What's on in Cologne

A Rhine river city built around the twin spires of its UNESCO-listed cathedral, Cologne runs on Kölsch beer, Carnival mischief and a scrappy art-and-music scene that never quite took itself too seriously. The Altstadt hugs the river with beer halls pouring small 0.2l glasses non-stop, while districts like Ehrenfeld and the Belgian Quarter carry a grittier, more creative pulse. It floods with costumed crowds every February for Karneval, then settles back into a solid, workaday German city the rest of the year.