Cologne, Germany

Cologne is situated on the river Rhein in North Rhine-Westphalia and is the fourth largest city in Germany. It is one of the nation's media, tourism and business hotspots.

Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom) is the city's most famous monument and the Cologne residents' most respected landmark. It is a Gothic church, started in 1248, and completed in 1880. In 1996, it was designated a World Heritage site; it houses the Shrine of the Three Kings that supposedly contains the relics of the Three Magi. Also worth seeing are the city’s twelve Romanesque churches. These buildings are outstanding examples of medieval church architecture. The origins of some of the churches go back as far as Roman times.

Cologne has several museums. The famous Roman-Germanic Museum features art and architecture from the city's distant past; the Museum Ludwig houses one of the most important collections of modern art in Europe, including a Picasso collection matched only by the museums in Barcelona and Paris. The Schnütgen Museum of religious art is housed in St. Cecilia, one of Cologne's Twelve Romanesque churches.

Things to See & Do

* Kölner Dom - Cathedral
* Veedel - City Quarters
* 12 Romanesque Churches
* Hohenzollern Bridge - also called the Locking Bridge
* Museums & galleries

General Information

Cruise Season – March to Dec
Currency – Euro (€) (EUR)
Language – German
Land Area – 405.15 km²
Population – 1,007,500 approx.
Electricity – 2 round pins European style
Time - GMT/UTC plus one hour
International Country Telephone Code – + 49

Port Location – Cologne Ports and Railways) (HGK) is one of the largest operators for inland ports in Germany. Ports include Köln-Deutz, Köln-Godorf and Köln-Niehl I and II. Köln-Düsseldorfer offers Rhine river cruises along the entire Rhine.

Travel Links – Cologne's international airport is Cologne/Bonn Airport. The airport is also the main hub of the airline Germanwings. The airport is approximately 15 minutes by S-Bahn (local train) to the center of Cologne.

Cologne is served by two major train stations - Köln Hauptbahnhof and Köln-Deutz. Cologne is linked with Amsterdam, Brussels, and Paris by Thalys and ICE High Speed trains. Additionally, the Frankfurt airport has direct service to Cologne and is within one hour by ICE trains.

Cologne has an (inter)national bus station); it is located at Breslauer Platz on the north side of the Hauptbahnhof. Direct daily buses to Serbia and alternate daily buses to Montenegro.