Cologne's Ehrenfeld district: a little bit of everything

Once a working-class district, Ehrenfeld saw its paper, paint and lead pipe factories gradually give way to clubs, workshops and other cultural spaces until, eventually, many of the old buildings were demolished to make way for residential buildings. Today, Ehrenfeld is one of the city’s most multicultural and popular neighbourhoods. Fortunately, it’s also still a creative place. In addition to dozens of Turkish, Italian and Vietnamese cafés and restaurants, quirky boutiques and shops, you can still find live music and (alternative) culture venues that exude an industrial charm: places like Club Bahnhof Ehrenfeld in the three arches of Ehrenfeld’s local railway station, Live Music Hall, which used to be a machinery factory, and Bumann & Sohn in what used to be a workshop.

Acai bowls and smoothies where factories once stood

We start on Venloer Straße, one of the longest streets in Cologne and the main thoroughfare in Ehrenfeld. It’s always full of very busy-looking people. To get a feel for the place, we take a seat in one of the cafés with a good view of all the hustle and bustle. There are loads of places to choose from. Shall we treat ourselves to a matcha latte, an egg sandwich or a vegan acai bowl at Cafecafe (with its Brooklyn coffee-shop vibe) at Venloer Straße 206 or wander a little further along the street to try the Oreo pancakes, Sicilian pane burrata and a “fragole amore” smoothie in the bright and colourful, Mediterranean setting of Café Caprista (Venloer Straße 380)? Either way, there’s no hurry – they both serve breakfast all day long.

Where heritage buildings alternate with street art

Making our way along the street, we get a chance to admire the “4711 Haus” between Venloer Straße and Vogelsanger Straße. For decades, this striking gold and turquoise building was where the famous “4711 Eau de Cologne” was produced. Today, it enjoys listed building status (Venloer Straße 241-245). Despite everything Venloer Straße has to offer, it would be remiss not to take a short detour to bunting-clad Körnerstraße too. Lined with cafés, quaint galleries, delicatessens, an indoor market, coffee-roasting shops and stores selling jewellery, clothes and interior design furnishings, this street is so pretty and its buildings so varied that it almost feels like a film set.

And then there’s the street art on display the entire length of Körnerstraße. You could easily spend half a morning admiring each piece of graffiti and every interesting shop window. A stroll across Venloer Straße into Geisselstraße is also worthwhile – opposite St. Mariä’s Chapel, you can either browse through out-of-the-ordinary vintage garments for all genders at Polyestershock or Vintage Bois (Geisselstraße 14 and 29) or through lingerie, swimwear and books at feminist concept store Le Pop Lingerie (Geisselstraße 10).

Artisan businesses and culinary diversity

Our next stop is Subbelrather Straße, which runs parallel to Venloer Straße. This is where Neuehrenfeld (literally “new Ehrenfeld”) begins. With its mix of artisan businesses, shops, restaurants and pubs, magnificent late 19th century buildings, residential buildings in the pared-back style of the early 20th century and post-war architecture, this neighbourhood offers a similar level of variety as its older brother. Feeling peckish again? No problem, let’s dig into the handmade pirogi and sweet potato fries at Wallczka and make the day special with a slice of the superb lemon chocolate cheesecake (Subbelrather Straße 295).

Our tummies satisfied, we roam across Lenauplatz square. With its 1960s fountain and park benches where the locals relax in the shade of the trees, this square is the heart of Neuehrenfeld. From here, it’s just a stone’s throw to Landmannstraße and everything you could possibly want: flowers, tea, books, wine, clothes and beauty products. You’ll also find design items and gift ideas from small international labels at the Unter Freunden concept store (Landmannstraße 6) and cool kölsch beer coupled with fuss-free cuisine at Moselstübchen right opposite (Landmannstraße 3). The special thing about this place is that they do a vegan version of almost all their dishes – including the “meatballs” and the goulash.

Back to Venloer Straße – perhaps the most lovable street ever

We take a leisurely stroll back to Ehrenfeld and look around GrünBlauGrau Intérieur (Venloer Straße 457). Their range is so lovingly curated that you feel like you’re at an art exhibition. And then it’s time for our final decision of the day – shall we go to Karl Hermann’s, the only burger place in Cologne to have been awarded a Gault Millau “toque” (Venloer Straße 538), for a burger with a house-made sourdough bun and a beer from a local microbrewery, join the marathon queue outside cult snack bar Kebapland to order a Turkish dish from the charcoal grill or grab a drink from one of the numerous kiosks and carry on meandering along Venloer Straße, which is still bustling, vibrant and lovable in the evening – perhaps more so than any other street in the city.

Cologne’s Ehrenfeld district: a little bit of everything

Acai bowls and smoothies where factories once stood

Where heritage buildings alternate with street art

Artisan businesses and culinary diversity

Back to Venloer Straße – perhaps the most lovable street ever

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