Despite aesthetic riches like the twin-spired Cologne Cathedral that rises above the historic buildings of the city’s Old Town, or the cultural bounty of places like the Museum Ludwig with its 20th-century art, perception of Cologne lags behind its virtues. The city ranks bafflingly low in our Sights & Landmarks (#29), Culture (#23) and Museums (#55) subcategories. That last one hurts, given the range of museums in town, from Middle Ages riches at the Schnütgen to classics at the Wallraf–Richartz to the Picassos and more modern marvels at the Museum Ludwig. The city even has its own beer, Kölsch. Its global ascent is inevitable, especially with both Germans and international visitors rediscovering the city—like the more than 1.4 million who attended the city’s 2024 Pride festivities, 200,000 more than in 2023. Cologne is also a regional business powerhouse and destination, fuelled by its #4-ranked convention centre and #27-ranking for Large Companies. Home to Lufthansa, traditionally the second- largest airline in Europe, and the European division of the Ford Motor Company, the city is increasingly investing in its aerospace industry ecosystem and leveraging the German Aerospace Centre and HQ for the European Astronaut Centre that calls the city home.