Shopping is not taken quite as seriously here as in Düsseldorf -- with one exception. Increasingly, Cologne is emerging as the capital of contemporary art in Germany, and the city lately seems to be brimming with galleries.
Art Galleries -- We'll recommend the major ones to get you started, but there are many more than we can list here. You might want to walk along St. Apernstrasse (U-Bahn: Neumarkt), where many leading art galleries are located. The gallery that launched Cologne as a European art mecca is Galerie der Spiegel, Richartstrasse 10 (tel. 0221/255552; U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof). Established amid the ruins of the wartime bombings in 1945, it was a focal point for the contemporary art that evolved from the shattered dreams of the postwar years. Since then, it has managed to hold its own against rising competition. Galerie Greve, Drususgasse 1-5 (tel. 0221/2571012; U-Bahn: Dom Hauptbahnhof), changes its exhibits every season, specializing in international postwar avant-garde painting. Another excellent gallery for both modern and experimental art is Galerie Michael Werner, Gertrudenstrasse 24 (tel. 0221/9254620; U-Bahn: Neumarkt), which sells contemporary European, particularly German, painters.
Cologne Water -- The word cologne has been a part of the common language since the introduction many years ago of the scented water called Kölnisch Wasser (eau de cologne). Eau de Cologne, Glockengasse 4711 (tel. 0221/9250450; U-Bahn: Neumarkt), sells the scented water first developed at this address by Italian chemist Giovanni Maria Farina in 1709. Originally employed to hide the stench of aristocrats who rarely bathed, cologne is now simply a sweet-smelling tradition and a cheap way to take home a little piece of Cologne. The smallest 25-milliliter flacon costs a mere 5€ ($6.50).
Clothing -- Looking almost like a modern cathedral, the home of one of Germany's leading retailers of clothing, Peek & Cloppenburg, Schildergasse 65 (tel. 0221/453900), lies under a translucent nave that evokes a large crystal egg, using 6,800 handmade panels of glass held together by strips of metal and wooden beams. Renzo Piano designed the store in what he termed a "rather classical cubic form." Shoppers behind the diaphanous walls browse through one of Germany's most elegant but often affordable selection of clothing. The company has been selling clothing to well-dressed Germans for more than a century.
Outdoor Markets -- If you're interested in the kitschy artifacts that pour out of estate sales, be alert to the flea markets in Cologne's inner city. The most appealing are held within the Alter Markt (U-Bahn: Hauptbahnhof), at irregular intervals throughout the year, usually at least once a month (ask at the tourist office). More regular are the outdoor food and vegetable markets, the largest of which is held on the Wilhelmsplatz, in the Nippes district (U-Bahn: Florastrasse), Saturdays 8am to at least 2pm.
