Women living in Cologne consider the safety level to be relatively high, with an overall safety rating of 3.9 out of 5.
Women living in Cologne consider the crime rate to be relatively low, with an overall crime rating of 1.9 out of 5.
On average 2.5% percentage of women in Germany have experienced physical and/or sexual violence from an intimate partner at some time in their life, according to OECD Data.
Based on 54 experiences
Safety rating: | 3.9/5 | Safe |
Safety walking alone after dark: | 3.4/5 | Moderate |
Safety using public transport: | 3.9/5 | Safe |
Crime rate: | 1.9/5 | Low |
Worries of being sexually harassed: | 2.2/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of being sexually assaulted or raped: | 1.7/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of being physically attacked: | 1.8/5 | A bit worried |
Worries of home broken and things stolen: | 1.2/5 | Not at all worried |
Worries of being mugged or robbed: | 1.5/5 | Not at all worried |
Worries of being kidnapped or murdered: | 1/5 | Not at all worried |
I think Cologne is, all in all, a safe city. I wouldn't worry that much, than usual, during the day or in central areas like the Altstadt and around the cathedral. There are usually plenty of people around, and public transport feels secure, even though they've got some big problems with punctuality. There are some areas where it’s smart to be a bit more cautious, particularly at night, but there's a noticeable police presence—especially during festivals—which helps with crowd control and safety. I would say that the police are generally trustworthy.
Posted: April 21, 2025Lili
I feel safe going around the city without having to constantly be cautious about the surroundings, also late at night. I have never accoutered any tourist trap in the city also. Public transport is well connected and pickpocketing rarely happens (as far as I know).
Posted: April 18, 2025Marcel
I mean, it's safe if you came from South America, but I think because of the multicultural people here, men can be like "persistent", it's very common that hospitality can be confused with flirting hospitality= just a simple smile
Posted: April 13, 2025Despite a few drug addicts and alcoholics, especially some high people screaming inside trains, it's overall a pretty save city! Police is usually just around the corner, especially on Friday and Saturday nights.
Posted: April 11, 2025Ellen
In Cologne it depends on the areas where your are around. In the inner circle it is save at most places. Never the less I‘d use an Uber or cab to get around at night when I don‘t know my surrounding.
Posted: April 6, 2025The city of Cologne is, in my opinion, quite safe. I'm more familiar with the left side of the Rhine, and I've never really felt in danger. I know that sometimes the area around the train station can be intimidating, but there are always law enforcement officers, so there's nothing to worry about :). I would just suggest maybe avoiding certain neighborhoods like Kalk.
Posted: March 28, 2025Savanna
Cologne is overall pretty safe, normal precautions are advised. But, I have only rarely experienced trouble in the last 8 years of living here. Germans rarely catcall, if ever. Typically only during Karneval and generally while partying are the men more sexually aggressive.
Posted: March 26, 2025Ariana
Nothing special to say. I feel safe because I’m walking around areas. I know the people and place and a location and I just tried to avoid the places that I shouldn’t go, especially just by myself as a woman.
Posted: March 25, 2025It's a very safe city in general! I do not feel scared walking home alone lost of the time. Of course, a night in the center there are sometimes some weird people, but nothing too dangerous. Watch out for scammers near the Cologne Cathedral!
Posted: March 23, 2025Jas
Cologne is a rather loud city that’s also alive at night. Due to the amount of people that are always around, I feel quite save. Also, the awareness for standing up for people in distress is pretty high I would say. So, of course, like everywhere in the world, there are people who have bad intentions on their mind, but there are also always people who’d lend a hand.
Posted: March 10, 2025based on 17 experiences from female travelers
For me it was a little difficult, sometimes I felt alone and had no one to go out with, there aren't that many things to do and they don't have festivals or as much street music as I expected there would be, the people are friendly but they don't make much of an effort to include you, unfortunately the first day I arrived I had a very persistent experience in terms of xenophobia but nothing went wrong.
Posted: April 14, 2025Experienced: March, 2025I felt safe. You can see the churches around, there are 12 of them. It's nice to see the botanical garden, grab some Kölsch and stroll around the river. I stayed at Novo Hotel. I walked mostly on foot but it's easier if you rent a bike or go by bus.
Posted: March 10, 2025Experienced: February, 2025Celine
Your local girl from cologne, currently in her master's, hating German public transport 👍
Ružica
Hi there! I'm international student in Germany, using every opportunity I can to travel and explore new places. Very spontaneous and always up to new experiences