Diane

We will be in Cologne next fall for a two day business conference. But we are not going to travel all that way and stay for just two days!! Please give me any advice and recommendations for the area for a wonderful travel experience. Thank you!! Diane

wes fowler

Diane, <BR>It's difficult to offer advice or recommendations until we know a thing or two! How long do you plan to stay in Germany beyond the two days of the conference? Are you thinking only of Germany or elsewhere as well? What are your interests and your husband's? Are you planning to drive or train? Fill us in a bit and you'll get some meaningful suggestions, I'm sure.

JIM

definetly check out the kolner dom cathedral in cologne (koln). you are also very close to the heart of many castles. i believe its hwy 9 which will allow you to see many of them. Heidelburg castle in heidelburg is a good site along with a nice town. only down fall is that this may be a busy tourist time. how long are you going to be there (free time)?

Diane

Me again. We are totally open. I imagine that we will stay at least two weeks. And we can go anywhere. I am assuming that we will use the train. I have never been anywhere in Europe other than Switzerland. Looking forward to it!! Diane

Dave

Diane, <BR> <BR>If you want to stay fairly close to Cologne, consider: <BR>- Aachen (Charlemagne's cathedral city <BR>- Maastricht (a pleasant small city) <BR>- Trier (briefly capital of the Roman empire, with some great Roman ruins) <BR>- Luxembourg City (an incredibly scenic location, plus the remnants of Europe's most impressive fortifications). <BR> <BR>These are some of my favorite places in Europe, and provide a good contrast to the more famous big cities without requiring a lot of travel. <BR> <BR>All of the above are accessible by rail. One place that cannot be visited by rail is Monschau (I believe the French spelling "Montjoie" is also used), a small town in the Eiffel Mountains SW of Cologne. This was a very wealthy place a few centuries ago, but then suffered a major economic bust. Since noone had any money, the village has remained very much as it was long ago. This is one of the few places I visited on the continent that has that "time-standing-still" feel of so many English villages. It also has a very scenic location, nestled along a river surrounded by wooded hills. You might be able to find a bus from Cologne to Monschau - if so, I'd recommend the trip. <BR> <BR>While in Cologne, visit the Roman Museum (next to the Cathedral) if you are at all interested in antiquities. Also, Cologne is famous for it's Romanesque churches (13 of them, I believe). <BR>

Martin

Next to the Cathedral are some museums which are supposed to be among the tops in Europe (I think an art museum and a Roman antiquity museum). Check a guidebook or perhaps someone out there who has visited them can comment. I mention these since you may not have time to drive outside the city due to brevity of your visit. Also, if you are a beer drinker, I highly recommend stopping at one of the many pubs/restaurants and trying a Koelsch beer. They are served in very small glasses, so you can stop at several places and try several different ones. This beer is extremely tough to find in the US (I've only seen a true Koelsch in the US once) and is highly prized by beer lovers around the globe.

Martin

Next to the Cathedral are some museums which are supposed to be among the tops in Europe (I think an art museum and a Roman antiquity museum). Check a guidebook or perhaps someone out there who has visited them can comment. I mention these since you may not have time to drive outside the city due to brevity of your visit. Also, if you are a beer drinker, I highly recommend stopping at one of the many pubs/restaurants and trying a Koelsch beer. They are served in very small glasses, so you can stop at several places and try several different ones. This beer is extremely tough to find in the US (I've only seen a true Koelsch in the US once) and is highly prized by beer lovers around the globe.

David

Hi, Diane. My wife and I just back from a conference in Cologne and I'll be glad to make a few suggestions for you. If possible, you may want to stay at the Hyatt Regency on the west bank of the Rhine. The view is spectacular and it's just a short walk across the Rhine bridge to the Dom Cathedral and the old town. Frankly though, 2 days in Cologne is probably enough unless you want to take a cruise on the Rhine. If you do that, you may want to go down to Mainz and do an overnighter in that city. If you decide to use Cologne as a base, you can take day trips by train to Aachen and Bonn. We took the 2-1/2 hour train trip to Brussels, Belgium and spent a weekend there. That was actually one of the highlights of the trip as we then did a day trip from Brussels to Brugges. If you do this, you may want to consider flying into Cologne and then flying out of Brussels so you don't have to backtrack. Either way you go, you're sure to have a good time. Enjoy!