2014 Germany Trip - Panorama @ KölnTriangle

Location: Cologne, Germany

Itinerary and full experience of my visit to Germany can be accessed through the link below:

List of all 2014 Germany Trip | Cologne itinerary | Cologne places I went to

Where is the best spot for a panorama of Cologne? Would that be Cologne Cathedral's tower? You can of course get a splendid view, but alas the cathedral itself, the main draw of the city, would be missing from the picture. However a trek across Hohenzollern Bridge across the majestic River Rhine brought me to a tower jutting into the sky called KölnTriangle where I could get an unobstructed panorama of the whole city.

After paying the entrance fee of €3, I queued in front of the elevator and waited my turn to be whisked up. The skyward journey was unremarkable, and after a few ear-pops and being in the company of curious seekers, I arrived at the topmost level of the tower, close to a whooping 103 meters from ground.

It would look like any other kind of tall building from the outside.

Panorama (in case you don't know what you can do here...)

Waiting for the elevator in a lime green lobby...

Observation deck

The view was amazing, and could have been better were the sky not cast in grey. Nevertheless the view across the river was clear and the iconic cathedral was easily recognized out of the mass of low buildings. To add to the fun, outlines of iconic Cologne buildings and landmarks were imprinted into the safety glass panes for observers to find and overlay them. Most of the outlines were buildings unfamiliar to me so I guess it became an educational session for me during this visit (although I remain ignorant of them...).

However I was drawn more to the suburban areas on this side of the river. Apartment blocks were not too tall, unlike those in Singapore. The suburbs extended to quite some distance away but they were still sparse, not quite the claustrophobic density in Asian cities.

Over River Rhine

Overlay

Railway

Suburbs

To platform

High rise

Would I recommend visiting this building? That depends on what is your purpose of visiting Cologne. If you are looking for the ultimate Cologne Cathedral shot from afar, then I guess this would be a tremendous help. Or if you are looking for time to kill, then why not drop in for a view? Otherwise I believe this would not interest most visitors.

Environment:         One of the tallest building affording a view towards Cologne Cathedral and nearly the whole of central Cologne

Suitable for:            Photography

Visit worthiness:   3.5/10 

Historical value:        0.0/5.0 

Architectural value:  1.0/5.0

Photographic value: 3.0/5.0
Landmark value:       3.0/5.0

Entrance Fee:                 €3 Adults and juveniles
                                              €2.50 Groups of 5 people, per person
                                              Free for Children up to 12 years
                                              €2 Children's push chairs/disabled persons

Opening Hours:            (May - Sep) 
                                                     (Mon - Fri)                              11.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m.
                                                     (Sat, Sun, Public Holidays) 10.00 a.m. - 11.00 p.m.

                                               (Oct - Apr) 
                                                     (Mon - Fri)                              12.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
                                                     (Sat, Sun, Public Holidays) 10.00 a.m. - 8.00 p.m.

Best Moment to Visit: Dusk

Length of Visit:              1 hour (not inclusive of queue)

Website:                   Official website of Kölntriangle and of Panorama

Contact:                    +49 (0) 2234/9921-555 (phone) / +49 (0) 2234/9921-300 (fax)

E-mail:                      info@kulturinfo-rheinland.de

Address:                   Ottopl. 1, 50679 Köln, Germany.