As you walk up to the Schloss Augustuburg, you will not be blown away. It looks fairly plain when…read morecompared to other castles from that time. What is truly remarkable waits for you inside. The grand stairway is one of the most ornate and intricately decorated places I have ever seen. Simply breathtaking. I felt that the tour, which is the only way permitted to see the inside of the castle, was a little too rushed. If possible, take your time walking the grounds and the gardens before you have the tour so that you are tired and don't mind a faster walk through the castle. The gardens are another amazing sight and very invocative of Vaux-le-Vicomte and Versaille since they were done by one of Le Nôtre's pupils. The audio tour is worth it and make sure you keep your headset for the second castle: Falkenlust.

A great place to chill out and enjoy the nature! Big and beautiful garden with so many carefully…read moretended beds of flowers, fountains, a labyrinth and kind of forest with so many wild blackberries. It's also very popular for wedding photos!

I had heard of the love lock bridge in Paris, so I was pleasantly surprised to discover that…read moreCologne has its own when I was doing research prior to my trip. Hohenzollernbrucke, or love lock bridge, is one of the top attractions in Cologne on TripAdvisor. Here's what you should do to make the most of the experience. Make sure to buy a lock before you arrive. You can buy a lock in the area, but you're going to pay a premium for it. Located in the heart of the city, part of the experience is just walking the bridge and seeing the endless number of love locks that couples have placed on the bridge over the years. It's a beautiful sight to behold. From there, it's time for you to find a spot for yours. As you would expect, pictures happen and a kiss also happens. It's a cool, little romantic experience. Love is in the air! Even if you're not stopping by with your significant other (or you don't have one), it's still a nice attraction to check out where you can snap some photos. And a quick one at that.

There is some website that states there is estimated to be 25,000 locks on this bridge, but I don't…read morebelieve that! It's got to be at least 100,000! There are many bridges that have lots of locks on this, but this one may be the most impressive I've ever seen. Lots of great photos can be taken at/on/near this bridge. This place is definitely worth a visit if you're in Cologne. If you took the train in or out of this beautiful city, you've likely crossed this bridge.

When you think of Germany, a couple of things come to mind: one of which, for better or for worse,…read moreis WWI and WWII. This dark period in Germany's history still plays a part in German culture today. While in Cologne, I wanted to make sure I visited NS-Dokumentationszentrum. What a mouthful! We stopped by this war museum for a couple of hours. There were some things I liked, and some things I didn't like. One, it's affordable. I'm always going to appreciate that. Two, they have an audio guide. When time allows, an audio guide is a great way to get the most out of a museum. You'll see a bunch of pictures and information on the rise of the Nazi party, the World Wars, and the eventual collapse post-war. The museum is actually on the site of some Nazi activity. On the flip side, there's no A/C in the museum. Not easy for an American (we love our air conditioning). I also would have appreciated a little more sophistication in the presentation of all of the material in the museum. It wasn't bad by any means, but it could have been better. Nevertheless, it's well worth your time when visiting Cologne. It's an important part of world history, and you're getting it directly from the source.

A necessary stop to appreciate the dark side of history. Allot yourself at least 2 hours to read…read moreall the placards. Audio is available in most languages for a nominal fee, Google Translate was helpful for the written displays. The most heavy moment is walking thru the basement cells and seeing the hopeless scratchings on the walls from former prisoners.

When possible, I have formed a nice little tradition when visiting a city for the first time. Maybe…read moreyou'll find it a worthy approach, too. When exploring a city for the first time, it's nice to see the city from a helicopter level. That way, you start out big before diving into the city in a deeper way. KolnTrianglePanorama is an awesome way to do so. It offers panoramic views of the city from the top of a skyscraper. First off, I will say that it's not easy to find. Even with Google Maps, the directions weren't spot on. There are several skyscrapers in the general vicinity that look very similar, so it took us a while to find both the correct building, and the correct entrance. However, once you're in, for a small fee, you'll take an elevator to the observation deck. You'll have the opportunity to see the city from high above and take some nice pictures. A quick but fun attraction. And one that's listed on TripAdvisor as one of the top attractions in Cologne. Overall, Cologne was an awesome city! Enjoy it to the fullest if you're visiting just like I did.

This is a MUST-VISIT place when you are in Koln…read more As others have said, the views are spectacular, and are somewhat weather-dependent, so keep that in mind. The viewing area is roofless. Rather than with signs, landmarks are noted by delicate line drawings on the Plexiglas. A very nice touch. Admission was 3 Euros, well worth it. Visit this place !

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).