Cologne cathedral with its two spires 157 m. in height has been the city's most famous landmark for centuries and the most well-known architectural monument in Germany. Outstanding works of art are to be found in the cathedral treasure chamber.Hansahochhaus At the time of its construction (1920), it was the tallest "skyscraper" in Europe; today it is a commercial and administration building. Among other occupants, it houses the department store with the widest selection of audio media in Europe (Hansaring).Media Park/ CinedomThe Media Park on the site of the former Gereon goods station combines media companies and cultural and leisure facilities. The photographic collection of the SK Stiftung Kultur cultural foundation and the Cologne House of literature are to be found here Ludwig Museum /Philharmonic Orchestra/Historic Centre the historic centre of Cologne was completely redesigned in the eighties with the construction of the museum and the Philharmonic Orchestra building.

Cologne nearly is a shopping paradise with many good retail shops, department stores along beautiful shopping streets or within elegant shopping passages in the middle of the city. Equally impressive is the number of art galleries and antique dealers. Shopping in Cologne is fun! Lots of shopping streets invite you to stroll along the way. The most popular ones are Home Strasse and Schildergasse. Also worth recom- mending is a visit to all shopping centers in the cen- ter of city, where the shops lay one next to another under a common roof. Everyone who is visiting Cologne must take a souvenir for themselve or as a present for someone back home

One can eat pretty well in most traditional-style Kölsch restaurants, and in fact as a visitor, you should try some of the local food, which is quite rustic, but tasty, hearty fayre.There are several Indian restaurants across the city, which serve a fair fare. One can make use of the traditional fast food places like Mc Donalds, Burger King Etc. There are so many bars and pubs to choose from that you could spend most of the night looking going from one bar to the next. A really great bar is the Irish Pub, Flanagan's. More recently, Japanese and Thai restaurants have become more common; both are quite expensive.

Cologne has a pleasant climate with warm summers, mild winters and an average annual rainfall of 760 millimetres (30 inches): between 50 and 75 millimetres (two and three inches) each month. Average temperatures range from around 1° Celsius (34° Fahrenheit) in January to 20° Celsius (68° Fahrenheit) in July and August.

The currency of cologne is Euro.