Cologne

Cologne (Köln in German) is a 1,085,664 inhabitants city located in the southern part of North Rhine-Westphalia and the most populated city in the federal state and the 4th most populous city in Germany. Cologne Cathedral was placed at UNESCO World Heritage list in 1996 and it used to be the tallest monument in the world till 1884 and it's the most visited monuments in Germany.

How do I arrive to Cologne?

  Cologne has many different ways to arrive for being the most inhabited city of the federal state and one of the top touristic destinations in Germany. 

• Plane: there are many international flights to Cologne-Bonn Airport, one of the largest low-cost hubs in Europe. To go from the airport to the city (Hauptbahnhof) there are trains (aprox. 15 minutes) every 20 minutes and taxis and from the airport station. It's 18 km southeast from the center of the city.
• Train: the main station is Kölner Hauptbahnhof, with frequent trains to other parts of the state like Aachen, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Essen or Dortmund. There are several trains to destinations to major German cities like Frankfurt am Main (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes), Stuttgart (aprox. 2 hours 15 minutes), Hannover (aprox. 2 hours 40 minutes), Bremen (aprox. 3 hours), Nuremberg (aprox. 3 hours 30 minutes), Hamburg (aprox. 4 hours), Munich (aprox. 4 hours 15 minutes) or Berlin (aprox. 4 hours 15 minutes). Cologne has international connections to places like Brussels (aprox. 2 hours) in Belgium or Paris (aprox. 3 hours 20 minutes) in France. 
• Bus: there are many buses from here to other parts of North Rhine-Westphalia both from the city and from Cologne-Bonn Airport. Cologne has international connections from Breslauer Platz to places like Amsterdam (aprox. 5 hours 15 minutes) in the Netherlands or Paris (aprox. 7.5 hours) in France. 
• Car: if you rented a car, from Colonge it can be reached Brühl (aprox. 25 minutes), Bonn (aprox. 30 minutes), Düsseldorf (aprox. 40 minutes), Duisburg (aprox. 50 minutes), Essen and Aachen (aprox. 1 hour), Dortmund (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes) or Münster (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes). From here you can also reach easily destinations in Rhineland-Palatinate like Koblenz (aprox. 1 hour 10 minutes), Mainz (aprox. 1 hour 50 minutes), or Trier (aprox. 2 hours) or other regions like Frankfurt am Main (aprox. 2 hours), Hannover (aprox. 2 hours 45 minutes) or Bremen (aprox. 3 hours). Cologne can also be reached from cities in the neighbouring countries: Maastricht (aprox. 1 hour 15 minutes) and Eindhoven (aprox. 1 hour 40 minutes) in the Netherlands, Liège (aprox. 1 hour 20 minutes) in Belgium, Luxembourg City (aprox. 2 hours 20 minutes) in Luxembourg.

Once in Cologne it's highly recommended to use public transportation (buses, trams or underground) or simply riding a bike or walk.

History

 The first urban settlement was Oppidum Ubiorum, founded in 36 BC by the Ubii and the Romans founded Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in 50 AD, becoming the origin of modern Cologne and cpital of the province of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. Having been capital of the Gallic Roman Empire, it became one of the main trade and production centers north of the Alps. Its first bishop was elected in 313, Maternus. Ripurian Franks occupied Cologne in 462, being part of Austrasia within the Frankish Empire and under Charlemagne, bishop Hildebold was promoted to archbishop and afterwards gained power with the Electorate of Cologne (one of the 7 electors of the Holy Roman Emperor). In the Medieval Ages it became an important pilgrimage center with the Shrine of the Three Kings and the relics of St. Ursula and Albertus Magnus. The intersection of these trade routes were the basis of Cologne's growth, being a member of the Hanseatic League in 1475, being a free imperial city. Cologne was occupied in 1794 by France and part of the department Roer with Aachen til the Congress of Vienna (1815) was made part of the Kingdom of Prussia (Rhine province), with conflicts between Catholic Rhineland and Protestant Prussian state. Being occupied by the British after WW1, Cologne was demilitarised and the University of Cologne opened. It prospered during the Weimar Republic (Konrad Adenauer was its mayor) but in 1933 Nazi Party won the elections, arrested SDP and communist members and dismissed Adenauer. Cologne's pre-war Jewish community (aprox. 11,000 people) were murdered in WW2 and it was taken by the American in 1945. After WW2 Cologne was sandwiched by Düsseldorf (federal capital) and Bonn (West Germany's capital), getting profit of it and being totally rebuilt (95% of the city center was destroyed), recovering and gaining population. In the 1980s and 1990s economy prospered and nowadays it's widely regarded as one of the most liberal cities in Germany.

Cologne's top 10

If you have little or you just don't want to visit all Cologne, here's a list of the 10 places you can't miss in the city.

1. Cologne Cathedral.
2. Romano-Germanic Museum.
3. Museum Schnütgen and Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum.
4. Having a cruise in Rhine river.
5. Museum Ludwig.
6. Wallraf-Richartz Museum.
7. The Twelve Romanesque churches.
8. Visiting Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces in Brühl.
9. Walk around Altstadt.
10. Kolumba. 

What can I visit in Cologne?

Parade during Kölner Karneval

 The city has is a very large city although almost all its sightseeing points are located in Altstadt (Cologne Old Town). One of the nicer walks in Cologne are walking by Rhine river (starting at Cologne Cathedral) and crossing by Deutzer Bridge and Hohenzollern Bridge. Cologne has one of the most important festivals in Germany, Kölner Karneval, one of the most important carnivals in Europe. There's a card, MuseumsCard, that includes almost all the museums in the city (18€ for 2 days) and includes free transportation during the first day. Another card is Kölner Card (18€/ 9€ for 24 hours/ 48 hours), that allows to travel free using public transportation and discounts in museums, restaurants...

These are Cologne's main attractions:

Cologne's cathedral façade

• Cologne Cathedral (6-21 from May to Oct; 6-19:30 from Nov to Apr): Gothic Dom that is the largest and second tallest cathedral in Germany and the third in the world; has the second-tallest spires in Northern Europe and is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne. Its construction began in 1248 but was halted in 1473, being restart in 1840s and finished its original plan in 1880. Its construction was planned to house the reliquary of the Shrine of the Three Kings (or Biblical Magi, who were distinguished foreigners who visited Jesus after his birth) after Holy Roman Emperor Fredderick I took it from Milan in 1164. Its inner part has other masterpieces like the magnificent stained glass windows, Gero Cross (oldest large sculpture of crucified Christ north of the Alps, from 970), the seat of chairs from the chorus or the altarpiece painting (1450) by Stephan Lochner. The cathedral Cologne Dom Treasury (6€/ 3€  adults/ students) where it can be seen some of the relics, tunics and liturgical objects and among them, a Gothic bishop's crosier and a bust reliquary of St. Gregor of Spoleto.

  

  Inner part of Cologne's cathedral

  Cologne Cathedral Tower (5€/ 2€  adults/ students), which topped Europe's skies till the constrution of the Eifel Tower, can be visited going up on its 533 treads. There are combined tickets for Cologne Dom Treasury and Tower (8€/ 4€  adults/ students), sold in the visitor center (Domforum).
• Romano-Germanic Museum (10-17 Tue-Sun; 9€/ 5€  adults/ students): impressing museum that displays many remains from Roman times found by Rhine river, mainly coming from Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium (Roman colony from where the city of Cologne developed). The collection has objects like toys, lamps, pliers or jewels that allow us to see the influence of Roman culture in nowadays' world. Some of the nicest pieces are the huge Lucius Poblicius' mausoleum, a mosaic about Dionysus (3rd century) and objects made of crystal.

  

  Lucius Poblicius' mausoleum

  The area around the museum has some other Roman remains like an Roman arc or a Roman tower (Römerturm).
• Hohenzollern Bridge: bridge built between 1907 and 1911, destroyed during WW2 and restored afterwards, accessible only to rail and pedestrian traffic. It was one of the first places in the world where couples place love padlocks and one of the most characteristic monuments in Cologne.
• Museum Ludwig (10-18 Tue-Sun; 11€/ 7.50€/free  adults/ students/kids under 18): important Contemporary art museum that delivers almost every style: Expressionism (with works by Max Beckmann, Otto Dix or Ernst Ludwig Kirchner), Russian avant-garde (like Alexander Rodchenko), pop art (with works by Andy Warhol or Roy Liechtenstein), abstrct art (where Rothko and Pollock are the highlights), photographies by Gursky and Tillmanns or works by Pablo Picasso. Some of the masterpieces of the museum are Fünf Frauen auf der Straße and Weiblicher Halbakt mit Hut by Kirchner or La Gare de Perpignan by Dalí.

  

  La Gare de Perpignan by Dalí

• Museum of Applied Arts Cologne (10-18 Tue-Sun; 4€/ 2€/ free  adults/ students/ kids under 18): museum that exposes the history of European design since Medieval times to our days. Some of the most outstanding pieces are the 15th century Venetian holy chalice, Henry van de Velde's silver place setting or the life-size porcelain animal sculptures of Meissen.
• Kolumba (12-17 Wed-Mon; 5€/ 3€/ free  adults/ students/ kids under 18): museum that displays all the art collection of Archdiocese of Cologne in a wonderful building designed by Peter Zumthor, where former St. Kolumba Church ruins are placed as well as Roman ruins. The collection of religious art goes back to the first days of Christianism till our days; some of its highlights are an astonishing 12th century ivory cross, medieval paintings, Copts fabrics, Gothic reliquaries or works by Andor Weiniger, a very important painter from Bauhaus movement.
• Archeological Zone and Jewish Museum (closed): archeological site by the city hall located when the underground (U-Bahn) was being built. It has the remains of a large Jewish quarter (Cologne had a large Jewish community since the 12th century) with a mikveh (communal bathrooms) and the Roman praetorium (tent for the praetor).

  

  Views of St. Martin Great Church
  from the Cathedral Tower

• Cologne City Hall (8-16 Mon, Wed-Thu, 8-18 Tue; free): 15th century building with nice bells, although quite it's quite restored. Its Gothic tower has statues of important Cologne citizens.
• Great St. Martin Church (8:30-19:30 Tue-Sat, 12-19 Sun; free): 12th century church, considered one of the most beautiful churches in Cologne (it's also one of the twelve Romanesque churches in the city). When it was built it used to be placed in a Rhine island. Its four slim towers can be seen from almost all the Altstadt.



Juno and Argus by Rubens

• Wallraf-Richartz Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 13€/ 8€/free  adults/ students/kids under 18): art gallery museum focused on European painting from the 13th to the 19th centuries located in a postmodern building by O. M. Ungers. There are works by the Cologne School of Painting, Flemish painters (like Rembrandt and Peter Paul Rubens), Italian painters (like Canaletto) or Spanish ones such as Bartolomé Esteban Murillo; it's also home of the largest Impressionist and post-Impressionist art collection in whole Germany, with works by Claude Monet, Vicent Van Gogh, Paul Cézanne or Paul Gauguin. Some of the masterpieces of the museum are Madonna of the Rose Bower by Stefan Lochner, Holy Family and Juno and Argus by Rubens or Langlois Bridge at Arles by Vicent Van Gogh.
• Fragance Museum (10-19 Mon-Sat, 11-17 Sun; 5€/ 2.50€/ free  adults/ students and kids/ kids under 11): museum that shows the place, circunstances and how Johann Maria Farina created one of the most popular perfumes in the world, the eau de cologne.

  

  St. Maria im Kapitol Church

• St. Maria im Kapitol Church (10-18 Mon-Sat, 12-18 Sun; free): 11th century Romanesque style church with the first clover shape choir, being one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne. Other highlights of the church are the main door and the Renaissance retrochoir, that has exquisite decoration.
• St. Maria in Lyskirchen Church (10-18 Mon-Sat, 10-16 Sun; free): small church first founded in 948, one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne. The building received only minor damage during the wars; it can be enjoyed a sculptured Romanesque portal and a cycle of 13th century ceiling paintings. Another important piece is Schiffermadonna, a wooden statue of 1420.
• Overstolzenhaus (14-17; free): one of the oldest houses in Cologne (built in the 1220s) with an impressive Romaneque façade. Today it houses the Academy of Media Arts.

  

  Overstolzenhaus

• Mustard Museum (10-18; 2.50€/ free  adults/ kids under 11): museum that shows how mustard is made according to its traditional and own recipe plus visiting the 200 years old mustard mill.
• German Sports and Olympics Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 6€/ 3€  adults/ students and kids): museum placed in a former 19th century customs' building where sport since Pre-History to nowadays, focusing in German one. It shows more information about the Olympics in Berlin (1936) and Munich (1972) and German athletes like Michael Schumacher. The museum is quite interactive (providing immersive experience) and has a small football pitch on the flat roof.
• Cologne Chocolate Museum (10-18; 13.50€/ 10€/ 8€  adults/ students/ kids): museum that exposes all about making chocolate and includes chocolate tasting. It teaches how cocoa seed is grown and its cultural influences as well as objects related to those processes. The museum has a shop too.
  
• Kranhaus: buildings with shape of an upside-down "L", is reminiscent of the harbor cranes. They are located in the harbour, that has been recently recovered and restored, having new offices, houses, restaurants and shops.

  

  Krankhaus and the former
  harbour of Cologne

• St. Johann Baptist Church: one of the oldest in Cologne (948) that has seen many additions and reconstructions throughout the centuries. It was almost totally destroyed during WW2 and its current form is an eclectic reconstruction from the early 1960s
• St. Gregorius im Elend Church: interesting 19th century Neo-Baroque church.
• Basilica of St. Severin (10-18 Mon-Fri, 10-13 Sat, 13-17 Sun; free): early Romanesque basilica church dedicated to St. Severin of Cologne, one of the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne. The oldest parts of today's building date back to the 10th century.  
• St. Georg Church (9-17; free): 11th century church, one of the 12 Romanesque churches of Cologne. During the late 1920s the church had been entirely glazed by the Expressionist artist, Johan Thorn Prikker, but these windows were lost during WW2 (but they have been reproduced from the original cartoons).
  

  

  Inner part of Museum Schnütgen

• Museum Schnütgen (10-18 Tue-Sun; 6€/ 3.50€  adults/ reduced): medieval art museum located in the former St. Cäcilien Church (one of the oldest in Cologne and part of the 12 Romanesque churches of Cologne) with an spectrum of the exhibition from wooden and stone sculptures, goldsmith's art to rare ivories and textiles. Some of the most important ones are Parler Bust, the Crucifix from St. George or the Comb of St. Heribert. In the same building it's located Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum (10-18 Tue-Sun; 7€/ 4.50€  adults/ reduced), also known as World Cultures Museum. It has ethnographic expositions from all over the world, displayed in an interactive way, like a boat from Celebes Islands (current Sulawesi, Indonesia). There's a ticket combined for Museum Schnütgen and Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum (10€/ 7€  adults/ reduced).
• Basilica of the Holy Apostles (10-13,15-17; free): Romanesque church with basilical plan of nave and aisles, three apses at the east end making a trefoil plan. It was one of the 12 Romanesque churches of Cologne.

• 

  Jails at the NS Documentation Center

  Käthe Kollwitz Museum (10-18 Tue-Fri, 11-18 Sat-Sun; 5€/ 2€  adults/ reduced): museum focused on Käthe Kollwitz, Expressionist German socialist artist that was the first woman to be elected to the Prussian Academy of Arts and also received honorary professor status. One of the most outstanding pieces are the serie Ein Weberaufstand from 1897.
• Cologne National Socialism Documentation Center (10-18 Tue-Fri, 11-18 Sat-Sun; 4.50€/ 2€  adults/ reduced): local Gestapo prission in Cologne during Nazi regime, located in an aparently normal building. Here thousands of people were arrested, tortured and killed. The cells have texts explaining the sad story of those who suffered physically and psychologically in here. 
• Cologne City Museum (10-17 Tue-Sun; 5€/ 3€  adults/ reduced): museum that explains the history of the city and all its important things typical from here like Cologne Carnival, Kölsch beer or eau de cologne. It has an excellent mock-up of the city of Cologne in 1571.

  

  St. Gereon Basilica

• St. Andreas Church (7:30-18 Mon-Fri, 8-18 Sat-Sun; free): 10th century Romanesque church that is one of twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne. It was first built under Archbishop Gero and rebuilt after the great fire of Cologne (1220). In the crypt it can be found the remains of St. Albertus Magnus, a 13th century theologian and natural philosopher. 
• St. Gereon Basilica (10-12 and 15-17 Tue-Fri, 10-12 Sat; free): church considered the most bizarre in whole Cologne. Its existence began with a late Romanesque chapel and nowadays it has an interesting cupola with 10 sides. It's one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne.
• St. Ursula Church (10-18 Mon-Sat, 15-16:30 Sun; free): church located where according to the legend, St. Ursula and its 10 virgins were killed the Huns when going on a pilgrimage to Rome. It's one of the twelve Romanesque churches in Cologne and in the 17th century it was built in the church the Golden Camera to host their relics.
• Basilica of St. Cunibert (10-18; free): church consecrated in 1247, being the newest of Cologne's twelve Romanesque churches. It was importantly damaged during WW2.
• St. Michael Church (9:30-12 Mon-Tue and Fri, 10-13 and 15-17 Wed; free): Neo-Romanesque style church built in the beginning of the 20th century, considered the 3rd largest in the city.



Cologne Synagogue

• Cologne Synagogue (guided tours once every month; 5€/ 1.50€  adults/ pupils): synogogue considered to be the oldest in the north of the Alps (mentioned in Constantine the Great times, 321) although the current Neo-Romanesque building was built in the end of the 19th century and rebuilt after WW2. It was visited by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005. 
• St. Pantaleon Church (9-12 and 12:45-17 Mon-Fri, 9-17 Sat, 12:30-17 Sun; free): 10th century early Romanesque church, one the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne. The empress Theophanu and the archbishop Bruno the Great are buried in the church and also contains shrines of St. Alban (first Christian martyr of Britain) and Maurinus of Cologne.
• Museum of East-Asian Arts (11-17 Tue-Sun; 6€/ 3.50€  adults/ reduced): museum focused in Chinese, Japanese and Korean art (the first of its kind) located in a classical modernist building designed by Kunio Maekawa, pupil of Le Corbusier. It owns outstanding works of Buddhist painting and wooden sculpture, Japanese standing screen painting, colour woodcuts and lacquer art plus Chinese cultic bronzes ot Korean celadon pottery, among others. The museum hosts temporary expositions too.

 

Augustusburg Palace

Going 20 km southwest it's located Brühl, a 44,397 town between Cologne and Bonn known for being the birthplace of Max Ernst and having two Rococo style palaces that were placed at UNESCO World Heritage list in 1984. The most popular one is Augustusburg Palace (9-12 and 13:30-16 Tue-Fri, 10-17 Sat-Sun from Feb to Nov; 9€/ 7.50€/ 5€  adults/ reduced/ students), 18th century palace designed by François de Cuvilliés for Clemens August of Bavaria, Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, where it can be discovered its objects, rooms and a magnificent staircase was designed by Johann Balthasar Neumann (it can just be visited on a guided tour); the other palace is Hunting Lodge Falkenlust (9-12 and 13:30-16 Tue-Fri, 10-17 Sat-Sun from Feb to Nov; 7€/ 5.50€/ 4€  adults/ reduced/ students), small palace designed also by Fraçois de Cuvilliés where Clemens August of Bavaria used to practice one of his passions, falconry. Despite being small it's almost as sumptuous as the main palace and its chapel is stunning too. It's possible to acquire a combined ticket for both palaces (14€/ 11€/ 7€  adults/ reduced/ students). Here it can also be visited Max Ernst Museum (11-18 Tue-Sun; 10.50€/ 6.50€/ free  adults/ reduced/ kids under 18), museum that shows the artistic path of Max Ernst, a pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism, and its innovations like frottage technique or collage novels. There are combined tickets for the three tourist attractions (16€ for adults).

What can I do and buy in Cologne?

Cologne has a nice cultural offer, although it isn't as big as other important German cities. They include the Cologne Philharmonic Hall (Bischofsgartenstraße 1) or Outdoor venue at Offenbachplatz. Here in Brühl you can also enjoy Phantasialand (Berggeiststraße 31-41), one of the first theme parks in Europe. 

Schildergasse

 Cologne is also a great place to go shopping, with a mixture of brand-name and vintage shops. Hohe Straße is one of oldest and most popular pedestrian streets where going shoping as well as In der Höhle. Smaller shops and shoe shops are placed in Schildergasse (where nearby there's the mall Neumarkt-Galerie), luxurous shops and jeweller's can be found in Mittelstraße and Pfeilstraße; district of Belgisches Viertel (around Brüseler Platz) has an interesting offer of shops where buying music or vintage clothing. Some of the coolest places to buy are 4711 (Wallrafplatze 9) or Farina-House (Obenmarspforten 21) to buy eau de cologne or the bookshop Mayersche Buchhandlung (Neumarkt 2).

Where can I eat in Cologne?

Kölsch beer

Cologne is a multicultural city so in there many kinds of cuisine can be discovered, particulary in Belgisches Viertel and the surroundings of Zülpicher Platz and Ehrenstraße. It's highly recommended trying the Schwarzbrot (rye bread) and Kölsch beer. In case your budget is reduced you can enjoy tasty food for not much in the crepe shop Engelbät (Engelbertstraße 7), the bakery Madame Miammiam (Antwerpener Straße) or burguers at Freddy Schilling (Eigelstein 147). In case you want to spend a bit more money Cologne has a large offer of medium-prize restaurants. Some of them are the traditional German restaurants Bei Oma Kleinmann (Zülpicher Straße 9), Haxenhaus (Frankenwerft 19) and Lommerzheim (Siegesstraße 18), something more modern at Salon Schmitz (Aachener Straße 28) or cafes like Feysinn (Rathenauplatz 7) and Reichard (Unter Fettenhennen 11). The city has a wide culinary offers for higher prices like the winery Sorgenfrei (Antwerpener Straße 15). 
As the capital of Kölsch beer there are many breweries where trying it. It's important to know that, unlike in the rest of Germany, they are usually Stangen (0.2 L); moreover Kölsch beer is been served to the customer till he/she puts the coaster in the top of the empty beer. The following ones are just some of the most important ones: Päffgen (Salzgasse 3), Peters Brauhaus (Mühlengasse 1), Früh am Dom (Am Hof 12-18), Schreckenskammer (Ursulagartenstraße 11-15), Brauerei Zur Malzmühle (Heumarkt 6) and Gaffel am Dom (Bahnhofsvorplatz 1). There are also very recommended places to have a drink out, mainly located in Altstadt, Zülpicher Viertel (popular among students) and Belgisches Viertel (popular for adults). Some choices are the brewery Biergarten Rathenauplatz (Rathenauplatz 30), the bar Six Pack (Aachener Straße 33), concert halls like Gebäude 9 (Deutz-Mülheimer Straße 117) or the clubs such as Club Bahnhof Enhrenfel (Bartholomäus-Schink-Straße 65/67). Cologne is the 2nd most popular city for the LGTB+ community that usually goes out around Rudolfplatz and Heumarkt (particulary Pipinstraße).

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