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By: Jason Pollock

The self-styled gay capital of Germany has something for everyone. Pride Life enjoys a jam-packed day in the heart of the Rhineland

8AM   START OFF IN STYLE Of all Cologne's great hotels, the one that really lives up to its name is the Grand Hotel Excelsior Ernst....

Still privately owned, it exudes old-world grandeur, while keeping pace with innovations in technology and décor. Our gorgeous room had been renovated recently in the quintessential “Bauhaus-chic” style, oozing five-star luxury heavy with oak-panelled walls and a sleek wet room.

Downstairs to breakfast and a smorgasbord of breads and cheeses, along with everything you can do with an egg, accompanied by a large side helping of home-cured bacon and Bratwurst. Struggling to move, we ejected ourselves through the revolving doors and into the buzzing Cologne rush-hour.

 9AM   TIME FOR A SPOT OF CULTURE  

The hugely hospitable people of Cologne like nothing better than to eulogise about their cultural heritage. And why not? It’s impressive, despite the fact that many of the city’s ancient buildings were reduced to rubble by wartime bombing.

If museums are your bag, they have more than forty of them.  The Romano-Germanic and the Museum Ludwig are well worth a visit, but followers of design should head for the Museum of Applied Art at An der Rechtschule.

You’ll not have time to see a fraction of the city’s 120 art galleries, let alone its sixty theatres, but don’t miss the World Heritage-rated Cologne Cathedral. Dominating the city like a Gormenghastian tribute to High Gothic, it’s home to the golden Shrine of the Three Kings and boasts spectacular medieval stained-glass windows. 

12AM   INDULGE YOUR SENSES  

Follow your nose to the Fragrance Museum at Farina House, Obenmarspforten 21 – the spiritual home of Eau de Cologne, which was invented here by Italian perfumer Giovanni Maria Farina in 1709.

For a sweeter smell, and a chance to indulge your Willy Wonka fantasies, visit the Chocolate Museum on the Rheinauhafen Island near the Old City.  Grab a large cup of their house speciality cocoa and cream on their rooftop café and enjoy stunning views of the Rhine. 

If your sweet tooth is still not sated, stroll  over to Breite Strasse, home to Cologne’s  world renowned Konditorei Confiserie Café  Fromme, and succumb to the signature  butter cream and mocha cake. And if you’ve   still got room for a spot of  lunch, then tuck into some  good, basic German nosh at  one of Cologne’s little gastro  secrets, the sixties-retro  eatery, Hallmackenreuter, at  9 Brusseler Place. A haunt for the city’s hip thirtysomethings, this is one of the cooler places in town. Stay a while and mingle with the in crowd.  

3PM   SHOP AWAY THE AFTERNOON

As an inveterate shopper it takes a lot to impress me, but Cologne really does hit the retail therapy spot. If I hadn’t been travelling light, I’d have spent a fortune on designer items in the stylish boutiques and studios of the popular Neumarkt Passage.  

Stiff competition for best shopping area comes from Pfeilstrasse, which is packed with galleries, showrooms and some great cafés and restaurants. Winning the accolade for Europe’s most frequented shopping street, however, is Schildergasse with its we-sell-everything department stores and 17,000 shoppers every hour. Avoid evenings and Saturday mornings!

6PM   DRINK TO THE MEMORY  

Head over to the Old Town for an early evening drink at one of the many cafés overlooking the  Rhine with its ferry boats and river steamers  plying for the tourist business.

Check out the prominent pink triangle erected by the city fathers to commemorate gay victims of the Holocaust. The chilling inscription dedicates the triangle to the memory of those “beaten to death and silenced to death”.  

If you have time for another quick one before dinner, try the media hangout at Café Central beneath the Chelsea Hotel on Belgische Viertel.  Grab a table on the terrace if the sun is shining.   

8PM   DINE IN STYLE  

It’s back to our hotel for a late dinner and a table at the grand but not intimidating Hanse Stube restaurant. The ebullient maître d’ insisted we have their   signature dish of roast goose. What he didn’t tell us is that you get the whole goose, served in two massive portions with a liberal helping of sauerkraut and dumplings. So be warned – resist the cakes and pastries during the day! 

 

THE GAY STUFF

If you’re a bar bunny, then this is the place for you. Cologne, the self-styled gay capital of Germany, has over seventy gay and lesbian bars catering to all tastes.

As a rule of thumb, the young hedonists hang out around the Rudolfplatz area, which boasts intimate venues interspersed with larger dance bars, plus a few saunas for good measure. Currently among the most popular are ExCorner, Iron and Ixbar.

A walk away in the Old Town are the more traditional and specialist gay bars where “muscle mania” rules.   Oh, and don’t forget to buy your Pink Pass card for bar door discounts and public transport. 

By the way, Cologne Pride (or Christopher Street Day as it’s called here) is one of the largest and most impressive gay festivals in Europe.  It even gives Berlin and Madrid a run for their money, so if you’re coming to the city to experience Pride in 2011, book well in advance.  

 

 

Jason stayed at the Excelsior Hotel Ernst in Cologne

 

Cologne's next Christopher Street Day is 3 July 2011.