Sights in Cologne
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Kölner Dom
Cologne's geographical and spiritual heart - and its single-biggest tourist draw - is the magnificent Kölner Dom. With its soaring twin spires, this is the Mt Everest of cathedrals, jam-packed with art and treasures. Its loftiness and dignified ambience leave only the most jaded of visitors untouched.
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Documentation Centre
Cologne's Third Reich history is poignantly documented in the Documentation Centre. In the basement of the building was the local Gestapo prison where scores of people were interrogated, tortured and killed. Inscriptions on the basement cell walls offer a gut-wrenching record of the emotional and physical pain endured by inmates.
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Wallraf-Richartz-Museum
A famous collection of paintings from the 13th to the 19th centuries, the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum occupies a postmodern cube designed by the late OM Ungers. Works are presented chronologically, with the oldest on the 1st floor where standouts include brilliant examples from the Cologne School, known for its distinctive use of colour. Upstairs are Dutch and Flemish artists, including Rembrandt and Rubens, Italians such as Canaletto and Spaniards such as Murillo. The 3rd floor focuses on the 19th century, with evocative works by Caspar David Friedrich and Lovis Corinth. Thanks to a permanent loan from Swiss collector Gérard Corboud, there's also a respectable collection of …
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Kolumba
The building encases the ruins of the late-Gothic church St Kolumba, layers of foundations going back to Roman times and the Madonna in the Ruins chapel, built on the site in 1950. It's yet another magnificent design by Swiss architect Peter Zumthor, 2009 winner of the Pritzker Prize, the 'architectural Oscar'. Exhibits span the arc of religious artistry from the early days of Christianity to the present. Coptic textiles, Gothic reliquary and medieval painting are juxtaposed with works by Bauhaus legend Andor Weiniger and edgy room installations. The overall effect is contemplative rather than instructive, inspirational rather than historical.
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Römisch-Germanisches Museum
Anyone even remotely interested in Roman history should not skip the extraordinary Römisch-Germanisches Museum, adjacent to the Dom. Sculptures and ruins displayed outside are merely the overture to a full symphony of Roman artefacts found along the Rhine. Highlights include the giant Poblicius tomb (AD 30-40), the magnificent 3rd-century Dionysus mosaic around which the museum was built, and astonishingly well-preserved glass items. Insight into daily Roman life is gained from such items as toys, tweezers, lamps and jewellery, the designs of which have changed surprisingly little since.
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Museum Ludwig
The distinctive building facade and unorthodox roofline signal that the Museum Ludwig is no ordinary museum. Considered a mecca of postmodern art, it actually presents a survey of all major 20th-century genres. There's plenty of American pop art, including Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes, alongside a comprehensive Picasso collection and plenty of works by Sigmar Polke. Fans of German expressionism will get their fill here as much as those with a penchant for such Russian avant-gardists as Kasimir Malewitsch and Ljubow Popowa.
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Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum
In a 19th-century customs building near the Schokoladen Museum, the Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum is an imaginative, if Germany-focused, tribute to the sporting life from antiquity to today. There are exhibits on the 1936 Berlin and 1972 Munich Olympic Games and on such modern-day heroes as Steffi Graf and Michael Schumacher. Interactive displays allow you to experience a bobsled run or a bike race, and on the miniature football field on the rooftop you can kick with a view of the cathedral.
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Schokoladen Museum
You don't have to have a sweet tooth to enjoy the Schokoladen Museum, a high-tech temple to the art of chocolate-making. Exhibits on the origin of the 'elixir of the gods', as the Aztecs called it, and the cocoa-growing process are followed by a live-production factory tour and a stop at a chocolate fountain for a sample. Upstairs are departments on the cultural history of chocolate, advertising, and porcelain and other accessories. Stock up on your favourite flavours at the downstairs shop.
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Praetorium
The Praetorium is the relics of a Roman governor's palace below the Renaissance Rathaus. The Praetorium will soon be part of a much larger subterranean archaeological museum that's taking shape beneath the Rathausplatz. Visitors will be able to get close-ups of remnants, ruins and foundations of both Roman Cologne and the Jewish quarter in their original locations. A 3-D model in the Praetorium illustrates the project that's expected to open in 2011.
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Gross St Martin
Winning top honours for most handsome exterior is Gross St Martin, whose ensemble of four slender turrets grouped around a central spire towers above Fischmarkt in the Altstadt. Its striking clover-leaf choir is an architectural feature pioneered by St Maria im Kapitol.
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Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum
Inside a bank branch is the Käthe-Kollwitz-Museum, with graphics and sculptures by the acclaimed socialist artist. A highlight is the haunting cycle called Ein Weberaufstand (A Weavers' Revolt, 1897). Enter through the arcade, then take the glass-bubble lift to the 4th floor.
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Museum Schnütgen
East of the Neumarkt, the newly created Cultural Quarter encompasses an extension of the Museum Schnütgen, a repository of medieval religious art and sculpture. Part of the exhibit will continue to be shown in the beautiful setting of the Romanesque Cäcilienkirche (Cecily Church).
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Museum Für Angewandte Kunst
The Museum für Angewandte Kunst consists of a series of period rooms tracing European design from the Middle Ages to today. Keep an eye out for a 15th-century Venetian wedding goblet, a silver service by Henry van de Velde and life-sized animals made of Meissen porcelain.
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Domschatz- Kammer
Cologne is justifiably proud of its Domschatz- kammer, whose reliquaries, robes, sculptures and liturgical objects are handsomely presented in medieval vaulted rooms. Standouts include a Gothic bishop's staff from 1322 and a 15th-century sword.
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Kölnisches Stadtmuseum
The Kölnisches Stadtmuseum, in the former medieval armoury, explores all facets of Cologne history. There are exhibits on Carnival, Kölsch (the local beer), eau de cologne and other things that make the city unique.
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St Ursula
The church of St Ursula stands atop the Roman graveyard where the virgins' remains were allegedly found. In the 17th century, the richly ornamented baroque Goldene Kammer was built to house their relics.
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St Gereon
The most eccentric-looking church is St Gereon, which grew from a late-Roman chapel into a massive complex lidded by a decagonal dome decorated with delicate ribbed vaulting.
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St Maria Im Kapitol
St Maria im Kapitol's major treasures include a carved door from the original 11th-century church and a spectacularly ornate Renaissance rood screen.
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Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum
The Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum is a new building that will house the non-European art and cultural collections.
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