Cologne (Koln)
 

Is Cologne Germany worth a day visit? I'll be in Amsterdam for the 2nd time and instead of going to Brussels I'm leaning towards Cologne, it's only about 3 hrs ride away. Or is Dusseldorf or Bonn a better choice.

Cologne is a much better choice. Dusseldorf and Bonn are much too industrial.

Cologne definitely is worth a day, and to me, much more interesting than either Bonn or Dusseldorf. Near the train station is the famous cathedral (Dom) and several interesting musuems, including a great art museum (emphasis on modern art) and Roman museum (wonderful artifacts). There is a pedestrian-only shopping area. Plus, there are over 20 varieties of the Cologne beer, which is delicious!

Cologne has several must-see places: the Deutsches-Romanisches Museum (a lot of Roman artifacts discovered when digging to make a big bomb shelter during WW2), the Praetorium (an entire Roman district capital found underneath Cologne's city hall), the Altstadt or Old Town, several spectacular art museums, and the #1 site -- the Dom or cathedral. Immense! All within walking distance of the central railway station. Dusseldorf is nice but much of central city was destroyed during WW2; Bonn is dullsville. Great brew pub next door to the Dom in Cologne; it's called Fruh and serves koelsch, the local beer.

Thanx, now I'm definately looking forward to Cologne now. I'll bring my walking shoes and walk around the city.

Three years ago, we were in Mainz for a wine conference. My husband had meetings all week. On a free day, I hopped on a train and rode the two hours to Koln just to see the Cathedral. It was well worth the trip. I wish I had left earlier so I could have spent more time at the museums right next to the Dom.<BR><BR>When I got back to Mainz that evening for a cocktail party, everyone was envious that I had the guts to go all by myself. It was easy. I suggest you go for it!!

I loved Cologne, but beware that the city is U-G-L-Y!!!<BR>It's incredibly lively, however.<BR>One thing not to miss is the former Gestapo HQ (the only ones to have survived the war undamaged). You can go down to the cells where they held the prisoners, and you can see the grafiti on the walls. Very moving.<BR>It's called the "Elde" house, and is right next to the City museum.<BR>On a lighter side, another highlight is the Chocolate museum, which tells you all about cocoa and chocolate production.