Cologne
The Rhineland'S Largest City: Carnival, The Koelsch Brewery Houses, The Ludwig And Roman Germanic Museums, Twelve Romanesque Churches And The Rhine Promenade. The Cathedral Is Its Own Row · Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia
Cologne is the Rhineland's biggest city, a million people on both banks of the river, and it is not a pretty old town: the bombing of 1945 left the medieval core in pieces and much of what stands between the station and the ring roads was rebuilt plainly and fast. What it has instead is a strong local culture. Carnival shuts the city down for a week each winter and is lived rather than staged for visitors. Koelsch, the local beer, arrives in 0.2 litre glasses carried by waiters called Koebes, who keep replacing them until you put a coaster on top of yours. There are twelve Romanesque churches inside the old ring, a serious modern art collection at the Museum Ludwig, a Roman museum built over a mosaic floor, a chocolate museum on a spit in the river, the crane-shaped buildings of the Rheinauhafen, and the Hohenzollern Bridge, loaded with padlocks and crossed by a train every couple of minutes. The cathedral has its own entry; this row is the city around it.
Central Cologne along the Rhine, from the Altstadt and the Hohenzollern Bridge south to the Belgisches Viertel, Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
The city is open ground: the Rhine promenades, the bridges and the Rheinauhafen are walkable at any hour, and most of the twelve Romanesque churches open free through the day and close to sightseers during services. The museums follow the German pattern of closing one day a week, commonly Monday, with one late evening - often Thursday - and last admission about half an hour before closing. Confirm both before you plan. Brewery houses serve from late morning to late at night, most of them daily. During Carnival week and on public holidays everything changes - check locally.