Cologne Sights

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Kölner Dom

• Kölner Dom, (U-Bahn: Dom / Hbf), www.koelner-dom.de. Monday - Sunday: 6.00 - 19.30. Protected by UNESCO whc.unesco.org/en/list/292, Cologne's Dom is the first sight you will notice when taking the main exit from the central station. (If you don't see it, you've taken the back exit.) If you are in good shape, take the 509 stairs to the top of the south tower. It takes about an hour, so wear comfortable shoes, but it's worth the hike. Touring the Cathedral is forbidden during Mass. Entry into the cathedral is free but you will be asked for a donation. Admission to the tower costs (regular/reduced): €2.50/€1.50. Admission to the treasury costs (regular/reduced): €4/€2, however, a combined ticket granting you admission to the treasury and tower can be purchased for (regular/reduced): €5/€2.50.

• Die Kölner Synagoge, Roonstraße 50 (U-Bahn: Zülpicher Platz), ☎ +49/(0)221/921560-0 (fax: +49/(0)221/921560-9), www.sgk.de. The synagogue is notable for its architecture that looks, well, right out of Gotham City. The Torah within the synagogue was rescued by a Catholic priest from another synagogue as it was being burned during Nazi rule. In August of 2005 Pope Benedict XVI visited the synagogue, becoming the second pope to ever visit a synagogue.

• Veedel - City Quarters. Cologne is well known for its "Veedel" or traditional neighborhoods. Here, most notably in the bohemian Agnesviertel, you can find independent designers, bookshops, bars, and art galleries. There are also historical monuments, such as the North City Gate or Eigelsteintorburg in the Agnesviertel, very near to Fort X, built to protect the city from French attacks, and Agneskirche, a late neo-gothic church on the boulevardesque Neusserstrasse. Neusserstrasse also has a yoga school, an Aikido school, a great japanese restaurant, a well-stocked bookshop, and a range of pubs. Nearby you will find the Alte Feuerwache, where there are regular exhibitions on political topics and a surreal flea market every four weeks in summer. Opposite Alte Feuerwache is the Artclub, with regular exhibitions of contemporary art, and on Ebertplatz there is a cinema (Metropolis) which shows English language films in the original. On nearby Lübeckerstrasse, you will find the uncompromisingly Arty Filmpalette cinema. To round off a trip to the Agnesviertel, you might like a kölsch in the Lapidarium (right beside the North City Gate) or a coffee in Cafe Schmitz, Cologne's grooviest poser hangout (they also do a great breakfast.) All of these great places are within a short walk of Ebertplatz U-Bahn. Other "Veedel" include Ehrenfeld, Nippes, and the historical Südstadt.<see name="Agnesviertel, Ehrenfeld, Südstadt" directions="U-Bahn: Ebertplatz (Agnesviertel) Körnerstrasse (Ehrenfeld) Chlodwigplatz (Südstadt)"

• 12 Romanesque Churches: St. Kunibert (with wonderful stained glass windows), St. Severin, St. Maria Lyskirchen, St. Andreas, St. Aposteln, St. Gereon, St. Ursula, St. Pantaleon, St. Maria im Kapitol, Groß-St. Martin, St. Georg and St. Cäcilien

• Parks: Cologne has 2 park areas (Grüngürtel) encircling the city (immediately outside the medieval city limits) and nearly the entire town, respectively, which were set aside as public recreation areas after World War I. The inner Grüngürtel is probably more easy to reach for tourists who only stay a few days. Most notably are Volksgarten, Hiroshima-Nagasaki- (colloquially known as Aachener-Weiher-) and Stadtgarten parks where thousands of people come together to enjoy the sun, play and barbecue when the weather is fine. All these parks have an associated beer garden. Be aware to dispose any packaging, charcoal etc into the wastebins (which are unfortunately few and far between), as the city has begun to employ anti-littering patrols that will levy a stiff fine on anyone seen littering. Metro: Eifelplatz for Volksgarten, Universitätsstraße for Hiroshima-Nagasaki-Park, Hans-Böckler-Platz/Bahnhof West for Stadtgarten.

• opera house Cologne, 1 km (1 mile)

• Gross St. Martin, 1 km (1 mile)

• Koeln Arena, 2 km (1 mile)

• St. Gereon Merheim, 6 km (4 miles)

• Neuenhof, 11 km (7 miles)
• Widdauen, 15 km (9 miles)
• Bergisches Land, 15 km (9 miles)
• Aue, 18 km (11 miles)
• Schnappe, 19 km (12 miles)
• Neuenhausen, 19 km (12 miles)
• Ahrem, 23 km (14 miles)
• Widdendorf, 25 km (15 miles)
• Pingsheim, 26 km (16 miles)
• Majershof, 27 km (17 miles)
• Norvenich, population 11,481, 28 km (17 miles)
• Etgendorf, 31 km (19 miles)

• www.koelner-dom.de
• whc.unesco.org/en/list/292
• www.sgk.de