Cologne (Köln)

Germany's greatest Gothic cathedral, the golden reliquary of the Magi, and a Rhine panorama from 533 steps up — the single unmissable sight

one of Europe's great modern collections beside the Dom, and 2,000 years of Roman Cologne — a world-class art-and-history afternoon

Cologne has twelve great Romanesque churches — Great St Martin over the Altstadt, the golden decagon of St Gereon, St Aposteln

the perfume that carries the city's name was born here in 1709

the former Cologne Gestapo headquarters, with its preserved basement prison cells and their wall inscriptions by the imprisoned

the Dom stood through the Allied bombing that destroyed ~90% of the old town — a fact locals still feel

in February, Germany's biggest Carnival; in December, one of the country's best market clusters under the Dom and along the harbour

0.2 L Stangen poured by the Köbes in Früh/Päffgen/Gaffel with Rhenish plates, plus the riverside Schokoladenmuseum with its chocolate fountain — the Cologne table

Cologne is the historic home of the KD line and a major embarkation port

fasten a lock on the tens-of-thousands-strong bridge, then a Rhine-facing suite and a sunset boat — Cologne's easy romance

the hands-on Schokoladenmuseum, Cologne Zoo + aquarium, and the Rheinseilbahn cable car gliding over the river — an easy, delighted family day

natural-wine bars and design shops in the Belgisches Viertel, street-art murals and live music in Ehrenfeld — the young, unstuffy city after dark

the thermal-spring baths in the green Rheinpark across the river, with saunas and Rhine-facing pools + a Dom skyline view