How to make friends in Cologne

Cologne has a reputation as the friendliest big city in Germany, and it holds up, as long as you already know someone. Arrive from outside and you learn quickly that friendliness and friendship are two different things. What the city does give you: people meet outdoors, loudly and in groups, so joining is easier here than elsewhere if you go where something is already happening.

Where people actually meet in Cologne

Forget dating apps and small talk at the bar. In Cologne connections form around a shared thing to do:

• The Rhine bank and Rheinauhafen — From the chocolate museum down to the Poller Wiesen. In the evening you will find groups who arranged it online.
• Belgisches Viertel and Stadtgarten — The place for a first coffee or an after-work beer without it having to become a whole night.
• Aachener Weiher and Volksgarten — Running groups, volleyball, barbecues. Fixed weekly slots with new faces every time.
• Brauhaus long tables — Früh, Päffgen, Sion. The seating does the introductions for you; you end up next to strangers by design.
• Siebengebirge and Bergisches Land — An hour out by train. One shared hike produces more conversation than three evenings in a pub.

See what is happening in Cologne this week

• Pick an activity, not a person. On a run, a hike or around a game the conversation starts by itself.
• Say yes to small things. A coffee on a Tuesday beats a big event you never attend.
• Go twice. The first time you are the new one, the second time people know you.
• Ask for the next specific plan, not the number.