To ask if you've been to Cologne and how you found it?

[PH03b3]

What the title says really, we are considering a trip but don't know anybody whose been just wondering what peoples experiences of it was? We like a mixture of exploring some nice food and spending time relaxing either in the hotel or nice cafes etc.

We visited twice by train (on the way to Vienna and on the way back). The cathedral was very interesting but the rest of the centre is quite commercial. I'm not sure what else there is there as we didn't have much time to explore.

Spent an evening and day in Cologne. Good wandering place

The cathedral is a must see at least once in a lifetime. There is an art museum and an opera house, but there isn’t really much of an old town as there was a lot of bombing there in WWII and the city is quite spread out. The Rhine path would be nice for walking. I would recommend going around Christmas time though, because the Christmas markets are the best in the world! Carnival time (which has just happened) is also important in Cologne. Cologne is also good if you like cold beer because the local glass size is designed to keep the beer at maximum coldness! The people are lovely and they do love to party, but I have only ever been on business and only seen the Christmas markets etc. in passing. Also, there are some good wine bars, as wine is popular in the Rhine area. My impression is that there isn’t a huge amount by way of other touristy things to do.

Lots of interesting historical things to see, there’s the cathedral, the Römisch-Germanisches Museum and also Roman ruins in many locations. A fab modern art gallery near the Rhine (Ludwig Museum I think.) The Zeughaus is also worth a visit and there are some older churches with very ancient foundations and crypts, if you like that kind of thing. Also a chocolate museum and good shopping. Lots of nice places to eat and drink. I have spent a lot of time there and never get bored.

Its ok. We spent a day /night there on our way to Berlin .
We stayed opposite the Lindt chocolate museum which was good because you know , chocolate .
The cathedral is interesting but I found the rest abit grubby and boring .
Much nicer places in Germany like Berlin or Munich

We went for 2 days and found loads to do:
Cathedral
Chocolate museum
Fragrance museum
River trip
Museum of national documentation (former home of secret police).

I'd avoid it. It's uninteresting post war architecture, apart from the rebuilt "old town" and not much to see or do.
The cathedral does House the bones of the Three Wise Men though (allegedly)

I really enjoyed it. I spent a few days there in December and went around all the Christmas markets. It was a fab atmosphere. I also spent a day there when younger, went to the cathedral and did a bit of a road train ride around the city, chilled out in a bar etc which was all good fun.

I have been when the Christmas markets were on. Agree with others about the beauty of the Cathedral, museum with stained glass interesting, and also if you like spas/saunas there are two good ones. Dusseldorf also about an hour away is worth a day trip.

It’s pleasant but quite modern now.

If you are looking for a city break with more culture then Prague/Krakow are both very good

We went in December 2017. It's a base for a lot of the Rhine River Cruises, they start from there, and there are also a lot of single-trip dinner cruises with entertainment. There's a big thermal indoor/outdoor spa in one of the parks but you will be expected to be naked in it! The Zoo was OK. All the little independent Brauhauses were good if you drink lager. Xmas markets weren't as good as Manchester!

Depends what you like? The modern art museum and the Roman museum are both pretty special. The Cathedral of course and I loved walking by the Rhine. Apart from that its a fairly standard large German city. If you are not sure then might also be woth considering Hamburg? Lots of nightlife, port city, lakes and shopping?

It also helps that I am very fond of the local brew Kolsh. They serve it in tiny glasses but you just sit at your table and the waiter is constantly circulating with another one!

Good stop-over. The Dom is extraordinary. I wouldn’t base a holiday around Cologne though. There are better parts of Germany. The more East you go towards Poland, the better. Northern Germany is beautiful- the old Hanseatic League cities are beautiful.

Munich and Bavaria is also wonderful.

You could also to to Bonn which is not that far and meant to be nice?

We have been several times before and with DD. The Rhine is good for a walk and you can get to the zoo. There's the chocolate museum which passes a few hours. Plenty of nice little restaurants. There is a big park with an adventure play area for kids,cant remember the name but I think it's on the East side of cologne.

We find it lovely and relaxing, yes the centre is a bit commercial but so are most towns now. Its not massively expensive, there are a few designer shops but there's also h&m etc, the lego shop, c&a (remember them?!).

My DH has been up the cathedral spire, it's a very long climb up and do not do if you have vertigo or such.

It's very easy to walk around, so perfect for a relaxing time.

It is my home city, born and bred there 😊
There is lots to see and do OP, depending on your preferences.
You can go into The Dom, which is the cathedral, if you're feeling energetic you can climb the staircase to the top. Take a walk over the bridge where you will pass thousands of padlocks which declare the names of lovers, add your own if you wish, to the viewing tower where from the top on a clear day you can see the entire city.
You can take a boat trip down to Mosel, our wine producing region and stunning scenery.
There are many bars, cafes and restaurants, on colder days if you wish to sit outside those then blankets are provided.
Plenty of museums, history and ruins to keep you occupied if that's your thing, on a Saturday there is often a large antique / flea market.
Each major city in Germany has a nickname to represent it, Hamburg is the windiest due to its breezy location, Cologne is the friendliest, you get the idea. It is also Germany's gay capital.
The city is split into two towns. Old town and new town. Go over the bridge and there's not a great deal, but great for exploring, this side of the bridge is where the shops etc are, including a McDonalds in the middle of C&A.
Our local beer is Dom Kolsch, lovely. Enjoy it with a schnitzel. Many cafes and bars when you order a drink will mark your beermat, then you pay the bill at the end, just give the bar staff your mat and they will give you the bill. They will also keep you topped up, we hate to see empty glasses. Hah. Also enjoy a glass of model Riesling wine. There is an Irish bar, called Barney Valley if you fancy a Guinness instead.
There are lots of restaurants on the river front which is a short walk from the Dom, just go down the steps behind the Ludwig museum.
If you get on a train please get your ticket stamped prior to boarding. You will see Orange coloured boxes beside the ticket machines, insert ticket to stamp it, otherwise you will be travelling on an invalid ticket and will be fined by the inspector. Sounds silly as you have purchased the ticket, but it's how it is. Even if you purchase the ticket from the sale box, stamp it. It catches many tourists out. Even I got fined once when I forgot to stamp my ticket. Hah.
Unfortunately, you are too late now for Karneval, but please if you or anyone else decides to go to the event, don't book a package, it is much cheaper to just book a flight and accommodation. Some packages offer to pre book seats, which has me shaking my head in disbelief.
Oh, and have a ride on the beer bike. It's great fun.
Enjoy it. We love to see people having fun and enjoying themselves 😃
Hope this helps.

Yes just briefly, probably 11 or so years ago now. The cathedral was definitely the standout thing I remember.

Bit smelly.

It's ok. Full of tourists. Personally if I were going to Germany I'd go to Berlin or Hamburg instead. I do have a good friend in Cologne so go there from time to time, but I don't think I'd bother if she wasn't there.

All that said, there are nice places to visit close by - Aachen, Bonn, the Rhine Gorge etc.

Unfortunately, you are too late now for Karneval carnival is my worst nightmare. Although the Morgestraich in Basel is nice.

Oh but one AMAZING thing is the Claudius Therme spa. Complete with a naturists' bit (I'm far too British and really didn't know where to look). And a cable car over the top. I do wonder what came first the naturists or the cable car...

Oh and it gets a parkrun on 23rd March so now Brexit is (hopefully) delayed I will definitely be popping over to do that.

I love Cologne. I lived there for a year and fell for it madly by the end. It's not one of the instant showstopper cities though (apart from the cathedral) so I think you either have to spend a bit more time there to fall in love or you have to do your research and know which bits you want to see.

We spent two days there a couple of years ago when travelling across Germany by train. Enough of interest to see for a couple of days. The Cathedral, the river, the Ludwig modern art museum (nice café), there's another art museum with a great classic collection but the name escapes me. Also some fun tram routes to ride, a zoo, the chocolate museum, the secret police museum etc. My favourite thing was actually the Roman catacombs; amazing to see how many Roman remains are still below the modern city and we spent quite a long time looking at that. Also we had a amazing dinner at a fish restaurant near the river. Apart from that the shops were quite ordinary with lots of building work going on in the centre of town, but as I said plenty to see if you are only there for a couple of days. You could also do an easy day trip by train to Wuppertal to go on the suspended railway/ Wuppertalbahn if you have a family member who is as much into trains as my DH is! We stayed in a lovely boutique hotel in Cologne, must look up the name.

I've looked it up...the Praetorium was the place with the cool underground Romania remains, the Wallraf-Richartz Museum was the fine arts museum we went to with a very good collection, and the Stern Am Rathaus was the great boutique hotel. HTH.