Cologne is well-known for its many attractions that are historical and cultural, with the Cologne Cathedral being the most visited landmark in entire Germany. Being the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne, Cologne Cathedral is a famous monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture. As the largest city on the Rhine, Cologne sits as the fourth most populous city in Germany after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. Founded since 38 BC by the Ubii, it is later founded as Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium by the Romans in the 50 BC, is the provincial capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. It later became part of Austrasia within the Frankish Empire during the medieval age and emerged as an important trading center between the Eastern and Western Europe. Its distinctive cityscape in the present, which is a blending of the present and past is due to the postwar rebuilding to restore as many historic buildings as possible. In addition to that, there are almost 30 museums and hundreds of galleries that can be found here, with a wide range of exhibitions from the ancient Roman archaeological sites to contemporary sculptures. With these much of attractions, no wonder that Cologne is regarded as an important cultural center.

Airports in Cologne

1. Cologne Bonn Airport

Cologne Bonn Airport which is also known in Germany as Flughafen Köln/Bonn “Konrad Adenauer“ is the main international airport that serves the cities of Cologne and Bonn of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the district of Porz which is 14.8 kilometers south-east of the Cologne city center and 16 kilometers north-east of Bonn. Being open for civilian air traffic since 1951, the airport replaces the former Cologne Butzweilerhof Airport and is named after Konrad Adenauer which served as the first post-war Chancellor of West Germany and a Cologne native. Cologne Bonn Airport has two terminals, Terminal 1 which is used by Eurowings, Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines, whereas Terminal 2 is used by other airlines like Ryanair and Iran Air. It is the hub of Eurowings, FedEx Express and UPS Airlines as well as being the focus city for Ryanair, SunExpress Deutschland and TUI fly Deutschland. There are various connecting flights to Cologne from Manila via Turkish Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Singapore Airlines.

How to Get Cheap Flights to Cologne?

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When is the Best Time to Fly to Cologne?

The off-peak season is the winter season especially in January because of the much lower temperatures as well as the cool and frosty atmospheres. This could be a great time to get reasonable offers at lower prices. It is an excellent news if you plan your trip well, you can save your money because the price for hotels and flights during the peak season will be much higher and cost you a lot of money. Nonetheless, if you want to come over when the crowd is around, the peak season in Cologne is from May to October which is during the periods of summer and fall when the temperature is more comfortable for going out. The best time to visit Cologne is certainly around this time because of warm and pleasant.

Cologne has a temperate oceanic climate in which winters are cool and summers are warm with average annual temperatures around 10.3 degree Celsius to 14.8 degree Celsius during the day and 5.8 degree Celsius at night. The annual precipitation is around 800 mm, being spread evenly over the months with the peak in summer season due to higher chances of showers and thunderstorms. The temperature extremes would range from -23.4 degree Celsius at the lowest to 38.8 degree Celsius at the highest.

What are the Top 3 Things to Do in Cologne?

1. Basilica of St. Ursula – Included among the twelve Romanesque churches of Cologne, Basilica of St. Ursula is a Minor Basilica with original Romanesque designs in the nave and crossing tower albeit recent rebuilding in Gothic style. It consists of a Golden Chamber that places the remains of St. Ursula and her 11,000 virgins.

2. Phantasialand – Opened to the public since 1967 by Gottlieb Löffelhardt and Richard Schmidt, this theme park consists of 36 attractions which are family-oriented sprinkled with thrill rides over an area spanning over 28 hectares. Attracting 1.75 million visitors annually, it also has several zones based on cities in Berlin, Mexico and China.

3. Cologne Zoological Garden – Being the official zoo of Cologne, the Aktiengesellschaft Cologne Zoological Garden is open since 1860 and is now featuring over 10,000 animals from 850 species on an area of 20 hectares. There is also an attached aquarium and invertebrate exhibit areas. It was once destroyed during World War II and reopens in 1947 after reconstruction efforts.