I read some really positive reviews on TripAdvisor and was excited to visit this museum during my…read moretrip to Solingen, but was actually quite disappointed. There is an excellent collection of knives, swords and all things sharp but all the signs are in German which meant I could look at things but didn't know what I was looking at or why it was important. Understandably, I am probably not their target audience. Most tourists don't have Solingen on their list of German cities to visit. The museum isn't very big, it has 2 floors and you can probably cover everything in 1-2 hours. It is an OK museum for children; there was 1 room explaining how swords are forged and that had interactive elements which would be fun for kids but otherwise it is a standard museum with things displayed in glass cases. In summary, if you can read German (or bring someone who can) and like knives, go visit! Otherwise, I would skip this place.

This a great museum to visit!! There's TONS of Picasso paintings and a couple of Warhol ones. I…read morewould say it would take a couple of hours to thoroughly go through everything, not including the special exhibit. Don't miss the rooftop! There's a couple of cool art installations there as well as a gorgeous view of Cologne Cathedral!!

Museum Ludwig is the most popular museum in Cologne on TripAdvisor and one of the top attractions…read moreoverall in the city, and for good reason. I stopped by on a Sunday evening for two hours before they closed. Ideally, you'd like to spend 3-4 hours here, especially if you do the audio guide. Museum Ludwig is Cologne's preeminent museum of contemporary art. You'll find works of art from pretty much every major artist who painted in this style. Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Paul Klee, Piet Mondrian, Rene Magritte, etc. It's a feast of riches so I'm only scratching the surface. Beyond the quality of the art, something else I care about at museums is how the exhibitions are laid out. Here, it's intuitive. It's pretty easy to go from room to room without worrying about missing something. Some museums aren't laid out in the best way logistically---Museum Ludwig is. There are three floors. Start at the top and then make your way down. Outside of the layout and the artwork, the final piece for me is comfort. You have that here, too. There's air conditioning which certainly is not a guarantee in Europe. You have free lockers. You have free WiFi. Well done all-around. If you're visiting Cologne, Museum Ludwig should definitely be part of your itinerary.

This interactive experience is underground of Bruhl's Terrace. Access is from the promenade of the…read moreterrace via a nondescript elevator. It was very interesting to see the underground, but the experience is all projected visuals with a headset. One of the only sites in Dresden that talks about the city's history.

Easy to find and not to be missed if you find yourself in Cologne. Being a Jew, I needed to see…read morethis historic place and learn more what happened here. It was awe inspiring. The place is well laid out and the English language headset is really appreciated as most of the graphics were obviously in German. You can make it through in 30 minutes or a few hours depending on your interest level.

The Schnutgen is basically a museum dedicated to religious art. Actually, it shares a building with…read moreanother museum which seems to be about world cultures, but having wandered around the Cologne Cathedral the previous day (and saw advertisements for this place) I simply had to go and check it out. Well, all I can say is that it was nothing short of amazing, but then again I do have a soft spot for religious art, particularly since the amount of detail that goes into the artwork is incredible (though the way some of these artworks were originally paid for is a little dubious). One section contains stained glass windows and some statues, however the lower level, which looks like it was once a church, contains a huge number of wood carvings - which are literally mind blowing. While it isn't one of the more well known Museums, it is definitely a place to check out.

This review is strictly for the bookstore/gift shop, since we didn't tour the museum. The shop…read moreisn't very large, but it has an interesting selection. The three people working there yesterday - two women and a man - looked like retirees and I'm guessing they're volunteers. They were very friendly and we enjoyed talking to them. Also, the building is quite attractive.

We visited several museums in Köln during our recent stay. This was far and away the best and most…read moreinteresting museum we visited. It is compact and multi-level, but with an elevator, which was much appreciated due to my bad knee. The museum has a modern feel. The information is attractively presented concisely and clearly in both English and German. I did not make it to the top floor. I sat on a conveniently placed stool near the evaluator while my wife went up. She said that I missed the best part, so be sure to check it out.

The museum's permanent collection is closed (at least as of fall 2019) while a new building is…read morebuilt, with the date that will happen unknown. The two special exhibitions I saw (about the Cologne pavilion at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris; also an exhibition of Cologne buildings before and after the war) were both interesting, and there were some interesting local books for sale (about Carnival, etc.). Still worth a stop if the special exhibition sounds interesting, but somewhat disappointing if you want to learn the history of Cologne. Do walk all the way around the building to enjoy the sight of the gold winged car on the roof and the statue /fountain paying tribute to Cologne's Roman history (there are pieces of the Roman wall quite close).

Johann Maria Farina was an Italian-born perfumier who named his innovation, Eau de Cologne after…read morehis host city Köln, Germany. Previously, perfumes were dominated by heavy scents suspended in oils to mask unpleasant odors. Farina's original concoction introduced refreshing citrus notes suspended in alcohol. The formula was the same for men and women - only placed in different shaped bottles for different buyers. Demand was so high that they sold for the equivalent of EUR5,000 a bottle in today's currency. Napoleon would have specially made boots made which had a small compartment large enough to hold a bottle on each side. As you can imagine, the popularity of Farina's innovation sparked a rash of counterfeits. Unfortunately, there was little protection in those days for trademarks. It took 80 years to resolve that dispute in court. By then, the word "cologne" was in such wide use that it could not be trademarked. The tour gave us the opportunity to smell different essential oils. We discovered we all like lime very much. The 8th generation of the Farina family still produces the original Eau de Cologne. https://farina1709.com/en/

I did not know much about perfume, let alone the origins of eu de Cologne. The tour at Farina was…read morefantastic, our guide Anna was wonderful. She answered a lot of questions and was very nice to my little girls after the tour concluded. I highly recommend anyone coming to Cologne, check this out. And the girls still have the flowers...

Only went to the tim burton collection so can only review that and the general area of the museum…read more The museum seemed very modern in an older looking building, very beautiful. Parking was at the trainstation 200 meters away and was very cheap. 3€ for 4 hours. The tim burton expo itself was pretty good, lots of drawings and art-displays. The only thing that we though that could have been better was that it was really unclear where to start and in what direction to go. I don't have a problem finding my own way but there were arrows telling us to go in certain directions but they didn't seem to make any sense. Besides that we loved the expo and the museum and if they have another really cool expo like this, we'll def. be back!

Awesome Tim Burton exhibit going on right now! Couldn't take pics unfortunately. Go see it for…read moreyourself. It's definitely worth it. Quick trip from Köln HBF, easy to get to. Nice park and castle near by.