Cologne – Good enough to dab it on

Cologne or Koln as the Germans like to call it is the undisputed Party City of the country. The city rocks with its many party zones, bars and pubs. But that is not the only thing that attracts people to this ancient city. There is something to do everywhere you look; it is a gay hub, a carnival centre and riverside resort – all activities that can keep a tourist busy for days. Cologne claims its fame in many things – it is home to most famous tourist attraction: the vast yet exquisite Cologne Cathedral and the birthplace of that little bottle that smells like heaven – Eau de Cologne!

Once a medieval place of pilgrimage, Cologne still commands a large number of tourists who come here to visit the famous Kolner Dom. But that is only one of the reasons you would love Cologne- you would also love it for its colorful shopping street, Hohe Strasse, runs south, its narrow lanes filled to the brim with tourist-friendly taverns in the Altstadt area and its verdant patches hemmed to the sides of the Rhine.

A ring road circles the heart of town and is the hub of the city’s nightlife, ending inches away to the most famous parks of the city which host most of the city’s sports activities. The city with all its charms adds one more to its list – it is one of the most bike friendly cities in the country and you can soak in all its sights and sounds pedaling about on your path to discovering the city’s hidden gems.

Adding to Cologne Germany history are its numerous museums like the hugely popular Schokoladen Museum, dedicated solely to the process of chocolate making! In all there are enough attractions in Cologne to keep a family or single travelers or seniors groups excited about every morning. Need more reasons to visit Cologne? Read on and we will tell you!

Cologne’s History

The first people to make Cologne’s present city center their home were the Ubii – Germanic tribe, who made a pact with the Romans in 39 BC and settled on the left bank of the Rhine, calling their settlement Oppidum Ubiorum. But Cologne's history is inextricably linked with Julia Aggripina, wife of Emperor Claudius who was born in 15 AD in a garrison town in the area. In a fit of emotions, she persuaded the Emperor to rename her birthplace after her and 'Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium' was born. The name was quite a mouthful and soon got abbreviated to 'Colonia' which in turn became the German Koln and the world’s Cologne.

The city was the capital of the Gallic Empire in the 3rd century and produced its first Bishop, Maternus in 313. The city remained the capital of the Roman province till it was occupied by the Franks in 459. As the Dark Ages descended upon the continent, Cologne started its gradual incline towards becoming a powerful Catholic archbishopric. Construction on the Kolner Dom began in 1248, just 40 years before the archbishops lost power to the guilds at the battle of Worringen. Koln became a Free Imperial City and a member of the Hanseatic League in 1475 and continued to prosper because of its strategic location on the Rhine.

The construction of the cathedral was put on the backburner but the city remained staunchly Catholic. The French invaded in 1794 and - when the Congress of Vienna ended the occupation - the city got absorbed into the kingdom of Prussia. The nineteenth century saw rapid industrialization that gave impetus to the city’s industries and commerce keeping its upswing continues. That forgotten Cathedral was taken up as a task by the Prussians who completed it after five centuries.

Cologne's economy was robust enough to ride out the economic downturns between the wars, but the Allied bombings still managed to disfigure most of the city. In the decades following the conflict, enormous effort went into clearing the ruins and rebuilding the city.

Today, Cologne is powered by the automotive and pharmaceutical industries; is fourth largest city in Germany, still the birthplace of the Koln Wasser and an out-of-control fab place to visit.

When to go

Cologne surprises with its climate. As far as the winters go, you get the regular freezing temperatures, but come summer and the place becomes a wet, soggy place! So, all through June and August you should stay away from the city or pack in some tropical raingear and jump into the slush... can’t be much fun! Unless, of course you want to thank your stars for little tourist traffic and low hotel rates.

Try going to Cologne in spring when the weather is on its best behavior. The city looks like a bejeweled bride from March to May and in and autumn, from September to October and you can pack in a lot in one day – sightseeing, people watching from under the sun umbrella on a pavement café and perhaps a picnic in one of the city’s parks.

Top ways to get in

If you are traveling to Cologne from within Germany don’t think twice before taking a train. If you are travelling from within the mainland continent, hop on to the train again as Cologne has a huge number of connections to cities in Western Europe you get the added benefit of enjoying the picturesque countryside.

You can also take a bus from most of the other capital cities like Paris or Warsaw and reach Cologne, arriving at the Breslauer Platz, just behind the main train station. Koln-Bonn Airport is not the biggest of places and you may be better off flying in to nearby Frankfurt, which certainly is.

Getting Around the city

Driving in Cologne can be awful. You can all too easily end up in a tunnel you don't want to be in, or on a bridge you don't want to cross. And most streets in the centre have residential parking only, so you'll often be forced to pay too much for the pleasure of leaving your vehicle. Note that some parking lots close at night and charge an overnight fee, while taxis can be ruinously expensive. It's much better to hire a bike or take public transport. Cologne's mix of buses, trams, and U-Bahn or S-Bahn trains is operated by the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Sieg in cooperation with Bonn's system. Buy your tickets (either short-trip or 24-hour) from the orange ticket machines at stations and aboard trams; be sure to stamp them.

Cologne’s Best Hotels

Cologne sees an enormous rolling traffic of tourists the year round and as such offers accommodations that suit all kinds of budgets. If you feel the need to splurge some and enjoy a really lavish, relaxed vacation, take your pick from the top ten hotels in the city:

Hotel Lyskirchen – Located in the historic heart of the city, hotel Lyskirchen is a surprisingly modern place that offers more than 100 well-appointed rooms (€117). Expect great service and a hearty breakfast! Give a shot to the InterContinental Cologne which is again conveniently located in the city center and is close to most of the main attractions. For an average of $ 397 a night you get great views of the city, perfect service and modern amenities in the room. The Hyatt Regency Cologne offers 306 rooms at an average of $ 321 a night and lavishes you with personal attention, visually impactful décor and a very helpful, well trained staff.

Next in our top ten lists is the Lindner hotel Dom Residence which is well suited for business travelers as well as casual tourists looking for a comfortable place to stay (€148). For a classy retreat try the Hilton Cologne ($281) located in the heart of the city and offering the best modern facilities to make your stay comfortable. Also try the Pullman Cologne (€168) for its excellent value for money and the Astor & Aparthotel Cologne (€133) for it comfortable rooms and proximity to the top city attractions. Other hotels in our countdown include the Marriott Cologne ($246), Clostermannshof Cologne ($ 138) and the Coellner Hof for € 75.

This however is not the end of the high end segment and you can also choose from: Radisson SAS Hotel Cologne ($ 272), Excelsior Hotel Ernest (€ 225), Maritim Hotel Koln (€ 127), Mercure Hotel Severinshof Koln (€ 96) and Dorint An Der Messe Koln $ 209

Mid range hotels in the city include: Holiday Inn Cologne – Bonn Airport, Four Points By Sheraton Central Koln and Ibis Koeln Leverkusen. For families and single travelers, Bed & Breakfasts make a good choice and you can take your pick from Bruecker Sportpark (€ 70), City Pension Storch I (€ 105), City Pension Storch II (€ 47), Hotel Putz Garni (€ 87) and Hotel-Pension Alt-Rodenkirchen (€ 86).

For downright affordable hostel accommodations try Station Hostel in Marzellenstrasse, Jugendherberge Koln-Deutz in Siegesstrasse, Hostel 404 in Neusser Strasse and the Black Sheep Hostel in Barbarossaplatz. More options include Station Hostel for Backpackers (€ 58), H1 Kombinats Hotel (€ 74), Hong Kong Hosteling Koln am Freisenplatz (€46), Hostel Am Rheinauhafen (€ 60) and Hotel Zendorf (€ 74).

Dine on the Rhine

Some of the best inexpensive places to eat (and drink) in Cologne are beer taverns. The top of the heap are Brauhaus Sion in Unter Taschenmacher which is a traditional local tavern with great beer, rustic ambience and generous food portions generous. Try the Kolsch Kaviar and the famed local beer, Kolsch. Also try the Fruh am Dom on Am Hof for robust meals and a daily changing menu.

The third one on our list is the Haus Toller on Weyerstrasse a 15-minute walk south of the cathedral that has thrived as a brew house since 1876 by selling copious portions of two-fisted Teutonic food and foaming mugs of a local brew, Sion. The menu includes a local specialty, Schinkenhempsel (roast leg of pork), served with sauerkraut and roast potatoes. Main courses are 12€ to 20€ ($16-$26); a mug of Sion will set you back 1€ ($1.30). No credit cards are accepted. It's open daily 5pm to midnight.

Other good places to eat in the city are: Em Krutch is set in a 16th-century house on the river in the Altstadt in Frankenturm and you can boast of eating in the same traditional paneled dining room in which Bill Clinton and Tony Blair enjoyed the excellent local and regional cooking.

Haxenhaus Zum Rheingarten is an 800-year old beautifully converted medieval hall-like house in the heart of the Atltstadt in Frankenwerft that offers typical hearty Cologne cooking with homemade Bratwurst and pork specialities. La Vision that is a Michelin-starred classical French and Mediterranean gourmet cuisine restaurant at the Hotel im Wasserturm. Decorated in a warm intimate style this one is meant for lavish, leisurely 3-hur dinners! Also try Wackes for its rustic look and delectable Alsatian dishes; do order flammkuchen – the Alsatian version of the Italian Pizza.

Party time in Cologne

Many visitors are content to while away most of the evening drinking Kolsch, the famous local beer in one of the city’s many brewhouses but there are others who can’t call it a day without a round of drinks with friends and some serious leg shaking in this beautiful city. For the second lot, Cologne has a wide array of nightclubs and style bars dotting the cityscape from the Altstadt around Buttermarkt and Salzgasse and to a little further out to the Belgische Viertel, between Rudolfsplatz and Friesenplatz, where you will find the biggest concentration of fashionable places to drink and eat. Other good places are the Univiertel - University Quarter and the streets around Barbarossa Platz and Zulpicher Platz beg to be explored for hidden gems.

The city is famous for its bar culture and Brauhaus Peters in Muhlengasse, is the most attractive brauhaus in Cologne, with six lovely rooms serving good food and great beer. Try Fruh am Dom, a classic labyrinthine brauhaus at Am Hof, which is so popular that just about everyone turns up here at sometime during the night.

The Rosebud in Heinsbergstrasse is a long-established cocktail bar and is still the place to see and be seen in Cologne. The place plays some soul stirring jazz-inspired music and is worth the detour. Last but not least, Stadtgarten, Venloer Strasse is an excellent multi-function venue which serves as a concert hall (regular jazz, Latin and other sounds), night club (Studio 672 - techno, reggae and dancehall), and cafe-restaurant. In summer it is also the most popular beer garden in town.

Alter Wartesaal in Johannisstrasse is located in a former waiting room in the vaults beneath the central station – the Hauptbahnhof and has been beautifully converted into a very popular club which hosts mostly house, soul and techno nights. The largest multifunction hall in Germany, Kolnarena on Willy Brandt Platz has hosted the likes of Pavarotti, Eric Clapton, Elton John and Rod Stewart. Small pokey and always buzzing, Papa Joe's Jazzlokal on Buttermarkt is one of the oldest jazz clubs in Germany with traditional and swing bands playing every night and Sunday afternoon.

Cologne Cathedral : Begun in 1248 to house the relics of the Magi, which had been brought to Cologne by Frederick Barbarossa's chancellor Reinald von Dassel 75 years earlier, the Dom was not completed until 1880. Despite changing architectural styles through the centuries, the result is essentially Gothic with an emphasis on impressive vertical lines. The lavishly carved choir stalls, dating from 1310, are the oldest in Germany, and the life-size cross (housed in the chapel below the organ loft), at over 1000 years old, is believed to be the oldest in existence. Situated in the heart of Cologne, from the top of the Dom's south tower there are panoramic views across the city and surrounding area.

Ludwig Museum: Cologne's oldest museum was founded in the 19th century to exhibit works by local artists of the Gothic period and has been extended into a collection that spans the 14th to the 20th century. The Wallraf-Richartz collection encompasses every school from German, Dutch and Flemish masters to French Impressionism, as well as the 'Ludwig Donation' of American art of the mid-20th century. The museum also has works by earlier 20th-century artists such as Max Ernst and Paul Klee and Germany's largest collection of works by Wilhelm Leibl.

Romano-Germanic Museum: The most impressive attraction in the Romano-Germanic Museum is the 70-square-metre (753-square-foot) Dionysos-Mosaik. The mosaic, once the floor of the main room of a large Roman villa dating from the third century AD, was discovered in 1941 during excavation work for an air-raid shelter. The museum also has an interesting collection of Roman glass, ceramics, marble and jewelry from the early centuries of the first millennium.

Kunsthandel Klefisch Gallery & Auction House: Founded in 1972, Kunsthandel Klefisch is a gallery and auction house specializing in fine Japanese and Chinese art including ukiyo-e prints, inro, netsuke, tsuba and lacquerware.

Museum of East Asian Art : Founded in 1913 to exhibit the Fischer Collection, the original museum building was destroyed during World War II and replaced in 1977 by the current Japanese-inspired construction and landscaped garden. The extensive collection covers all aspects of Chinese, Japanese and Korean art, crafts and sculpture from 1500 BC to the 19th century.

Kolner Philharmonie: Housed in the same building as the Ludwig Museum, the Philharmonie concert hall has at least one performance scheduled for virtually every day of the year. Recitals range from chamber music to jazz, folk and pop, with a house policy of encouraging lesser-known, new and unusual music.

Chocolate Museum: Located in an extraordinary 2000-square-metre (6500-square-foot) building of brick and glass on a small promontory close to the Altstadt, the Imhoff-Stollwerck Museum (also known as the Chocolate Museum) celebrates the story of chocolate from bean to wrapper. Part of the exhibition is a walk-through arboretum containing cocoa trees and exotic plants, but the highlight is a chocolate fountain oozing schokolade, which visitors are encouraged to sample.

Shopping in Cologne

Shopping is one of the most fun activities you can do in Cologne. As most of the main shopping area is concentrated between Rudolfplatz and the Dom you can walk around without firing off the tootsies. The area is also blessed with several good restaurants and quaint little cafes for the tired shopper to take a well deserved break.

The shopping area off Cologne is divided into several smaller areas where each section caters to a particular kind of merchandize. So if you are looking for smart clothes, jewelry, home furnishings and antique boutiques, go to one of these places: Rudolfplatz, Mittlestrasse, Ehrenstrasse, Pfeilstrasse or Benesissttrasse. If you plan to get back to the city centre try keeping the Ehrenstrasse and Breitestrasse areas for the last leg of your shopping here as Ehrenstrasse leads into Breitestrasse that leads back to the Dom. The main shopping street of the city is Schildergasse which runs parallel to Breitestrasse, and leads on from Mittlestrasse via Neumarkt, Hohe Strasse and back to the Dom.

Neumarkt is home to the Neumarkt Galerie mall – a fabulous shopping center where you can get any item you could think of. The Schildergasse is a pedestrianised shopping area and one of Germany's busiest shopping streets that boasts of the biggest national and international brand name outlets. While in this area watch out for Renzo Piano's stunning glass flagship building for Peek & Cloppenburg clothing department store. Cologne’s best general department stores are the Kaufhof Galerie and with Karstadt which is situated on Breitestrasse. From Schildergasset you can easily get to Hohe Strasse where the world descends for really cheap trinkets and souvenirs.

The city's most famous product is Kolner Wasser, better known as Eau de Cologne, and you mustn’t leave without getting at least a year’s supply from either the famous 4711-Haus at Glockengasse or the original - Farina-Haus, opposite the town hall at Obenmarspforten, where Eau de Cologne originated in 1709. The Farina Haus also has a small fragrance museum which is heartachingly beautiful and worth a visit.

In the recent decades, Cologne has emerged as the capital of contemporary art in Germany, and the city shows it love of the arts with its nearly wall-to-wall galleries. Buying art in Cologne can be a very rewarding experience as you could get good bargains off some very good and upcoming artists. Try the galleries along St. Apernstrasse near Neumarkt where you would most of the leading art galleries of the city. Also make a visit to the Galerie der Spiegel on Richartstrasse, Galerie Greve on Drususgasse and Galerie Michael Werner on Gertrudenstrasse.

If you're interested in the kitschy artifacts that pour out of estate sales, be alert to the flea markets in Cologne's inner city. The most appealing are held within the Alter Markt at irregular intervals throughout the year. More regular are the outdoor food and vegetable markets, the largest of which is held on the Wilhelmsplatz, in the Nippes district on Saturday mornings till the afternoon.

Cologne in a day

Cologne is a leisurely city, despite being an important business center of the country, and demands you take it slow and easy. The city center is not too huge and you can make the most of it in one day, walking around at an easy pace. Start off your day with a sumptuous breakfast in the hotel where you are staying and then put on your most comfortable shoes to head out to the Kolner Dom for a peaceful morning of marveling at this centuries old structure. The cathedral is home to the relics of the Magi and is especially pleasant to look at with its impressive gothic architecture.

Spend the rest of your morning at the Ludwig Museum, Cologne's oldest museum that displays the works of local artists of the Gothic period. Stop for lunch at one of the beer taverns that dot the city and sip your Kolsch Kaviar while deciding whether you want to move on to the Romano-Germanic Museum or the Museum of East Asian Art that was founded in 1913 to exhibit the Fischer Collection. Whatever you decide to see, it won’t stop you from going on a shopping spree in Cologne’s shopping hub between the Rudolfplatz and the Dom. Have your fill of the markets that are concentrated in this area before making one last stop at the Chocolate museum.

By now, it will be time to repair to your room and get some relaxing coffee. Your day however won’t be over till you decide whether your evening is going to be spent at the Kolner Philharmonie or one of the city’s famed nightclubs that can keep you dancing all night long.

The Offbeat Cologne

Few things are as exciting for a tourist as suddenly chancing upon an unknown restaurant, a place of interest or another hidden gem in the city. There are several popular attractions in Cologne and then there are the secret ones that we are going to tell you about:

Visit the Media Park – a modern day architectural and planning marvel that consists of several centers for information, communication and media technology as well as a large park with a lake and a large cinema – the Cinedom

Cologne has a lot of spas or Therme and you must take a trip to one for a relaxing afternoon; try Claudius Therme near Sachsenbergstrasse or Muaritius Therme Mauritiuskircheplatz. 

The Travel-booking TipBox

General

Most hotels in Cologne add a service charge to the bill although you still need to tip the bellhops and doormen

In case of taxis rounding up the charge to the nearest Euro is usually good practice

Watch out for pickpockets around the Dom and in train stations – often the perpetrator is a child!

Try staying away from rowdy clubs, especially on the Ring – you don’t want to get into a brawl on your vacation

Families

Skip the hotels and the Bed & Breakfasts and plan to stay like the locals in Cologne – rent an apartment for more space, more fun and more money in your pocket! Try Apartment Familie Schuster or Vacation Apartment Cologne Am Wildpark.

Make a visit to the El de Haus – the home of the Gestapo during WWII. The building is now a museum housing several documents from the time. This is a great place for history buffs to visit

Couples

Camp out on the beaches of the Rhine – a great experience for a vacationing couple. Try Camping Berger or Campingplatz Stadt Koln.

Buy a load of Eau-de-Cologne for your better half

If you are interested in art visit Cologne during ‘Art Cologne’ – the worlds longest established fair for modern and contemporary art

Cologne ExpertSpeak

CBN.com has found a hidden ‘jade’ in the city – a small restaurant called Peking City, in the city for you

On the NY Times suggestion, try Paff – a jam packed club oozing hip hop for a motley crowd partying with glasses of Paffgen Kolsch in hand (Freisenwall)

The Guardian recommends sloshing your way about at the ultra-electronic club Liquid Sky for the most buzzing night out on the city