Ibis Köln Messe, Cologne

Advantages: Great to visit at Christmas, Lots to do
Disadvantages: Gets very cold in autumn/winter so take warm clothing

...Having relatives who live in Germany, I visit at least once a year and my favourite time of the year is Christmas. There is something about arriving in a city like Cologne or Koln, as it is referred to in German, and visiting their Christmas Markets. They have about eight markets in operation between the end of November up until Christmas day. They are an absolute delight and a must for anyone visiting Cologne, all brimming full of continental delights from hand crafted Christmas decorations and toys to enticing chocolate truffles. There are a number of stalls selling Gluwein, which is the local equivalent of Hot Mulled Wine, the perfect antidote to the cold that seems to creep into every part of your body. As others have noted the Cathedral is the main attraction and very beautiful, but if you have a visual impairment be aware... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Germany 1
Disadvantages: Scotland 0

...A few years back I visited the beautiful German city of Cologne (Koln) and was delighted by my visit as the city is truly beautiful and the cathedral (Dom) was absolutely breathtaking. However it did leave me a little ashamed of home. I was astounded at how CLEAN the city was. I stayed for 10 days and can say in all honesty I did not come accross one piece of discarded litter. If only the same could be said of Glasgow and the rest of Scotland. You could see people using the bins provided and their pride in their great city was obvious. How refreshing it was to look at and it made me wonder how the Germans see us when they are faced with the filthy state of our cities, especially Glasgow. So come on folks, lets do something about it and show a little pride in ourselves. How much effort is it to not discard your litter on our streets. Let... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Very Economical, No Fancy Bits, Value for Money
Disadvantages: Limited Destinations, Only Available from Manchester

...Having been a frequent business traveller to Germany, I have done many trips with a number of airlines. My work regularly took me to the city of Cologne (Koln) in Germany, from which I normally had to fly from Manchester to Frankfurt and then connect to Cologne. Typical prices via other airlines normally ran to about £350 to £500 per trip depending how short notice it was when the flight was booked. Purely by chance and out of desperation the normal route I would fly with Lufthansa was fully booked and no other mainstream airlines were available. Resigning myself to the fact that I may have to miss an important meeting, a little searching on the internet quickly came back with a result for Hapag-Lloyd Express. Hapag-Lloyd Express (HLX) is part of the European Holiday firm TUI and operates from Cologne around limited routes... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful