A Weekend in Cologne

Cologne, situated on the Rhine, is the fourth largest city in Germany. It dates back to 50 A.D. when it became a Roman colony. It is so rich in antiquity that every time a new foundation is dug, historians are on hand to search for traces of the past.

In World War II Cologne had 262 air raids by the Allied Forces which completely wiped out the centre of the city. The subsequent reconstruction followed the style of the 1950s while respecting the old layout and naming of the streets.

It is a pleasant rather than a beautiful city, but Cologne has magnificient architecture, splendid museums, enormous department stores and great food and beer.

The winters are cold and summers can be rainy - most rain falls in June and August. The nicest weather tends to be in spring and autumn. Average temperatures in July and August are 24 degrees centigrade.

Two of the biggest attractions in Cologne are Carnival and art. The city celebrates Carnival in February - a week long street festival. The year-round attraction is the lively art scene. In the 1980s the city got a big boost from the opening of the Ludwigsmuseum - a striking building on the Rhine that houses collector Peter Ludwig's extensive collection of modern and contemporary art.

In addition to the Cathedral, Cologne's historic buildings include many Romanesque churches, a medieval city hall and the 15th-century Gurzenich - the former meeting place of the city's merchants.

The highlights of our trip were:

- The Dom - the wonderful Cathedral - huge and awe-inspiring which dominates the city.

- Visiting the old town, walking along the river and strolling through the Rhinepark on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

- A trip on the cable car over the Rhine - unmissable and a great way to get a different perspective of the city.

- Strolling around the many squares - especially the Heumarkt - on a Saturday night and enjoying the lively, good-natured atmosphere of lots of people out enjoying themselves.

- Visiting a brewery, trying the Kolsch beer and eating some simple but delicious food.

Quick Tips:

- Many of the landmarks in the city have English speaking guides and information.

- Cologne Tourist Office is at Unter Fettenherren 19 - directly opposite the front entrance of the Cathedral.

- Watch out for pickpockets around the Dom and inside the station - often they are children.

- When you enter a restaurant you will not be seated - walk in and select the table of your choice. Most places do not accept credit cards.

- Visit one of the breweries or beerhalls. You will be amazed at the small glasses - the waiters keep bringing you fresh beers until you tell them to stop. Eat bratwurst and do not mention Dusseldorf - Cologne's neighbour and arch-rival.

Best Way To Get Around:

We flew into Cologne-Bonn airport - a hub for low cost airlines, it handles domestic and international flights. We used the low cost carrier Easyjet from the UK. Flight time was 1 hour and 20 minutes, all flights were on time and everything went smoothly. The airport is about 20 minutes by S-Bahn from the centre of Cologne.

We took a taxi back to the airport on our way home. It cost 26 euros from our hotel in the centre of the city.

Cologne has a very good subway/tram and bus network. Three day passes are available and valid for subways, trams and regional trains. The U-Bahn is a mixture of subway and tram.

It is feasible to walk from one end of the city centre to the other in about half an hour. The terrain is very flat. Subway/tram line 13 enircles the large part of the city and most of the main sites are inside the number 13 track.

Old Cologne is a relatively small area and very easy to negotiate on foot. One of the positive aspects of the city's reconstruction was the outlawing of traffic in central Cologne. It now flows silently under or round the old part of the city.

We spent a weekend in Cologne and walked everywhere - we did not feel we needed to use the subway or the trams to get where we wanted to go.

For our weekend in Cologne, we decided to treat ourselves and stay at the Maritim Hotel. At 190 euros per night, this was not a cheap option, but the standard of accommodation, delicious breakfast and convenient location made it a great place to stay.

The hotel is right on the banks of the Rhine - very close to the chocolate museum, yet still within very easy walking distance to the Old Town.

From the outside at first glance, the building is very average, but my impression changed as soon as we went inside. The hotel has an enormous glass atrium so it is really light and bright. In the lobby area are lots of upmarket shops, bars, restaurants and even a piano bar. Going up and down to your room in the glass lifts is great fun.

We had room 580 which was a superior double with a "view". Views are either of the river or the Cathedral - ours was the Cathedral. The window was huge and gave you a picture postcard perfect view by day, which became stunning at night with the floodlights. In fact we loved the view so much at nighttime that we never closed our curtains.

The room was large - big double bed and seating area by the window. It had all mod-cons and the bathroom - also large had a huge bath.

We used the swimming pool - it was very nice and we had it to ourselves, the only problem was the temperature of the water was bracing!

Breakfasts are superb - a vast buffet served daily until 10:30 but on Sundays until midday. They have everything you could think of for a continental breakfast and a cooked breakfast, the choice is phenomenal. Even the drinks are great - a range of fruit juices, lots of different types of teas and coffees and even sparkling wine! Breakfast on Saturday morning was hectic - so many people but on Sunday it was a much more relaxed and enjoyable affair.

All the staff in the hotel were friendly, efficient and helpful. Our room rate included soft drinks from the mini-bar - the weather was hot so this was a nice extra touch.

Check out on Sunday morning was extremely busy and we had to queue up for about 15 minutes - everyone seemed to be trying to do it at the same time. This was a minor gripe at what was otherwise a wonderful stay at a lovely hotel.

The Dom or Cathedral is UNESCO protected and it is the first sight you will see when you come out of the main train station. It is the spiritual and geographical heart of the city. As well as being Cologne's main attraction, it is also the largest Gothic cathedral in Germany.

Circle the outside before you head inside to truly appreciate the dimensions. It is huge - 144 metres long and 80 metres wide.

Construction of the cathedral began in 1248 to house the relics of the three Magi, brought to Cologne by Archibishop Reginald van Dassel in 1164. Work was halted until 1560 due to lack of money. It resumed again in 1823.

So, for 300 years the cathedral lay half-finished and was at one stage used by Napoleon's troops as a stable and a prison. In 1880 it was completed, in the Gothic style and true to the original plans.

The two spires are 515 feet tall. The cathedral has no important horizontal lines - they are all vertical. Stand back from the south transcept for the best view - you get a proper idea of its size and splendour. It really does have elegant proportions and a dignified ambience.

At the end of World War II the cathedral appeared relatively unscathed, although the entire district around it was levelled.

Apparently Allied bombers used the Dom as a landmark to guide their flights to the more strategic targets and could not bring themselves to destroy such an architectural triumph.

The cathedral is packed with an amazing array of art treasures. The shrine of the three Magi behind the main altar is a sarcophagus said to hold the remains of the Magi. Spirited out of Milan in 1164 as spoils of war by Emperor Barbarossa's chancellor, this instantly turned Cologne into a major pilgrimage site.

There are 1,350 square metres of medieval stained glass windows and the curved choir stalls and choir screen paintings date back to the fourteenth century.

Take the 509 steps to the top of the tower - it takes about an hour. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes though.

Touring the cathedral is forbidden during services. Entry is free. Entrance to the tower is 2 euros.

Cologne is a great city for just wandering and exploring as the fancy takes you. There are bars, restaurants, cafés and ice-cream parlours virtually everywhere, so there is always a nice place to stop when you need rest and refreshment.

Hohe Strasse is a pedestrianised shopping area - in fact it is one of the main shopping areas and extends past the cathedral. It is particularly popular with tourists and contains many gift shops, clothing stores and fast food restaurants.

The Alte Markt is pretty and when we were there, it bustled with tourists and locals. We stopped to admire the Town Hall and the other old buildings lining the square. The Marktbrunnen fountain is the impressive centrepiece. In December the Christmas Market takes place in this area.

Glockengasse 4711, home to the world's first internationally acclaimed brand of perfume is the most well-known address in Cologne. It is also an important landmark.

In 1792 a monk presented a young couple - the Muelhens - with a wedding gift, a recipe for "aqua mirabilis" later known as eau de cologne. Wilhelm Muelhens founded a company to produce Eau de Cologne in Glockengasse - the original building is still there.

In 1796 during the French occupation of Cologne, all buildings were ordered to be consecutively numbered. The Muelhens house was given the number 4711 - this was later registered as the company's trademark in 1875. In the showroom they have a variety of souvenirs to buy and an Eau de Cologne running fountain.

The Heumarkt, another square very close to our hotel, was where we ate on Saturday evening. It was really lively - lots of German hen and stag parties celebrating in a lively, but good natured and fun way. We even saw a cycling-bar travelling around. People sat around the bar and pedalled as they drank with music playing.

Later on in the evening there were different performers in the square here - we enjoyed watching Swiss men playing huge alpine horns, while two of their compatriots juggled and tossed Swiss flags in the air.

Cologne is famous for its locally brewed beer - Kolsch. You can eat and drink really well in this city.

When you are in Cologne you are almost obligated to drink Kolsch. It can be fruity or spicy depending on the brewery. It is almost always served from the tap in small glasses of 0.2l so that it can be drunk while it is still cool. The glasses are called Stangen.

Waiters at the breweries will be quick to bring you a new beer when the old one is finished. Each beer is marked as a pencil line on your beermat. Cover your glass when you have had enough or they will keep bringing you more.

Kolsch means "of Cologne" and is only allowed to be brewed within the city. Kolsch is also the name of the local dialect. The common joke is Kolsch is the only language you can drink.

For traditional breweries head to the Altstadt around the Dom. The Fruh am Dom brewery is the most authentic place. It has beer halls decked out with long tables. It is right by the Cathedral and has been in business for over 100 years.

Fruh am Dom seats 600 people. We went there at 3pm on a Friday - it was full to the brim and we struggled to find somewhere to sit. Apparently it is like this almost all of the time. The atmosphere is good and waiters are dashing around everywhere carrying trays of beer. The waiters though are a bit surly and not overly friendly. We had one drink here but did not go back for food.

We ate one evening at Peters Brauhaus on Muhlengasse. This is yet another brewery which serves Kolsch. When we went it was absolutely packed, but we managed to find a table. This is a friendly establishment - the waiters, unlike those at Fruh am Dom, are not grumpy and we were really well looked after.

The staff were helpful, cheerful and worked extremely hard.

We had several beers and a delicious meal of pork shoulder in beer sauce with roasted potatoes. It came with a delicious side salad. The cost of this for 2 (our son shared some of mine as the portions are large, and they have no children's menu) was 50 euros. They do not accept credit cards - cash only.

Two things in Cologne that we, as a family really enjoyed were a visit to the chocolate factory/museum and a ride on the cable car.

The chocolate factory and museum at Rheinauhafen 1a is on the banks of the river. It is in a glass palace and is devoted to the theme of cocoa and chocolate. Tuesday-Friday it is open 10am to 6pm, while weekend opening times are 11am to 7pm. Entrance is 6 euros.

The museum is on three floors and displays everything from the Inca history of chocolate to Victorian chocolate crockery. They have a little controlled temperature area where you can walk through tropical plants and a cocoa tree.
The most fun is the chocolate making process. They have a mini production line with machines making and wrapping chocolates. You can get up close and see exactly what is going on - our son found this fascinating.

At the end of this area there is a huge chocolate fountain. A lady dips biscuits into the chocolate and hands them out so you can taste what is made there - delicious. The top floor is an interactive area with games and quizzes all themed around chocolate. We spent two hours here, this included about 20 minutes browsing in the impressive gift shop.

The Rhine Seilbahn is the first and only cable car in Europe designed to span a major river. One of the best panoramas over the city of Cologne is from inside one of its cars. It stretches between a point near the zoo in Cologne Riehl to the Rhinepark in Cologne Deutz.

The cable car ride has been in existence for 80 years. The cars are designed for 4 people. The entire ride takes about 15 minutes and you go high - about 100 feet - above the Rhine. From the air you get an amazing view of the busy traffic on the river, the city itself and the countryside.

The Seilbahn operates April-October between 10am to 6pm and costs 5.50 euros. We all loved it - once we got over dangling above the river, and were sorry when it came to an end.

We got out at the Rhinepark. This is a lovely place to have a stroll. A big park with adventure playground for children, lots of walkways, beautiful flower displays and fountains. There was even a city beach - you had to pay to enter.