Cologne was a fun city to visit. The city has lots of museums, shops, pubs, restaurants and a magnificent cathedral. We spent two nights in Cologne and could have easily spent a third.
Cologne, Germany Itinerary:
· Breakfast at home
· 9:30 Drive to Cologne (2 hour drive)
· Check into hotel
o We stayed at the Pullman Hotel. Highly recommend. Walking distance to everything. The hotel has a restaurant and bar on the top floor with beautiful views of the city. We had a drink at the restaurant, but went elsewhere for dinner.
· Cologne Cathedral
o This cathedral is breathtaking from the outside. The architecture is beautiful. If I remember correctly it’s supposedly the largest Cathedral in Germany.
· Lunch at Gilden im Zims
o The local beer in Cologne is called Kolsch. The restaurants serve the beer in small glasses to keep the beer cold. The server will refill the beer automatically until the drinker places a coaster on top of his/her glass.
· Farina Perfume House
o Johann Farina made the original cologne and the original cologne scent can still be purchased at the museum. The museum gives an excellent 45-minute presentation explaining who Johann Farina was and how he made his cologne. Some of the original customers were Mark Twain and Napoleon. Adam and I purchased a few bottles of the cologne. It smells really good.
· Hotel Rest
· Dinner
Second Day
· Breakfast in room
o Great way to save money and relax in the morning. I brought breakfast cookies and bananas.
· Cologne, Cathedral
o We went back to climb 533 stairs to reach the top of the South Tower. Unfortunately, the tower had graffiti all over the walls. It was difficult to enjoy the beauty and the history while being in the tower, because of all the graffiti. It still was neat to climb up and the view was not disappointing.
· Second Coffee
o After climbing up the tower we stopped for coffee, which was right across from the cathedral. We were able to warm up and enjoy the view.
· Wallraf-Richartz Museum
o Art museum with Gothic, Impressionist and Renaissance paintings. The museum does a very nice job displaying the art pieces. It also has descriptions next to the paintings. The descriptions were in German and English.
· Lunch
· Chocolate Museum
o We were able to walk along the Rhine River to the museum. Adam was so happy! He loves Lindt chocolate. This chocolate museum was as HUGE. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate… free samples. The museum shows where chocolate comes from, how it grows, and how it ships. Then we were able to walk through the factory and watch the chocolate being made. Unfortunately, we had already eaten or we would have stayed to eat at the restaurant, which overlooks the river.
· Kolsch beer stop
· Hotel rest
· Dinner
Third Day
· Breakfast in the room
· Drive Home
We will definitely go back. There are still a few museums to see. It’s a fun little city. For those who like cruises. It looked like different cruise ships pull into Cologne as well.
RSS Feed