Cologne

Cologne: the cathedral spires tower over Germany's oldest city and its innumerable cultural and historical treasures, world-famous museums and active art scene. Whether street music on the Hohe Strasse or galas in the modern opera house, whether pavement painting on the cathedral concourse or old masters in the Wallraf Richartz Museum, whether the annual music festival along the inner ring road or carnival in the entire city - in Cologne all this becomes synthesized into a vivacious work of art - in a cosmopolitan metropolis boasting more than a million inhabitants which, despite its size, has never lost its neighbourly character.

From venerable breweries offering unique Kölsch beer and typical Cologne delicacies to first-class restaurants - boasting well in excess of 3000 public houses, restaurants and breweries Cologne is one of Germany's leading gastronomic lights. Per head of population, no other city in the Federal Republic boasts so many public houses, and also so many top-class restaurants.

The world feels at home in Cologne, where people meet for a Kölsch, a chat or simply a laugh. Life in Cologne is uncomplicated and vivacious - the tolerance and cosmopolitanism of its inhabitants proverbial.