11 Reasons Why I Fell in Love With Cologne Germany (& You Will To!)

When most people visit Germany, they focus on the top three cities: Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich. But, little do they know, the fourth largest city is where it’s all at: Cologne Germany!

Although I was only able to visit Cologne Germany on a day trip from Brussels, it was surprisingly enough time to fall head over heels in love with this city.

Cologne (or Köln in German) is not very big, or even beautiful city, but it has so many hidden gems and unique characteristics you just can’t help falling for it! 

So if you’re debating on whether to visit or not, perhaps these 11 reasons will help push you in the right direction!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

Where Is Cologne Germany?

Cologne is in the Western part of Germany, closer to Belgium and the Netherlands.

The Rhine River runs the whole way through Cologne, splitting the city in two, and making for some gorgeous river views!

P.S. See why I went on a day trip from Brussels? It was only 2 hours on the fast train! See more day trips from Brussels here!

11 Reasons Why You Need To Visit Köln Germany

If you’re debating on whether or not a trip to Cologne Germany is for you, I’m here to tell you why you should stop doubting yourself and just go!

Köln Germany is unlike any other Germany city. So when you think of a Germany, a city like Cologne is probably not what comes to mind… They have their own mindsets and way of life, that doesn’t exactly fit into Germany!

1. Kölsch: Unique Beer Culture You Won’t Find Anywhere Else!

Located in Germany, and bordering Belgium, it’s no surprise that there’s beer culture in Cologne. But it’s not just any beer, it’s Kölsch!

Kölsch is a top-fermented, light beer that can only be brewed in Cologne Germany (and is rarely exported). So you definitely won’t be finding any Kölsch anywhere back home!

On top of that there are very specific rules for brewing, serving, and drinking Kölsch.

Top Things To Do In Cologne: Try Kölsch At Brühauses

It’s no surprise that one of the top things to do in Cologne is to try Kölsch. This isn’t a one and done situation though either. Every Brühaus in Cologne Germany serves their own Kölsch brew.

So depending on where you go, you’ll have different ones to try. And just because you don’t like one, doesn’t mean you’ll dislike all Kölsch brews. P.S. rate and track every Kölsch you try in Cologne with my digital and printable flight scorecard, see it on Etsy here!

Apparently, one of the best places to go for Kölsch is Gaststätte Lommerzheim. This Brühaus is also famous in Cologne for declining Bill Clinton. They said they’d rather serve people who will come back than close down for the night just for one person.

Honestly, this is another reason I have so much respect for Köln Germany – they care more about their own people than fame!

Alternatively, if you don’t have time to go to Gaststätte Lommerzheim (it’s across the Rhine), Peter’s Brühaus is another good option that’s a lot closer.

Not sure which Brühause to visit in Cologne? Why not visit all the top ones on this walking tour with Viator?

How To Drink Kölsch – Travel in Cologne

I said there were rules for drinking Kölsch, because one cannot simply drink Kölsch.

First, Kölsch is served in a very small but tall glass (only 200 mL).

But then there’s a specific glass to serve it in and a very important rule to know…

When you finish your glass, your waiter will immediately serve you the next one – no questions asked! The only way to get them to stop is to put your coaster on top of your empty glass.

Kölsch isn’t as high in alcohol as you might be used to (especially if you’re coming from Belgium… read about the beer in Belgium here) but all those little glasses add up… quickly!

2. Cologne Has The Best Constitution I’ve Ever Read

Yes, Cologne has their own constitution, or rather words and sayings that they live by. And fun fact, it was created by a local Brühaus.

These 11 rules make Cologne Germany what it is. It lends to their laissez-faire attitude and overall acceptance of everyone. So when you travel in Cologne, be sure to adopt them as well!

Here they are:

1. It is, as it is
2. Whatever will be, will be
3. It’s still going well
4. What gone is gone
5. Nothing stays as it was
6. If we do not know, we do not need to get away with it
7.  What do you want to do?
8. Take care – but not too often
9. What’s this nonsense
10. Are you drinking?
11. Always laugh at yourself!

I mean is this not the perfect constitution to live by? Don’t believe me, see all 11 rules here.

3. Köln Germany Has Underrated Parties

Everyone’s heard about Oktoberfest, but have you ever heard of Cologne Carnival? There’s no shame if you haven’t, I hadn’t either before I visited.

But from what I learned during my short visit, Cologne Carnival seems like Oktoberfest on steroids… It lasts for MONTHS!

It starts on November 11 (at 11:11 am) and goes until the end of March (see a list of important dates here)! Now you’re probably thinking that Cologne only started this celebration festival to beat Munich, but it’s actually been around for centuries!

Forms of Carnival have been around since the Middle Ages to drive out evil winter demons. The focus has shifted over the years as Christians adopted the tradition to usher in Lent (a time of no meat). That’s actually how it adopted the name Carnival (Carne Vale = farewell to meat).

Today, Cologne Carnival is a way to welcome winter and usher in Lent. This way people can repent for their Carnival sins during Lent!

Cologne Carnival is a time to party together and be who you want to be.

People dress up in costumes, like German princes and princesses, or even unicorns!

During Cologne Carnival, you spend time with those you love, but also create everlasting bonds with people you’ll probably never see again. Sounds kind of magical, no?

So if you’re planning on visiting Cologne, there’s no better time than during this months long party.

4. Cologne Is Home To “The Only Language You Can Drink!”

Cologne Germany is known for its beer, Kölsch, but did you know they also had their own language… Kölsch? Now do you get it? 

Kölsch (the language) is a dialect of German, but if you say that to any local, they’ll deny it. Like everything else their city has to offer, Colognians are very proud of their language.

But now the only question left is which came first… the language or the beer!?

5. I Respect Cologne Germany’s Sense of Pride

There’s no doubt about it, Cologners love their city. If you ask any one of them they’ll tell you how beautiful it is… even though it really isn’t (shhh! Don’t tell them!).

I don’t want to insult anyone, but 90% of the city was destroyed during WWII. Only 1 out of 10 buildings were left standing by the end of the war.

As a result, the city is a mish-mash of architectural styles and designs. And I love it!

Every corner has one beautiful building from before the war, with intricate brickwork and details, surrounded by… well… more or less eyesores.

The buildings built post-war were rushed to get the city back up and running quickly again, so they didn’t exactly pay a lot of attention to looks.

Even though Cologne Germany isn’t beautiful, I’ll give it to them that it the city is pretty… unique!

But Cologne’s pride doesn’t stop there, locals will tell you that it’s one of the safest cities in Europe… And again, it really isn’t.

Let’s just say that after WWII, during the 50s and 60s, it earned the nickname Chicago on the Rhine.

That is to say, it had some of the highest crime rates in all of Europe. But don’t worry, it’s changed a lot since then and is now actually a lot safer!

6. I Admire Cologne’s Drive To Be The Best: The Cologne Cathedral!

I know I said that I admire a lot about Cologne Germany, but I think at the top is their hunger for success.

I’m talking about the city’s love for having world records… and they really don’t like it when someone takes any away from them.

For example, the famous Cologne Cathedral used to have the world record for being the tallest church in Europe.

As it turns out, that record didn’t last very long so now they have the tallest Twin-Spired church in Europe.

Yes, you read that correctly, Cologne has the tallest church with two spires in all of Europe!

And of course, their desire to be the best doesn’t stop at the Cologne Cathedral! They love getting world records in general!

I looked it up on the Guinness World Record site and when you search for Cologne, there are almost 500 results (updated in 2024, that number is now almost 900!).

My favourite world record from Cologne: Most toilet seats broken by the head in one minute (don’t believe me, see the world record here!)!

P.S. Cologne only has a population of just over one million people…So that’s a lot of World Records for such a small city!

To put this into perspective, I compared it to other German cities like Dusseldorf and Berlin. Dusseldorf is half the size of Cologne (600 000 people) but has about a tenth of the world records (only 15!). Berlin has a population of just over 3.5 million, and they only have 218 World Records.

See what World Records your city is famous for!

7. Cologne’s Work Ethic Is How The World Should Work

Cologne’s work ethic should inspire how the rest of the world works… No seriously!

Colognians have the mentality to get the job done while doing the least amount of work possible. And this mentality has been passed down from generations!

But it’s not about being lazy. It’s about finding the most efficient way to not have to do any work. 

For example you can find many random Roman ruins throughout the city. The easiest one to find is actually in front of the top thing to do in Cologne – the Cologne Cathedral.

Next to the main entrance of the Cathedral is a brick archway. This is just a small part of some old Roman ruins that were uncovered when the underground parking garage was built.

The small brick archway at the entrance is a mere part of the Roman ruins found here. If you go underground, to the finished parking lot, you’ll see the rest of it.

It would’ve taken a lot more time (and money) to excavate everything and move it all above ground. So instead, they just moved a part of it! This way, it reminds you that it’s there, and if you want to see more, just go underground!

They also dug up an old Roman tapestry that you can see from the window of the Greek and Roman museum (across from the side entrance of the Cathedral). They left it where they found it!

P.S. It does make a fun afternoon activity in Cologne finding all the Roman ruins throughout the city!

This philosophy of efficiency doesn’t only apply to ancient ruins and relics. They did the same thing years ago at the end of WWII with undetonated bombs they found.

At the end of the war, instead of bringing in a bomb squad to remove the explosives, they merely covered them with concrete. Today, it’s not uncommon to delay construction because a bomb was found.

8. Cologne’s Impressive Century Old Business Mindset

Not only does Cologne Germany have the ultimate work mentality, but they also know how to use it to capitalize on profits.

For centuries they’ve known their way around the most important business venture of all – tourism.

Back in the day (like way back in the day) it was common for visitors to bring back bones of deceased royals, saints, and noblemen as souvenirs. 

Cologne saw an opportunity when Saint Ursula sacrificed herself to Attila the Hun, along with 11 virgins. They decided to sell those remains to tourists coming to Cologne.

No problem… right? Well, the issue was that they did this for years… I’m talking 500 years before anyone noticed!

Eventually, people started to realize that there’s no way the bones of 12 women could have lasted this long.

But this is when Cologne came up with their best marketing tactic yet. They said, you got it all wrong, it wasn’t 11 virgins, it was 11 000 virgins!

And somehow, that’s not even the best part! Cologne is still profiting off this venture today!

One of the top things to do in Cologne today is to go to the Church of Saint Ursula and pay to see the bone room. You guessed it, the bone room houses the bones of Ursula along with the 11000 virgins… ya right!

The bones have been analyzed and they found both men’s and children’s bones are included in the mix.

As it turns out, when Cologne expanded they found an old Roman grave site. They didn’t know what to do with the remains, so they used these bones as the 11 000 Virgins.

9. Cologne’s Love of Goats (Hennes the Goat, That Is)

I mean goats are amazing, but Cologne Germany’s love of goats takes it to a whole other level.

Their obsession started in 1950 when a circus goat was gifted to the soccer team (1. FC Köln).

The rumour is that the goat actually pooped on the coach (Hennes Weisweiler), and that’s when people fell in love…. and where he got his name.

Hennes the goat instantly became the new mascot and still shows up to support every game.

Of course, the original Hennes is no longer with us, they’re actually on the 9th Hennes. The 8th only recently retired after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis, poor guy.

Read more about the history and find out about each Hennes on the Official Hennes page here.

In case you were wondering how they choose his successor, don’t worry, it’s a very diplomatic process. They hold elections, and in fact, more people vote for Hennes than their next mayor!

Hennes lives in the zoo where you can visit him when he’s off duty.

But I think the icing on the cake is that every time they have to replace a Gargoyle on the Cologne Cathedral, it’s replaced with the new Hennes. So there are currently 8 goats where gargoyles used to be… 

It’s a fun game to play when visiting Cologne – spot the goats! P.S. two of them might be higher up, so you won’t be able to see them from the ground.

10. Why Visit Cologne: Their Sense of Humour

You absolutely have to visit Cologne Germany for their sense of humour alone. I’ve never had so much fun touring a city!

I swear, Cologne has two bare-bottom statues in its city centre, and one is on their town hall! You’ll notice the town hall has several important figures carved into it, like Aquafina (the settler of Cologne) and Farina, the inventor or Eau de Cologne.

But the most important one is that of Konrad von Hochstaden, the Archbishop of Cologne from the 1200s. He wasn’t exactly a popular guy as was made clear by the statue underneath his…

Konrad von Hochstaden is known in history as the one who put a tax on beer… so when putting up his statue, the artist decided to put quite a striking image underneath. And it’s been there since 1410.

And that’s not the only statue with a bare bottom in Cologne!

In Alsser Market, directly across from the town hall, hanging off a roof is a boy mooning parliament. In typical Cologne fashion, instead of removing the statue they placed a face on the clock tower of the town hall…

So now every hour when the bells go off, the face sticks out his tongue – as if to lick the bottom of the statue.

11. Travel In Cologne: Their Love For Quality Art

When you think of art and Germany, Cologne isn’t the first place that comes to mind. I mean, I’ve already mentioned that Cologne isn’t exactly known to be the most beautiful place in the world… or even Germany!

But Cologne actually has a lot of art studios and galleries, you just have to know where to look.

In order to help you, Tomas Baumgärtel created a system to mark the best art places around the city… He would spray paint a banana on the wall of the art gallery.

Originally, the city saw his banana as unwanted graffiti, and the galleries would remove them.

Over time people noticed the bananas were a mark of honour and prestige that you wanted one on your wall!

Nowadays, you won’t just find Tomas Baumgärtel’s banana in Cologne, it’s gone global. The banana has in a sense become the Michelin Star for art galleries.

In fact, the banana has become so large that impersonator bananas have started showing up.

So keep your eyes ‘peeled’ for bananas while you travel in Cologne! You just might stumble upon some real banana-worthy art!

Read more about the Banana-sprayer here.

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Last update on 2024-05-01 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API