Cologne Shopping and Districts

(Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany)

Cologne is a great place for serious fashion shopping and is full of inviting boutiques, designer outlets and countless second-hand clothes shops. The city of Cologne is also home to an array of traditional German department stores and high-street chains, where you can purchase virtually anything and everything that you could possibly desire.

Central Cologne and its many interconnecting shopping streets is a great place to find some good gift ideas. The city's famous perfumes are always a popular souvenir and many tourists leave the city with a bottle of two of 'Eau de Cologne'.

Where to Shop

For typical mainstream shopping, the Hohe Strasse is probably your best option and is lined with a good choice of shops. The Hohe Strasse is easy to find and heads southwards from Cologne's striking Dom cathedral, connecting with both the Schildergasse and the In der Höhle, before ending at the Neumarkt area.

Many major department stores and smaller local shops lined Cologne's famous Schildergasse shopping street, where you will also find plenty of fashion boutiques, together with shops selling household goods, perfumes, gifts and more. Shops along the Schildergasse are never far from cafes and restaurants, should you wish to take a break, put your shopping bags down and rest your legs. Nearby and still within central Cologne, both the Pfeilstrasse and Mittelstrasse stretches also contain a range of designer outlets and high-street fashion.

Cologne is known for its side-street shopping opportunities and these are in plentiful supply around the Breite Strasse and Ehrenstrasse, with their diverse range of stores grouped along the adjoining streets, such as Apostelnstrasse. Known for its elegant architecture and trendy, rather eclectic stores, the Apostelnstrasse area of Cologne features a number of jewellers.

The Neumarkt Passage shopping arcade is located in the Neumarkt area of Cologne and is home to a number of banks, pavement cafes and speciality stores. Located in the very centre of Cologne, the Neumarkt Passage is truly amongst the heart of the action. A handful of shops are also scattered around the Belgian Quarter and in particular its Lindenstrasse, the Cologne Ring area, the Friesenviertel district, and the lively University Quarter.