The history of this fascinating museum, which together with the Philharmonic Hall has occupied an architecturally striking building right next to Cologne Cathedral since 1986, began with Peter and Irene Ludwig's endowment of around 350 works of modern art. Within a few decades, it had grown into the biggest collection of Pop Art outside the USA including Roy Lichtenstein's Maybe and Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes. In addition to the Pop Art, today it owns the third-largest Picasso collection worldwide and an extensive collection of Russian avant garde from before and after the revolution, as well as important works of German Expressionism and Surrealism. Artistic movements such as Bauhaus and De Stijl, Nouveau Réalisme and Fluxus bring us to the contemporary art which the museum resolutely acquired, the most recent piece never being more than a few months old. German art of the 1970s and 1980s and installations by the younger avant garde therefore also found their way into the Ludwig Museum, completing the survey of the intriguing era of modernism through contemporary works.

It's carnivaltime! In Cologne, the biggest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, people like to party as if there's no tomorrow. Cologne Carnival is evidence of this, as are the Cologne Lights, a must-see highpoint in the city's calendar since 2001. With Cologne's eminently quaffable kölsch beer being served from 2012 onwards, the atmosphere is set to ratchet up yet another notch. A glass of kölsch is the perfect afternoon refresher as you soak up the musical entertainment at the Tanzbrunnen. Where better to while away the time before the start of the fireworks, which are ushered in by the breathtaking spectacle of 50 gloriously illuminated ships? These glide along the Rhine before being greeted by a curtain of fire and excited spectators waving hundreds of thousands of sparklers as the flotilla swings round at Deutz Bridge. The main fireworks display, which is then launched from a 240-metre pontoon formation and lasts a full thirty minutes, is a dazzling synthesis of fireworks and music, experienced not only by around a million spectators on both riverbanks but also by some lucky people who have 'box seats' on the ships themselves. To secure one of those coveted on-board tickets, you'll need to book a year in advance. Because Cologne people really do like to party, whether on the Rhine itself or on its riverbanks.