussels is a hub for rail, road and air traffic, sometimes earning the moniker "Crossroads of Europe". The Brussels Metro is the only rapid transit system in Belgium. In addition, both its airport and railway stations are the largest and busiest in the country.Historically Dutch-speaking, Brussels saw a language shift to French from the late 19th century. The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, even though French is now the de facto main language with over 90% of the population speaking it. Brussels is also increasingly becoming multilingual. English is spoken as a second language by nearly a third of the population and many migrants and expatriates speak other languages.Brussels is known for its cuisine and gastronomy, as well as its historical and architectural landmarks; some of them are registered as UNESCO World Heritage sites. Main attractions include its historic Grand Place, Manneken Pis, Atomium, and cultural institutions such as La Monnaie and the Museums of Art and History. Because of its long tradition of Belgian comics, Brussels is also hailed as a capital of the comic strip.

Cologne (English: kə-LOHN; German: Köln [kœln] ; Ripuarian: Kölle [ˈkœlə] ) is the largest city of Germany's most populous federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth most populous city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg, and Munich. With slightly over a million inhabitants (1.08 million) within its city boundaries, Cologne is the largest city on the Rhine and also the most populous city both of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, which is Germany's largest and one of Europe's major metropolitan areas, and of the Rhineland. Centered on the left bank of the Rhine, Cologne is about 45 kilometres (28 mi) southeast of North Rhine-Westphalia's capital of Düsseldorf and 25 kilometres (16 mi) northwest of Bonn. It is the largest city in the Central Franconian and Ripuarian dialect areas. The city's Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. There are many institutions of higher education in the city, most notably the University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln), one of Europe's oldest and largest universities, the Technical University of Cologne (Technische Hochschule Köln), Germany's largest university of applied sciences, and the German Sport University Cologne (Deutsche Sporthochschule Köln), Germany's only sport university. Cologne Bonn Airport (Flughafen Köln/Bonn) is Germany's seventh-largest airport and lies in the southeast of the city. The main airport for the Rhine-Ruhr region is Düsseldorf Airport. Cologne was founded and established in Ubii territory in the 1st century AD as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, the first word of which is the origin of its name. An alternative Latin name of the settlement is Augusta Ubiorum, after the Ubii. "Cologne", the French version of the city's name, has become standard in English as well. Cologne functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior and as the headquarters of the Roman military in the region until occupied by the Franks in 462. During the Middle Ages the city flourished as being located on one of the most important major trade routes between east and west in Europe. Cologne was one of the leading members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in medieval and Renaissance times. Prior to World War II the city had undergone several occupations by the French and also by the British (1918–1926). Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, with the Royal Air Force (RAF) dropping 34,711 long tons (35,268 tonnes) of bombs on the city. The bombing reduced the population by 95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire city. With the intention of restoring as many historic buildings as possible, the successful postwar rebuilding has resulted in a very mixed and unique cityscape. Cologne is a major cultural centre for the Rhineland; it hosts more than 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne, imm Cologne, Gamescom, and the Photokina.