Cologne & Northern Rhineland

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Overview

Cologne's iconic Dom has twin towers that might as well be exclamation marks after the word 'welcome'. Flowing behind the cathedral, the Rhine provides a vital link for some of the region's highlights – Düsseldorf, with its great nightlife, architecture and shopping; and Bonn, the former capital, which hums to Beethoven. Away from the river, Aachen still echoes to the beat of the Holy Roman Empire and Charlemagne.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Kölner Dom

Cologne

Cologne’s geographical and spiritual heart – and its single-biggest tourist draw – is the magnificent Kölner Dom. With its soaring twin spires, this is…

Maria Laach Abbey, the west end with the paradisium, a narthex enclosing a garden. Maria Laach Abbey (iAbtei Maria Laach) is a Benedictine abbey situated on the southwestern shore of the Laacher See (Lake Laach), near Andernach, in the Eifel region of the Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany in July 2020.

Abteikirche Maria Laach

Cologne & Northern Rhineland

Serenely tucked within beautiful Eifel countryside, Abteikirche Maria Laach is one of the finest examples of a Romanesque church in Germany. Part of a 900…

Aachener Dom

Aachen

It’s impossible to overestimate the significance of Aachen’s magnificent cathedral. The burial place of Charlemagne, it’s where more than 30 German kings…

Beethoven-Haus Bonn

Bonn

Star composer Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770 in this rather humble townhouse, where today original scores, letters, paintings and instruments,…

Haus der Geschichte

Bonn

The Haus der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik Deutschland presents a smart, fun romp through recent German history, starting from the end of WWII. Walk…

Archäologischer Park

Cologne & Northern Rhineland

The Roman Colonia Ulpia Traiana has been reborn as an archaeological park, an open-air museum that features faithfully reconstructed buildings to help…

Felix Nussbaum Haus

Cologne & Northern Rhineland

Osnabrück-born Jewish painter Felix Nussbaum (1904–44), who emigrated to Belgium and was murdered at Auschwitz, hauntingly documented life, exile,…

RömerMuseum

Cologne & Northern Rhineland

For a deeper understanding of the Roman presence in the region and the ruins in the adjacent Archaeological Park, the engaging RömerMuseum is a must. In a…

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