Leaving Neumarkt Square and making your way along the busy shopping streets to the Cologne ring road, you will immediately feel that you have left the hiking trails and entered the real city where real people live and work.
Leaving Neumarkt Square and making your way along the busy shopping streets to the Cologne ring road, you will immediately feel that you have left the hiking trails and entered the real city where real people live and work. Fortunately, the pace of life in Cologne is quite calm, so the areas Zulpiherplati, Rudolfplatz and Friesenplatz - A great place for walking, shopping and relaxing during the day, as well as for stormy parties at night. In this part of the city you will see students, professors, artists, journalists.
It is not surprising that the area has a unique atmosphere. This is the best place to experience Cologne's real life. It is very easy to get here, as there is a tram from the Old Town to Zühl-Piecherplatz and Rudolfplatz, and there is a metro station to Friesenplatz.
The semicircle of the Cologne ring road repeats the drawing of a medieval city wall. The city bought a wall and destroyed it to pave the way. But now you can see some sections of the medieval wall - impressive gates on Rudolfplatz (Hahnentor), Ebertplatz (Eigelsteintor) and Clovisplatz (Severinstor). You can easily approach the ruins of the wall.
Traffic on the ring road during the day is very busy. Despite the fact that there are many bars, restaurants and movie theaters in the area, tourists wander here only at dusk. The only exception is the annual festival Ringfestwhich takes place in August. On the last weekend of August, the road is blocked, along it open stages are set up from Rudolfplatz to Christopher Street, where pop and rock groups perform.
On Ringfest gather more than 2 million pop music lovers. Concerts are free.
All the rest of the time in the area of the ring road is completely calm.
I advise you to walk along small, but very interesting streets. Returning to the city center, between Friesen-Strasse and Mittelshtrasse you will find yourself in a real maze of shopping streets where they sell fashionable clothes and shoes of famous brands, new and used. Local cafes are open from early morning until late at night. Trendy restaurants and nightclubs are open all night. At the end of Friesenstrasse you will also find a historical attraction - a round tower left from the Roman walls. In the tower you can see a remarkably preserved mosaic.
At the other end of the ring road, west of Friesenplatz and Rudolfplatz situated Belgian quarter. You will immediately recognize it by its characteristic street names. If you have time for a walk, then you can see beautiful old mansions and expensive apartments. The Belgian quarter is the most fashionable and expensive area of the city. Here are stylish and, of course, expensive bars and restaurants - the perfect place for a romantic dinner.
If the bustle of the city bored you, head to Venloer Straße. On it you will get to the oldest park in the city, Stadtgarten (City Garden - Stadtgarten). The park was laid out in 1827-1829. Here you can stroll through the green lawns under centuries-old trees. Locals come here to relax and sunbathe in sunny weather. The park has an excellent restaurant and beer garden, as well as one of the most famous concert venues in the city.
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