Cologne, Germany — Activities
Cologne Culture
To find out what's on in Cologne, pick up a free copy of the monthly bilingual Köln im ... [month] (www.koeln.de/koeln/was_ist_los), available from the tourist office.
Music
Hochschüle für Musik
Students stage top-class jazz, blues and classical concerts plus dance evenings alongside guest performers at the Hochschüle für Musik.
Dagobertstrasse 38
Tel: (0221) 912 8180.
Website: www.mhs-koeln.de
Kölner Philharmonie
Extraordinary architecture and excellent acoustics are the hallmarks of Cologne's Philharmonie concert hall. Every Thursday lunchtime at 1230, a free 30-minute rehearsal concert is performed.
Bischofsgartenstrasse 1
Tel: (0221) 204 080.
Website: www.koelner-philharmonie.de
Oper der Stadt Köln
Oper der Stadt Köln, the Cologne Opera company, has a high reputation for its classical and contemporary works.
Offenbachplatz
Tel: (0221) 2212 8400.
Website: www.buehnenkoeln.de
Theater
Studiobühne Köln
Cologne has a lively theater scene, but the vast majority of productions are in German. Venues such as the Studiobühne Köln regularly host international and foreign language events.
Universitätsstrasse 16A
Tel: (0221) 470 4513.
Website: www.studiobuehne-koeln.de
Theater am Sachsenring
The Theater am Sachsenring is another popular venue in Cologne for international and foreign language theater. More information about theaters in Cologne can be found at www.koeln.de/cologne_tourist_information/arts_and_cultures/theater.
Sachsenring 3
Tel: (0221) 315 015.
Website: www.theater-am-sachsenring.de
Cologne Tours
For walking tours of the city in English contact the tourist board (see Sightseeing), or Stattreisen Köln (tel: (0221) 732 5113; website: www.stattreisen-koeln.de). Brauhaus tours (pub crawls) are very popular. The association of city guides offer a 90-minute walking tour every Saturday at 1300.
A hop-on hop-off bus tour with recorded commentary in several languages runs every 45 minutes (buy your tickets from the tourist office).
Cologne Coach Service (tel: (0221) 979 2570; website: www.ccs-busreisen.de) runs a 90-minute non-stopping guided bus tour in English. The tour runs at least twice daily (three to four times in summer). Buy your ticket from the driver.
All the above tours depart from outside the tourist office.
A little land train also offers an evening tour of the city in English every Friday from July to September (tel: (022) 347 7226; website: www.bimmelbahnen.de).
Boat trips are very popular from early spring to autumn with one-hour morning, afternoon tea and evening cruises offered by Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) (tel: (0221) 208 8318; website: www.k-d.com).
