Cologne

Cologne city and football guide

Cologne: the city


If you've never been to Germany before Cologne's a pretty good place to begin.

The city, the fourth biggest in Germany, was built and grew on the banks of the Rhine - in the days when business was done by boat, this brought the city and region wealth and prosperity.

The days of the Rhine being a major cargo route have long gone, you're more likely to dodge the cruise ships than cargo vessels.


No fog on the Rhine: The skyline of Cologne - with the Dom in the far right background.

However, it's right at the crossroads of Europe - and the first major German city you meet coming from the west - so it's still full of suited businessmen and is also one of Germany's top tourist hotspots.

 


More than 1,400 trains cross the Rhine at Cologne and stop at the main train station, which is your ideal welcome to the city as it sits at the foot of the Dom - Cologne's biggest attraction in every way.

 


The Dom is not just any old cathedral. It's a giant gothic monument that shoots up into the skyline and can be seen for miles around.

 


The most attracted parts of Cologne - or Koln, in German - are the old town, that stretches from the Dom to Heumarkt and along the riverside.

 


In the summer months the terraces of the bars and restaurants are packed with visitors, although with hundreds to choose from you'll find a place to stop somewhere. There you can sample local delicacies - mainly with a largely pork and sausage theme, you'll be staggered to hear - and try a drop of the local brew, the light lager Kolsch.


 

A little further along the waterfront are two of the city's newest and most popular tourist attractions, built into converted wharfs.

 


The chocolate museum, pictured right, draws more than 600,000  people a year. As well as telling you all you ever wanted to need to know, and more, about cocoa and chocolate you also get to see a mini chocolate factory in action.

 


Run by Lindt, there's no Willy Wonka in charge but there are a significant number of woman in white coats and hats.

 


Next door is the Deutches Sport and Olympia Museum, a shrine to all sport through the ages with a tilt towards German success.  Not awesome but maybe worth a look.

 


There are a number of other museums and galleries if they take your fancy - from one on the city's Roman history to the pop art and contemporary features of Museum Ludwig.

 


Hop on, hop off buses from the Dom whisk you around a tour of Cologne in around 90 minutes.


 

The Koln Welcome card is worth considering for 24, 48 or 72 hours. Discounts may be modest - one euro off museum admission here, a free drink with a meal there - but it does give you free transport on all buses, underground and trains in the Koln network (including to the airport).

 


That network includes Bonn, the unlikely former West German capital now settling back into the shadow of Cologne. It's more chilled than its big brother with a smattering of attractions including a museum devoted to Beethoven.

English is widely spoken. It's a lively, vibrant place, will placed - and easy to get to via plane or train. Cologne's definitely worth a weekend.