zooey91

I'm going to be spending the night in Cologne on my way from Amsterdam to the Frankfurt airport in March.

I'll only be there for the afternoon and evening (I'l need to catch the 10:43 train the next morning).

Must sees? Must dos? Good hotel suggestion near the train station (around 100 euro)? Good place to eat/drink?

Thanks.

Jim

111op

Try booking Central am Dom through hotels.de, which I booked because of Travelnut's suggestion.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34526276

Apparently I only paid 60 Euros.

You're close enough to visit the Rhine region, if you're so inclined.

When I was in the area in October, I started with the Rhine region. Then I stopped by Bonn very briefly to see Beethoven Haus.

In Cologne, I saw the Cathedral (this is a must-see, in my view, and it's right by the train station). I went to Museum Ludwig (only had time for one -- this is where modern art is kept); the other big two are Wallraf-Richartz and the Romanisches-Germanisches (I could have gotten the spelling wrong).

Also the local brew (koelsch) is quite refreshing.

Have fun!

Mucky

Hi zooey91
I was lucky enough to have 6 hrs in Cologne a few years ago. Whilst I do not claim to know much that will help I did get to the main square by the cathedral, which was one of the only buildings still standing after ww2. The RAF bomber pilots deliberately left it alone as it was a good guide point for their journey.I climbed right to the top of one tower and took many photographs.One of which tied in exactly with a war encyclopedia picture of the bombed bridges nearby taken in about 1945.It was spooky to see that same photograph.
The square has shops and beer halls around all quite interesting, sorry but that filled my short time there....lol
enjoy

Mucky

PalQ

As for the Kolner Dom being spared by the RAF: i've seen photos inside the cathedral showing how largely destroyed the cathedral was in the war - maybe not by RAF but though it wasn't totally destroyed it appeared to have been substantially destroyed so what you see now is basically a new structure - that's my understanding, i may be wrong.

HowardR

Definitely spend time in the cathedral. It's magnificent. My understanding of its WW2 history is similar to Mucky's. What I heard was the Cologne was one of the most heavily damaged German cities (if not THE most heavily damaged) during the war, with the Allies purposely sparing the cathedral which was damaged when bombs fell nearby.

zooey91

Thanks everybody. The Central am Dom isn't listed at hotels.de anymore. I think it has changed it's name, though, as an internet search came up with the same picture and address for the "EaziRes Central Cologne Hotel" at bookings.com (oddly enough, at hotels.de this hotel has a different address, around the corner).

Can anybody tell me anything about the Sofitel? The rate is under 100 euro, and it seems like a nicer hotel.

Travelnut

Hotel Central Am Dom
An Den Dominikanern 3, 50668

I booked through Comfort Hotels (I think) and paid 106€ for a twin room with bath, windows that open and room was quiet at night. The included buffet breakfast was very good, I'm remembering scrambled eggs, all the breads, and more. I don't find it affiliated with Comfort anymore.

Location a couple of blocks from the train station, and around the corner from the cathedral. Two internet shops on the block across from the cathedral. Delicious Doner (GreekTurkish?) deli in the pedestrian/modern shopping area nearby.

We visited the Cathedral for the 2nd time (1st in 1996), walked out on the bridge to take photos of the church, town hall, etc. then enjoyed a walkabout through the main squares and the pedestrian(mostly) modern shopping area. We were only there for an afternoon/night.

The hotel <b>is listed on hotel.de</b>:
<b>http://makeashorterlink.com/?E1C22261A</b>
A twin rate is 109&euro; (paste this url and wait about 2 seconds for page to redirect to hotel.de site)

On Travelocity, a 'weekend rate' is 89&euro; and a 'corporate rate' is 109&euro; for a twin. I didn't price singles.

111op

Interesting. I guess October must be low season or whatever for them. I was lucky.

Travelnut

111op, did you have a single or a double? The prices in my note are for a double. Maybe a better price could be had by contacting the hotel directly, although I have not seen a site that published their direct info.

Don't know about the Sofitel? Anyone?

111op

Hi Travelnut, I had a double.

Thanks again for the suggestion, by the way. It worked out very well for me and my mom.

That said, though, it is a basic hotel (the original poster seems concerned), but I didn't mind this at all, especially when I paid 60 E.

zooey91

I've seen 59 euro for single, 89 for double.

What gives me pause is the one tripadvisor post saying the hotel may be nice but their experience was otherwise because they got a room above the Chinese restaurant.

Kind of gives me pause.

Tripadvisor has very positive reviews of the Sofitel, but it is further from the train station so . . . ?

Kascha912

Zooey91,
Iīve stayed at both the Central am Dom (4 weeks ago) and the Sofitel (in August).
Central am Dom features the Choice Hotels logo but actually itīs independent. OK hotel, our room had a funky wall color, not the best mattrasses but was very clean. Itīs something like a 3 minute walk to the station.
The Sofitelīs rooms arenīt as large as I would have wanted them to be but very nicely appointed. This hotel is way better than the Central am Dom - but breakfast normally isnīt included in the rate.
The Sofitel is kind of behind the Cathedral and the Roman-Germanic museum and the Philharmonic concert house. A 5 minute walk to the trains.

So my question would be: How much luggage will you have with you?

Another place for finding a good hotel rate: hrs.de (hotel reservation service) Just look for the little train-icon to determine how far a hotel is from the station.