Overnight in Cologne

Agree with Beatrix about the Römisch-Germanisches Museum. It is just around the side of the Dom and well worth it.

Sonny, don't recall being particularly impressed outside of the cathedral. However, there are a few other things of interest. Without a map and from hazy memory, I believe the old town hall was an interesting building with fascinating statuary. Near it is a bombed out church, left as a reminder of the joys of war. As I recall, toward the Rhine, there is a rebuilt church with a very modern interior and photos of the old church and the destruction. Interior looks very Scandenavian. If you go out the exit from the rail station opposite the cathedral and with your back to the station, walk ahead and up the hill to the left, there is an interesting street with several beer halls and a marine memorial at the end. Not a lot of English spoken on that street.

We have been to Cologne for five days on two different trips. There is an Ibis hotel attached to the front of the train station. The cathedral is worth seeing, and if you are there on a Sunday a church service is interesting if not only for the music. From the front of the cathedral you turn left and walk into the old narrow streets down towards the Rhine. There are a number of Bierhauses, taverns that serve food and make their own beer. Let me know if I can help further.

There are a couple of world class museums right next to the cathedral: The Museum Ludwig showcases art of the 20th century and contemporary art, incl. the largest collection of pop art outside the US (but also loads of Picasso, Chagall, German expressionists ...) www.museum-ludwig.de Römisch-Germanisches Museum (Romano-Germanic Museum) chronicles the Roman history in the area, has some beautiful mosaics on display and the world's largest collection of Roman glass.
http://www.museenkoeln.de/homepage/default.asp?s=169

You can take a short Rhine cruise if you don't already have that as part of your itinerary. It is not the most scenic but was nice to do after a long, hot day sightseeing. There is also a chocolate factory/museum that was fun but as I recall a bit of a walk from the Dom.

Thank you all for your inputs!

Cologne is a great place to visit, especially since the train station is so close to many of the attractions. Besides those mentioned, consider "Kolumba"-medieval church ruins with a modern museum attached, Museum of Applied Art (Museum fur Angewandte Kunst),Schnutgen Museum: Fine Art of the Middle Ages Museum, with church, adjacent to with the Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum, a slick, new, tech-savvy, informative Ethnographic museum. Cologne is peppered with small roman remains and great churches. Don't overlook the Gerhard Richter windows in the big Cathedral, or the extra-cost treasury, which is worth it.

Let me second the Chocolate Museum, which is near the Dom on the river. My wife and I were there six years ago and recall it as being fun and informative.

Hi All! I just found this site:
http://www.cologne-tourism.com/attractions-culture.html Now I have more sites than I could manage to see :) Thanks for all inputs.