German language summer programs in Cologne

The city of joy.

The location of the million-strong city on the Rhine even impressed the Romans, who settled there about 2,000 years ago. But the people of Cologne are much more famous for their cheerful nature, openness and ability to quickly enter into conversations with other people. Take advantage of it. After all, the participants in our city language camp are diligently learning German so that they can make use of it. This camp can be booked for two weeks or for three weeks.

Youth camps

¹Courses/exams exempt from VAT according to § 4 No. 21 a) bb) UStG; exception: German Training Online includes 7% VAT for customers resident in Germany

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ONLINE COURSES FOR TEENS

With peers around the globe, discover German culture through exciting online activities, and learn German in the course German Online for Teens at language levels A1, A2, B1 and B2.

Learn German with a Rhine River view

The City Language Camp of the Goethe-Institut in Cologne is located in the middle of the Rheinauen, a huge park on the banks of the Rhine. Many of the three- to four-bed rooms, where our participants live together for three weeks, have a window with a view onto the mythical river.

Three meals a day as well as refreshments and small snacks are available, vegetarian options and meals without pork are offered alternatively at all meals. Participants in the German language course for teenagers will learn German daily in two to three teaching blocks. We practice reading, understanding, writing and speaking with the students, using the provided teaching material, but also with language games and field trips. With about 28 hours of lessons each week, our students will quickly experience great progress.

On weekend day trips, we explore the world-famous Rhine Valley and the cities of Bonn and Königswinter in the south of Cologne, as well as the fashion and media metropolis of Düsseldorf down the Rhine.

Highlights

Photo: Colourbox.de/r.classen

Cultural metropolis Cologne

Not only the cathedral makes the Rhine metropolis so impressive, the city also offers an extensive range of cultural events and shopping.

Photo: Colourbox.de/Sue Martin

Rheinauen

The popular recreation area for the people of Cologne reflects the beauty of the Rhine.

Photo: Getty Images

Beethoven city Bonn

Roman fort, birthplace of Beethoven, former capital of Germany – Bonn has a lot of history.

Leisure activities

For example: badminton, barbecue, basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, city walking tours, cycling, foosball, handball, hiking, inline skating, jogging, miniputt, movie nights, museum visits, paddling, soccer, sports field, swimming, table tennis, tennis, volleyball

Arrival / Departure

Supervised transfer from Düsseldorf airport

A transfer service between Düsseldorf airport (DUS) and the course location in Cologne will be offered from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the official arrival and departure days (waiting times may be involved).

This costs EUR 150 for arrival and departure. You can register for the transfer up to 8 weeks before the start of the course. Please use our online form to register.

One of our employees will be waiting at the transit area exit in the arrivals hall to greet the children when they arrive.

He/she will be carrying a Goethe-Institut sign and will have identification. For organisational reasons, we cannot tell you the name of the employee until three days before the start of the course, at the earliest.

On the departure day, we will accompany your child as far as the airport check-in.

In the event of the flight being delayed, please note that a transfer outside the official transfer times will not be possible. In this case, you will have to take a taxi instead. The costs are around EUR 125.

Individual arrival by plane

You can also organise your arrival yourself. The most convenient airport is Cologne/Bonn (CGN). A taxi transfer from the airport to the course location costs around EUR 45.
Destination address: Jugendherberge Köln-Riehl, An der Schanz 14, 50735 Köln

Individual arrival by train

You can also organise your arrival yourself. The nearest train station is Cologne. A taxi transfer from the train station to the course location costs around EUR 15.
Destination address: Jugendherberge Köln-Riehl, An der Schanz 14, 50735 Köln

Contact

Contact before the course starts

Please direct all of your questions and messages to the Goethe Institute's head office before the course starts:
jugend@goethe.de

Address and telephone numbers during the course

Jugendherberge Köln-Riehl
An der Schanz 14
50735 Köln
Germany

Phone and E-mail: will be communicated on Friday before the course starts.

Experience Cologne, travel the Rhine Valley

Cologne, the fourth largest city in Germany, is famous for its gigantic Gothic cathedral and for its long history, which begins around 50 AD with the Romans. In the Roman-Germanic Museum right next to the cathedral, you can find many artefacts from this early period. On the Domplatte, the square in front of the cathedral, there are even some remains of the Roman city gate.

Cologne is full of sights from all the centuries since, especially the many ancient Romanesque churches from Frankish times are considered unique. However, it is the cathedral that dominates the cityscape and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Cologne is anything but boring: The Chocolate Museum, the interactive natural history museum Odysseum, or the historical virtual reality show Time Ride Cologne are all great attractions we can visit.

During a day trip to Bonn, the former capital of the Federal Republic of Germany, we can visit the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven and the House of History of the Federal Republic of Germany. Nearby, Europe's most climbed mountain, the Drachenfels (Dragon Rock), awaits us. On its slopes, a wine called Dragon's Blood is grown. The Rhine Valley between Cologne and Mayence is the most romantic landscape in all of Germany, many 19th century poets and painters have dedicated one of their works to the Rhine, up to and including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

Further information

Hannah, 23, supervisor on the youth camps

Photo: Goethe-Institut/Thomas Koy

“We manage to get along with each other on the courses in a peaceful, happy and tolerant manner – so you think to yourself: it's not that difficult and it must be possible for the rest of the world to manage!”

Hannah, 23, supervisor on the youth camps