Cologne Activities

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Cologne's strong side is its cultural life. For latest information on what is happening around in town, get the "StadtRevue" (2 Euro), "Kölner" (1 Euro) or "Live" (Free). See also the official website www.koeln.de/en.

• Karneval The biggest festivity in Cologne is the Winter carnival (or Fastelovend) in February. According to the official Cologne tourism website (see Futher Information section): "Its highlight is the street carnival taking place from Weiberfastnacht (the Thursday before Ash Wednesday, traditionally the day on which women take control of the city) to Karnevalsdienstag (Shrove Tuesday). On Rosenmontag (Shrove Monday) more than one and a half million people line Cologne's streets to watch the parade with the mad triad – the prince, farmer, and virgin – every year." Dates for Carneval: 2008 Jan 31st to Feb 05th, 2009 Feb 19th to Feb 24th, 2010 Feb 11th to Feb 16th

• Christopher Street Day www.csd-cologne.de; CSD is a large gay pride festival held in Cologne annually on the Heumarkt square. The event showcases music, a candle light vigil remembering those with HIV/AIDS, and on the final day of the festival a large parade is held. Recently, up to a million people have attended the events.

• Kölner Seilbahn; Riehler Straße 180; Phone: +49 221-547-4183 (Line open until 6 PM); www.koelner-seilbahn.de/english/index.html; Hours: April - October 10 AM - 6 PM; Take a ride with the Aerial tramway across Rhine river, Germany's only cablecar crossing a river! Price: Adults: One way - €3.80, Return trip - €5.50, Children (Aged 4 - 12): One way - €2.20, Return trip - €3

• The Zoo; Riehler Straße 173; Phone: +49 221-7785 - 0; Email: info@zoo-koeln.de; www.zoo-koeln.de; Hours: Summer: 9 AM - 6 PM, Winter: 9 AM - 5 PM, Aquarium: 9 AM - 6 PM; Admission: Adults: €13, Teenagers (Aged 14 - 17): €8.50 Children (Aged up to 14): €6
• Phantasialand -Berggeiststr. 31-41 (In the town of Brühl); Telephone +49 ; Hours: 9 Am - 8 PM, Rides open at 10 AM, Ticket office closes at 4 PM; - Phantasialand is a fun place for children and has some fun rides for adults too. Even the Colorado Adventure roller coaster is sponsored by Michael Jackson. Admission: Children: (Up to one meter in height) - Free, Children: (Between one meter and 1.45 meters) € 27.50, Adults: €31, Senior citizens: € 21, Two day passes available.

• Unsichtbar, "Unsichtbar" is a play of words. Literally it means "invisible", but the suffix "bar" also refers to being a bar. You will get your private butler, who is a blind person, and you eat in total darkness. www.unsicht-bar-berlin.de/unsicht-bar-koeln/html/home_1.html Im Stavenhof 5-7, near Hansaring and Ebertplatz, open 1800-0000. You can choose your meal in a showroom and then your personal blind butler will lead you to the dark room where you have to smell, feel, maybe touch and of course eat your meal, but you won't see it. You'll have to refer to your butler about everything, whether going to the bathroom or refilling your glass. You are not allowed to smoke, use a cellphone or do anything else that could lighten up the room. The food on your plate is explained to you by using a clock-like system (e.g. "beans are on three o'clock"). It's an excursion into the world of blind people, who are supported this way, and a really good restaurant, too. For weekends you have to book around 13 weeks in advance, but during the week you'll get a free table (with a little luck).

• Claudius Therme, Sachsenbergstraße 1, ☎ Telefon: (0221) 981440, www.claudius-therme.de/index_en.htm. 09.00-24.00. Just below the Kölner Seilbahn is the Claudius Therme. Spend a very relaxing few hours unwinding in both indoor and outdoor pools, saunas, cold plunge pools, etc. Several areas are naturist (not clothing optional). Towels are available to rent and food and drink is served on-site. One nice option is to take the Kölner Seilbahn to the Therme and return by bus (directly in front of entrance) to Köln Deutz Station where you can catch U-Bahn back to the City Centre.

• Metropolis Cinema, Ebertplatz 19, ☎ Telefon: (0221) 722436, www.metropolis-koeln.de. 15.00-24.00. If you want to go to the movies while visiting Cologne and you don't know German, this is the cinema for you. In the evenings it shows movies in their native language, but mostly English.

• Koelner Zoo, 1 km (1 mile)

• Koelner Philharmonie, 1 km (1 mile)

• theatre Cologne, 1 km (1 mile)

• Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, 1 km (1 mile)
• chocolate museum, 2 km (1 mile)

• Rodderhof, 5 km (3 miles)
• Neuenhof, 9 km (6 miles)
• Laacherhof, 15 km (9 miles)
• Rodderhof, 16 km (10 miles)
• Untersteinbach, 17 km (11 miles)
• Ingendorf, 18 km (11 miles)
• Immekeppel, 19 km (12 miles)
• In der Aue, 19 km (12 miles)
• Haussels, 20 km (12 miles)
• Durhaus, 21 km (13 miles)
• Geilrath, 25 km (15 miles)
• Millendorf, 29 km (18 miles)
• Tollhausen, 32 km (20 miles)