Cologne

The City
Population: 1,000,000
Airport: Köln-Bonn Airport
Origins: Köln is the oldest major city in Germany. The name Köln goes back to the Roman Empress Agrippina. The wife of Claudius Caesar was born on the Rhine and elevated her "Colonia" to the status of a city in the year 50 AD.

Cologne is approximately 50km from the Ahr, one of Germany's smallest and most northerly wine growing regions, famous for its excellent red wines.

The vineyards of the region line the banks of the Ahr River, from near its confluence with the Rhine to Altenahr, 15 miles to the west. There are magnificent views along the river of striking landscape, slate cliffs and castle ruins.

Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler is the main town, where "wine and water" - the spa's hot mineral springs, and the Apollinaris springs, the source of one of Germany's most famous mineral waters - embody the region's slogan "well-being 365."

The "well-being 365" region abounds with opportunities to combine wine, lifestyle and health. Hikers and cyclists can discover the region's wines and hospitality via two well-marked routes: the Rotweinwanderweg, a trail that winds its way through the vineyards and heights from the Rhine toward the Eifel Hills, and the Ahr-Radweg, a circular bicycle path from Remagen through the valley and back to the Rhine. Cosy wine bars tasting rooms at wine estates beckon in every village en route.

For further information about activities in the area contact the Ahr-Rhein-Eifel Tourist Office: Tel: 0049 2641 97730/ info@wohlsein365.de/ www.wohlsein365.de

top