Cheap flights to Cologne
When it comes to real beauty the German city of Cologne wins first prize. Sat right on the Rhine, and boasting all the boat rides and riverside charm you’d expect, it’s a perfectly up-to-date medieval town.
It has all the spectacular sights, age-old wonder and breathtaking buildings of a historical setting, put together with modern lifestyle, some truly edgy and interesting nightspots, and a rich and varied selection of art and culture.
Even just taking a quick stroll though the city will take you past spectacular medieval cathedrals, Roman ruins, the multi-coloured buildings of the Altstadt, or old town to you and me, and plenty of interesting museums and galleries. That is, of course, provided you haven’t been lured away by its clutch of unique boutiques, trendy second-hand stores or chic designer outlets.
January 2013
Beautifully-made leather shoes at reasonable prices draw fashion-conscious women to Elke Scherbaum's 39einhalb store in the Südstadt district, where the range extends from ballet pumps to clogs and winter boots (26 Merowingerstrasse, tel: 0221 304 9860).
April 2013
Excavations for a new north-south U-Bahn line have unearthed more than 2 million archaeological finds from two millennia of Cologne's history, with everything from Roman harbour artefacts to cellars destroyed in World War II air raids. The pick of the finds are on view in TimeTunnel at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum until 5 May. www.museenkoeln.de
April 2013
Occupying the site of an old fort and fringed by some of Cologne's loveliest art nouveau houses, the leafy Volksgarten is one of the city's oldest parks. Now that spring is here it's the perfect retreat from the city's hustle and bustle, complete with a boating lake, beer garden and plenty of impromptu barbecues.