Cologne v. Dusseldorf
 

DW and I are spending the last couple of nights of a Europe trip in Cologne, then we're flying home from Frankfurt, in the last couple of days of September. I know Dusseldorf is a short train ride up the Rhine, and I've heard that it's very nice. We're coming from Paris, and Thalys has trains that go direct to Cologne, so it's a very easy place to stay. But would Dusseldorf be a better choice than Cologne, worth the extra train connection?

That would depend on what you wanted out of the time. Is it just ease of rail connections that lead you to choose Cologne? It is not the most attractive of German cities, nor is Dusseldorf.

Yes, mainly it's the ease of the rail connections. We're only going to be there about a day & a half, and we've already been to a number of the cities along the Rhine & Mosel, but not Cologne.

Dusseldorf has a pretty river area. They have the K21 museum that I've tried to see twice and for some reason they have been closed (I googled ahead of time- it may not be in my stars to see this place)

Koln, is a beautiful city with a great cathedral and art museum.

I like Dusseldorf but I'd choose Cologne.

I'd stay in Cologne.
As the city is not really that pretty but the museums can keep you busy or you make a short trip to neighboring Bonn.. in German also spelled neigh-boring Bonn ;-)
But they have a pretty nice Old Town, Beethoven and such, also a bunch of museums.

In Cologne, the Museum Ludwig near the cathedral is one European hotspot for art lovers (paintings). The Roman-Germanic museum is another biggie.
The chocolate museum is more fun than a museum.
Lots of nice places to go out at night around Rudolfplatz - the Belgian Quarter is one of the nice place to have casual dinners or go bar-hopping.

Thanks LSky & Cowboy, sounds like Cologne will be best (easiest too). Is Cologne as oriented to wine as are the towns to the south along the Rhine & Mosel? We both like a nice Riesling, though I'm looking forward to drinking a little Koelsch too.

Kölsch is the usual beer you will find, but except in the brew pubs it will be as common to drink wine. Though you don't have any "local" wines there as a bit more upstream along the Rhine. You will get what you know from there and the Mosel.

I'm not a beer drinker, smetz, until I get to Germany. The Kolsch is tasty, you may find the German beer a welcome change and go back to the wine afterwards.

If you are someone who can spend hours in an art museum, you'll be very happy with the Ludwig.

Are you planning to stay your last night in Cologne or are you going to stay closer to the airport?

You can be at the airport from Cologne in as few as 57 minutes by rail.

Dukey, we are planning to spend the last night in Cologne. I did get tickets earlier today on an ICE train, and yes it is only about the length of time you mentioned, so thanks for mentioning that. We are flying on Condor Air, which is probably not too fancy, but being able to fly direct to BWI will be nice, since we live only about 20 min. away.

"I'm not a beer drinker, smetz, until I get to Germany."

Funny you should say that, LSky. I feel the same way about sweet wine. I only drink dry wine, but somehow when you're on the Rhine or the Mosel, a sweet Riesling just tastes right.

smetz, "somehow when you're on the Rhine or the Mosel, a sweet Riesling just tastes right."

It's so true. Sometimes place has everything to do with it.
The Lemoncello in Italy was so refreshing but when we brought it home I used it for cheesecake.

I certainly liked the sweet wines in Germany but I like sweet wines and liquors at home too. Very little beer at home though, outside of the occasional black & tan.

Both Dusseldorf and Cologne are very nice cities, but I'd go for Dusseldorf - for it is exactly not what most people expect from a German city, and therefore makes an interesting visit.

Dusseldorf has a very interesting mix of commerical success (advertising, consulting, energy...), an artsy culture (think of Kraftwerk, the famous Kunstakademie, and the great K20/K21 museums) and very welcoming rhenish traditions.

Certainly there will also be a lot of opportunities to taste some Rhine wines. I personally would prefer (and recommend) dry Rielsing (try Robert Weil) over sweet Riesling.