Cologne (Köln)

Cologne, Köln in German, is Germany's most adored city, famous first and foremost for its glorious cathedral, the Kölner Dom, which was 600 years in the making and remains today one of the largest and loveliest Gothic cathedrals in the world, as well as among the most visited sights in Germany. The other big attraction of Cologne is its chocolate museum, Imhoff-Schokolade-Museum, which chronicles the evolution and flirtations of the cocoa bean and draws crowds for the asking. Besides which, the city has in it one of the oldest universities in Europe, Universität zu Köln, and hosts the largest street festival in the land, the Karneval, which begins promptly at 11:11 am on the 11th day of the 11th month and is nowhere celebrated with greater vim and vigor or in greater numbers than in Cologne.

• What to See in Cologne

• Where to Stay in Cologne

• Where to Eat in Cologne

Cologne Highlights

Main Sights and Attractions

Among Cologne's major attractions, in addition to the Cologne Cathedral and the Schokolade Museum, are 12 surviving Romanesque churches, led by the 13th-century St. Gereon Church which boasts a monumental decagon cupola, and the 12th-century Groß St. Martin Church which is the second-largest church in Cologne, after the Cologne Cathedral. As for museums, there are some 30-plus first-rate museums in the city, the most rewarding of them all the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, which is also the oldest museum in Cologne and houses an outstanding collection of art from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, together with the largest Pop Art collection in the world. Additionally, Cologne has more than a hundred galleries, over 70 nightclubs and bars, scores of good restaurants and cafés, and more pubs per capita than any other city in Germany.

Party Scene

Cologne's bar scene is centered principally on Zülpicher Straße, Luxemburger Straße, Engelbertstraße, Barbarossaplatz and Aachener Straße, where many of the city's most popular pubs, bars and clubs are located. Among specific establishments, the top draws are the disco-bar Alter Wartesaal, brew pubs Päffgen and Früh am Dom – the latter located right by the main railway station – and Gebäude 9, a popular club with live music.

Famous People, Beer and Fragrance

Cologne's most famous sons are artist Max Ernst and literary genius and Nobel laureate Heinrich Böll, author of The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum and The Clown. Its most famous beer is Kölsch, and its most famous fragrance Eau de Cologne, which was created here at the present-day Farina Fragrance Museum at the start of the 18th century.

Cologne Basics

Location

Cologne is situated on the river Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, some 15 miles (25 km) north of Bonn, or 95 miles (152 km) northwest of Frankfurt.

• Nearby Destinations: Aachen, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt

Population

Cologne has a population of just over a million, which makes it the fourth-largest city in Germany, after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich.

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