Tips for Cologne
 

I find myself going to Cologne in late February. Brrrr. Does anyone have any dining or other tips? I've been there once before and saw the usual tourist attractions. Meals are on his boss... need I say more? :)

Thanks.

Cologne has the only surviving Gestapo HQ of any large city (all the others were bombed) - called the ELDE-Haus, it is now a museum/documentation center. Very sombering obviously, but interesting nonetheless - you can see the prisoners' graffiti on the walls in the cells in the basement.

Something more cheery is the Imhoff-Stollwerck chocolate/cocoa museum, which is actually a functioning chocolate factory. Interesting, and right on the river.

Bonn is not too far away, and has a nice cathedral, and some interesting museums. The German-history-after-1945 museum is very nice (and free).

Between Cologne and Bonn there is the town of Bruehl, which hosts Augustusburg castle. Very nice palace with nice gardens (in the summer).

North of Cologne is Duesseldorf, with its thousands of pubs and haute-couture shopping.

Oh yeah, the castle in Bruehl is only about 200 yds from the train station - so very accessible.

First Thing, go to the Frueh Brauhaus, close to the Cathedral and the Hermes Store....

Find your self a spcae (oh and bring lots of coins) and enjoy the beer.
The waiters run around with trays of 14 glasses, and constantly give you new ones. Once you feel cozy have a good meal there.

Can't you make it Feb 3 -6 9 would be carneval, and you would enjoy the party.

How much time do you have .... If you stay over the weekend, go to the Siebengebirge, for walk / hike. You can wander around, and every so often you stumble over small huts / restaurants. Enjoyable if it is dry. You can drive there, or take the boat to Bad Honnef or Koenigswinter and back.

If you are looking for a real good restaurant, try the "Vendôme" in Schloss Bensberg, which is a castle in Bergisch Gladbach, a few kilometers east of Cologne.

I'm a local of Cologne, so if you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.

Regards,
Stefan

Thanks for the tip, Stefan. My partner will be at a large aviation conference at the Koln-Messe. Is that an exhibition hall? Do you know its location? I've been to Cologne before so I have a general idea of the city.. but mostly the downtown area.

zuriga

If you are talking about the Passenger Terminal Expo, yes this is in the Messe. Ist a conference hall, but more a trade fair. Köln Messe is located on the bank of Rhein, just opposite the Cathedral and the train bridge.

Cologne has a Homepage which gives you information about the city and the museum.

From my point of view, the Römisch-Germanische Museum gives a good overview about roman life in this region, while the Wallraf Richartz Museum and the Museum Ludwig are worth a visit if you are interested in art, there is also a Schokoladenmuseum.

Yes, it's the trade fair (actually that's the exact translation of "Messe"). The name of the quarter is "Deutz", seen from the city center (main station, cathedral,... ) it's on the opposite side of the river Rhine. You can go there easily by train, one possible station to look for would be "Bf Deutz", but since the fair area is huge, there are several options depending on where you have to go. The commuting time between the city center and Deutz is just a few minutes.

Regards,
Stefan

CGN to Hyatt Hotel via the train??
 

Bumping this up, as I will be making a quick quasi M/R to Cologne this weekend due to CO's r/t $218 fare from EWR. I'm thinking about staying at the Hyatt (Diamond status=upgrade+RC Access) on a cheap weekend rate, but I see the Hyatt is across the river from the train station. Is there a stop I can get off, before the main station that is closer to the Hyatt? My other thought is the 4Points (e79) or Dom (e125), where my Plat status should also come in handy. It will only be for one night, and I'm planning on just wandering around the city for the day, and making a fairly early night of it -- so locale isn't that important. (I'm a female, travelling solo, and not a big one for late nights out;) )

To get to the Hyatt you should get off the train at "Köln Messe/Deutz" ("Cologne trade fair/Deutz") which is just one stop before the main station. It's very close to the hotel. Have fun in Cologne and feel free to PM me if I can be of any help! :)

Regards,
Stefan

mauld: The Hyatt is a reasonably good hotel, with magnificent views of the cathedral from rooms facing the river. The RC is adequate. But, it is necessary to cross a long bridge to get to sets of worthwhile activities - there is no interesting strolling on the Hyatt side. My various stays at the hotel have been in conjunction with rented cars, but, as I recall, taxi fares were in an acceptable range.

I personally like Burberry Touch...and remember Spray--Delay--Walk Away gets just the right amount on all over.

There's a wee bit on Cologne on my own website.

I have to be honest, I'm a much bigger fan of Duesseldorf, just up the road (sorry Stefan :p ), but Cologne is still pretty good!