Arrival

Effective 1st January 2008, Cologne’s downtown area wasl be declared an “environmental zone”. This means that only vehicles sporting one of the stickers for Emissions Groups 2 to 4 are allowed to enter the downtown area (www.stadt-koeln.de).

Drivers can get these stickers at imm cologne (14th – 20th January 2008) upon presentation of their vehicle documents. The stickers are sold at Entrances North and East, and the sales counters are open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., from Saturday, 12th January  to Friday, 18th January 2008.

The Koelnmesse exhibition centre will remain accessible for all types of vehicles, even if they do not bear one of the aforementioned stickers.

The attached graphic shows all of the routes for driving to and from the exhibition centre.

However, only vehicles that bear the pertinent sticker are allowed to drive outside of these routes (to get to downtown Cologne, for example).

A transitional arrangement will remain in effect until 31st March 2008, during which time violations of the environmental zone regulations will not be punished.

Trade fair visitors from Germany and abroad who wish to come to Cologne in an appropriately equipped vehicle will receive a sticker that allows them to drive into the environmental zone after applying at
www.umwelt-plakette.de