Cologne: Cathedral, culture and green discoveries
Accommodation in Cologne
Cologne brings together an important architectural and urban history with museums, gardens and experiences along the Rhine. Cologne Cathedral, the Romanesque churches and the EL-DE Haus give your stay different cultural focal points; Flora, the Botanical Garden and Rheinpark offer their own green highlights. When looking for a holiday apartment, you can first consider which of these sides of Cologne you want to shape your stay.
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Photo: Sabine Wiedamann
Cathedral, churches and museums
Cologne Cathedral was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1996. Its foundation stone was laid in 1248. The archaeological excavation beneath the cathedral covers around 4,000 square metres. These details give an impression of the long history of the building and its surroundings, which extends across more than one era.
The Romanesque churches also shape the cityscape: Cologne has twelve of them, arranged in a semicircle around the city centre. Some stand on foundations dating back to Roman times; visitors can also see original medieval furnishings and relics inside the churches. For culture lovers, this offers a different view of Cologne from one focused solely on the cathedral. A free audio tour of the Via Culturalis adds to the experience with around 30 audio features at the original locations. The route, around 800 metres long, runs between Cologne Cathedral and St. Maria im Kapitol.
The museums offer further points of interest. The Museum Ludwig has the world’s third-largest Picasso collection and extensive holdings of Pop Art, German Expressionism and photography. The EL-DE Haus, the former Gestapo headquarters in the heart of Cologne, houses the NS-DOK. The site includes a memorial, the permanent exhibition “Cologne under National Socialism”, a documentation centre and a library. The Museum Schnütgen, meanwhile, houses an important collection of medieval art. Its largest exhibition space is the Romanesque St. Cäcilien Church, which is over 1,000 years old.
Gardens, the Rhine and wildlife
In the north of Cologne lies Flora and the Botanical Garden, a garden complex covering 11.5 hectares. It features 12,000 cultivated plant species from around the world, both outdoors and in greenhouses. Since 1920, the complex has combined a listed garden, a botanical garden and plant exhibition greenhouses. If you want to experience plant life as well as museums on your trip, you will find a distinct area of interest here.
Rheinpark lies directly on the Rhine and offers large play areas as well as lawns. It is freely accessible and open all year round. This makes it a different kind of destination from the city’s collections and exhibitions: open space and opportunities to play take centre stage here. Cologne Zoo is in the heart of the city. Its aquarium presents fish, anemones, corals, starfish, mussels and crabs in around 70 aquariums arranged by geographical region. At the Hippodom, visitors can explore a walk-through replica of an African river landscape with hippos, Nile crocodiles, antelopes and various bird species.
Discover Cologne’s unique character
The city is also known for its distinctive brewhouse culture, with a tradition stretching back more than 500 years. Cologne is the only city where the well-known Kölsch beer may be brewed. A brewhouse tour tells you more about the history of these establishments. The annual street carnival is another Rhineland folk festival and brings a recurring tradition to Cologne’s calendar.
When planning your trip, you can give cultural discoveries and green excursions different emphasis rather than focusing your stay on just one theme. Find additional local pages for Cologne, Worringen, Gremberghoven, Junkersdorf and Cologne-Brück.
For the broader travel overview: North Rhine-Westphalia.
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