Cologne

Germany

Things to do in Cologne:

View the Gallery Hohenzollern Bridge

Cologne Restaurants

Cheap (44)

Happy Food

Happy Food is a brilliant fast-food Thai joint, where a huge selection of meat and vegetarian offerings are dished out in bulging portions by friendly staff. read more
Affordable (41)

La Pachamama

Try this Peruvian restaurant in the S�dstadt, where owner Juan Urquizo will give you a guided tour through the country's cuisine. Don't miss the seco de cordero - juicy lamb in beer. Yum! read more
Good quality (32)

Gilden im Zims

Following a recent renovation, this brewery on Heumarkt is no longer a dark wooden tavern, but is now a bright and airy Brahaus, where locals flock to enjoy Gilden beer and tasty house specials. read more

Cologne Nightlife

Chilled (40)

Spitz

Modern and bright, the atmosphere at Spitz is warm, the staff are friendly, and the food is simple German cuisine.�If you fancy a coffee, a beer or a delicious meal, this is a great place to hang out. read more
Live Music (27)

King Georg

You'll feel like you've returned to the 1960s in King George,�a club, lounge and live music venue. Catch bands, DJs and solo artists on the intimate stage - a real find in the heart of the city. read more
Clubbing (38)

Bar Ludwig

March is the last month to catch one of Bonn's hottest nightspots. Every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, there's a show and club event with well-known DJs and bands making an appearance. It's... read more

This Month in Cologne (March):

By Gaby Pinkner/rhinemagazine.com

Shopping: Cooking fans are in for a treat at gorgeous little Etella, on Cologne's busy Ehrenstrasse. Stock up on utensils, pots, pans and delicious ingredients, perfect for wannabe chefs (15-17 Ehrenstrasse, Cologne, estella-kochlust.de).

Sightseeing: If you're a contemporary art connoisseur, visit the Neugierig? (Curious?) exhibition at the KAH in Bonn, which brings together 145 works by 57 artists from 15 private collections across Germany, France and Switzerland (4 Friedrich-Ebert-Allee, Bonn, kah-bonn.de).

Key areas: Cologne is a city with Roman foundations and the Roman museum explains its fascinating history in interactive exhibitions (4 Roncalliplatz, museenkoeln.de).

Day trips: The Ahr valley, not far from Bonn, is one of Germany's 13 wine regions, boasting over 558 hectares of vines. Spectacular scenery, steeply terraced vineyards and rocky ridges provide the perfect terrain for hiking (ahrtaltourismus.de).

Cologne News & Gossip

Lovers in Cologne Leave Locks on Bridge as a Declaration of Devotion

If you visit the Hohenzollernbr�cke Bridge this month you'll see a rather unusual sight. Some 1,000 padlocks adorn a fence around the bridge - "love locks" with couples' initials etched into them, the key for which is thrown into the Rhine as a sign of eternal love. National rail provider Deutsche Bahn wanted to remove the locks - a new tradition - as a supposed safety risk, but the company recently decided to leave them.

Cologne Trivia

March: Visit Bonn's Kreuzberg Kirche and Heiliger Steige (Holy Staircase), which is said to have pieces of the cross on which Jesus was crucified set into the stone.
February: There are three central figures in the Cologne Carnival: the Prince, the Farmer and the Princess. Don't expect a beautiful damsel, though - the Princess is traditionally a man. This year "she's" called Wolfgang Fritsch.
January: Bonn used to be the capital of West Germany - Berlin only took over in 1999. Since then, Bonn has slipped back into the sleepy calm that earned it the nickname "Capital Village".