Ten recommendations for Cologne - finding a sense of belonging by making an illustrated map

I have been living close to the city of Cologne, or Köln as it’s know locally for over three years now, and have slowly but surely grown to love it. As a way to familiarize myself with the city after moving here, I drew an illustrated map built up from the spaces I discovered on days out exploring, whilst also taking suggestions from new friends and aquaintances I made as I build my new life here.

Köln is nestled along the Rhine River in a densely populated and industrial area known as the Rhein-Ruhr metropolitan region, and blends ancient history and architecture with a forward thinking, modern approach to life.  

One thing I really love is that the people of Cologne, or Kölner as they are known, are famously friendly and open minded and have a deep-rooted local pride that’s never exclusive. Instead, it’s inviting - ‘Jeder Jeck ist anders’ is a local saying that means ‘everyone’s a bit different’ which perfectly captures the city’s spirit of tolerance and acceptance.

This friendliness is most evident during Karneval, Köln’s world-famous festival, when the city spends a week in fancy dress costume, singing and dancing away the last vestiges of winter. Heavily bombed in the 2nd World War, only 25% of the pre-war architecture remains, and what was built after the war is a real mish mash of styles - encouraging some to refer to Köln as ‘an ugly baby that you grow to love’…and I have!!

For me, map drawing has become a way to explore and befriend a new city, as a newcomer resident. I feel that it is through creating your list of ‘your’ places (favourite coffee shops, the museum you love to visit with your sketch book, the yoga studio with the brilliant teacher) where you feel inspired, alive, supported and nourished that a sense of belonging in a new city can start to grow. 

This list is my top 10 so far. 

No. 1 - The Kölner Dom

Köln’s most famous building - still breathtaking centuries later and well worth a visit, also to see the stain glass window by Gerhardt Richter.

No. 2 - The Kolumba Museum

Peter Zumthor’s masterpiece which was built on the ruins of the Gothic St Kolumba church, blends the ancient ruins (which are incorporated into the design) with modern architecture. It houses art from early Christian artifacts to contemporary works. For me, a visit here is just as much about experiencing the building as it is viewing the art. 

No 3. - ColognePride & the Christopher Street Parade demonstration

In June and July Köln comes alive with ColognePride celebrating the LGBTQ+ community. There are events taking place throughout the ColognePride period, culminating in the largest demonstration in Europe, the Christopher Street Parade, where over a million people come together to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, their accomplishments and recognise their ongoing struggle for equality and acceptance.

No. 4 - Neptune Bad in Ehrenfeld

Built in a former public swimming pool, this spa has a collection of over 20 different saunas and is the perfect place to relax and unwind (without your clothes on - swimming costumesare forbidden!) across the two levels of the tranquil asian inspired gardens and indoor areas.

No. 5 - Rodenkirchen Riviera

In the far south of the city, along the Rhein River there are actual sandy beaches with weeping willow trees and shallow water for paddling, perfect for spending a summer’s evening with friend’s having a BBQ whilst watching freight ships transporting containers along the river. Swimming is forbidden however due to the strong currents in the river. 

No.6 - The Heinzelmännchen

The Heinzelmännchen are helpful household elves associated with the city of Cologne, who legend says worked through the night so that the citizens did not have to work in the daytime. The story is often told at Christmas and figures of the elves are often displayed at Christmas markets in the city centre. A sculpted fountain displaying lots of ‘Heinzelmännchenbrünnen’ figures which dates from the end of the 19th century is located on Straße am Hof, close to the Dom.

No.7 - Odonien

Odonien is a social and cultural venue which combines an open air sculpture park and atelier, a club, cultural centre and event space. Spread across an large area filled with abstract art installations and industrial sculptures it is a unique and much treasured gem within the city and regularly hosts events such as open air cinema, club nights, festivals, fleamarkets and art markets.

No.8 - Flora Botanischer Garten & Seilbahn

Just north east of the city centre is the Flora & Botanischer Garten, a beautiful botanical garden featuring over 10,000 species of flowers and plants across 11.5 hectares of gardens, and four large greenhouses featuring tropical plants and cacti. A short walk from the botanical garden is the ‘Seilbahn’ a cable car that takes you across the river, with beautiful views of the river.

No.9 - Museum Ludwig

Museum Ludwig is Köln’s primary art museum, located next to the Dom in the city centre and is home to a fine collection of international art from 1900 to the present day. The current building, designed by Peter Busmann and Godfried Haberer opened in 1986 and also houses the Kölner Philhamonie. The building encompasses a colossal 260,000 cubic meters, the same volume as the Kölner Dom, however laid out horizontally, meshing its way through the city landscape. It’s distinctive, wave-like roof structures are clad in zinc and bring in daylight from above to the galleries below.

No.10 - The Kölner Geisterzug, or ‘Jeisterzoch’ in local dialect

The ghost parade is a political demonstration whose theme and route changes each year depending on the current political situation. It is part of the Karneval celebrations, and is an alternative, political parade in which anyone can take part, in ghostly costume or without.