Friendly local people
by yooperprof
My impression was that the local Cologne population was friendly and welcoming to its visitors. I was being guided around the city by a really nice young fellow who studies in the city named Stephen, and when he had difficulty finding his way to St. Gereon's church, he asked a fellow riding a bike for assistence. Don't be afraid to ask for directions!
Live Jazz
by croisbeauty about Papa Joe's Jazzlokal
Papa Joe's is my favourite spot in whole of Cologne, it is the place where I've spend my two Colognese nights before going to sleep. The club is situated in Buttermarkt, which is a foot from my hotel. Unfortunately I couldn't take the picture inside the club, but trust the atmosphere is hot hot hot.
What you'll find here is tons of beer and very good live classical jazz music performed by the local gropus. The place is overcrowded, the inside temperature must be over 30C degrees, you can't avoid elbow but who cares about. The inside atmosphere is extremely friendly, totally relaxed and everobody is enjoying being a part of an happy crowd. Do not miss it when in Cologne. No dress code!
from anywhere in Germany or...
by gkitzmil
from anywhere in Germany or Europe it is easy to take the train and arrive right in the heart of Cologne at the Central Train Station or Hauptbahnhof
Strassenbahn or streetcars go everywhere! Go to the tourist office, get a map and information and enjoy!
Check it out before you go...http://www.kvb-koeln.de/online/index.htm
And that is NOT ME in the photo -- it is an official photo of the Koln Strassenbahn organization
El Touro
by espadana about El Touro
Being Portuguese, I had to try to search for portuguese restaurants in Cologne.
El Touro had a big advantage - it was a 5 minute walk from our hotel (that's the Crowne Plaza). We arrived there and were greeted by the owner, mr. Frederico, a really nice man, always eager to serve you good portuguese food and wine and to talk to you.
The restaurant has a good variety of dishes, lots of fresh fish (Frederico will bring the raw fish on a plate for you to choose wich one to eat), meat, portuguese Luso water (the best! :) ), portuguese wine, portuguese coffee (I know one italian who says we portuguese make better expressos than the italians ;) ), Port wine... Well, quite everything you would expect to have in a restaurant from my country... :)
The Romano-Germanic Museum
by Tom_Fields
Cologne stood on the northern frontier of the Roman Empire. Once, the Romans ventured across the Rhine River into the wild territory beyond. Germanic tribes ambushed and nearly annhilated them in the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest. From that point on, the Romans stayed mainly on the west side of the river. Cologne and Trier (see my tips on Trier) made up part of the Empire's northern border.
The Roman Museum contains many priceless artifacts from that historic period. One of the best-known is an original mosaic depicting scenes from the life of the god Dionysis. The museum also contains many items from the medieval period. A must-see for historians.