Köln, Dom and Rhine, Germany

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Cologne & Northern Rhineland

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

  • Interior Of Cologne Cathedral

    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…

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    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…

  • 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…

  • Archäologischer Park

    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

    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,…

  • Römisch-Germanisches Museum

    Römisch-Germanisches Museum

    Cologne

    Sculptures and ruins displayed outside the entrance are merely the overture to a full symphony of Roman artefacts found along the Rhine. Highlights…

  • K21 Ständehaus

    K21 Ständehaus

    Düsseldorf

    A stately 19th-century parliament building forms a fabulously dichotomous setting for the cutting-edge art of the K21 – a collection only showcasing works…

  • Domschatzkammer

    Domschatzkammer

    Aachen

    Aachen's cathedral treasury is a veritable mother lode of gold, silver and jewels. Of particular importance are the silver-and-gold bust of Charlemagne…

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Art and Culture

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Sep 28, 2021 • 6 min read

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Cologne & Northern Rhineland and beyond

Beyond Cologne & Northern Rhineland
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