You might know cologne best as one of Germany’s trade fair capitals. Next time you’re in town to walk the trade show floor, bring your spouse, your partner, your kids or your pals with you. There’s lots to enjoy in the off-hours.

Cologne is good at what it does, which in business terms these days means art and media. It is Germany’s primary media capital and home to one of the world’s top annual fine art fairs, Art Cologne. Plus, Cologne’s exposition center, Kölnmesse, attracts tens of thousands of attendees to an estimated 50 trade fairs annually.

The other thing at which Cologne excels: throwing a terrific party. That’s why leisure travelers flock to Cologne for the annual Carnival, a huge, blow-out affair with costumed parades, music in the streets and squares, and plenty of Kölsch, the local style of beer, for everyone. Carnival is supposed to immediately precede Lent and technically it does, although Cologne’s Carnival season starts officially on November 11 and launches some 600 events between New Year’s Day and Ash Wednesday. In July, Cologne is the scene for Cologne Pride/Christopher Street Days, one of the world’s biggest gay pride events, bringing in a half-million revelers every year. December brings festive Christmas markets, and you’ll find music festivals of all sorts — from avant-garde to symphonic to reggae — at all times of year.

The city’s undisputed main attraction is the Kölner Dom, or Cologne Cathedral (http://www.koelner-dom.de), the most-visited site in Germany, receiving about 6 million visitors per year. It’s also reputed to be the fourth mostvisited Catholic pilgrimage site on Earth, ranking behind only Jerusalem, Rome and Santiago de Compostela in Spain. There’s plenty of interest inside, whether you’re fascinated by church history, religious art or architecture in general. If you’re feeling especially fit, climb the 509 steps to the top of the South Tower, past the bell chamber for a spectacular view of the city and the Rhine. (There’s a small fee to climb the tower and another fee to visit the underground treasure chamber.) If you’re not quite so energetic, settle into a pew for a free organ concert on select evenings and afternoons.

Just behind the cathedral, the promenade along the Rhine is a magnet for everyone in town — locals and visitors alike — particularly on sunny days. Follow the path beside the river, past the historic houses in the Frankenwerft section, to the dock for the Köln-Düsseldorfer Rhine River Cruise (Frankenwerft 35, tel 49 221 208 8318, http://www.k-d.com). There are one-hour roundtrip cruises in the morning and two-hour afternoon cruises that run all summer and on a limited schedule at other times of the year; both are pleasant ways to orient yourself to the city, and when the weather is fair nothing beats being out on the water.

Next to the Chocolate Museum is the Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum (Im Zollhafen 1, tel 49 221 336 090, http://www.sportmuseum.info). While this one’s a favorite with German kids who love the basketball court and soccer pitch on the roof, almost all of the exhibit descriptions are in German so the appeal is somewhat limited for international visitors. If you’re a real sports fan, you might be happier with a visit to the FC Köln Museum of soccer/football and a behind-the-scenes tour of the superslick RheinEnergieStadion (Aachener Strasse 999, tel 49 221 7161 6104, http://www.stadion-koeln.de), home of FC Köln and the NFL Europe Cologne Centurions, and a venue for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. (Tour schedule is limited; book ahead.)

More universal in its appeal is the cache at the Römisch-Germanisches Museum (Roncalliplatz 4, tel 49 221 2212 2304, http://www.museenkoeln.de), a great collection of antiquities and artifacts situated beside Cologne Cathedral on the site of an ancient Roman villa. (Peek through the ground floor windows to see the beautifully preserved Roman mosaic floor below.) For families with kids, the Sea Life Königswinter aquarium is a lot of fun (Rheinallee 8, tel http://www.sealifeeurope.com). A short journey from the city center, it’s part of the U.K.-based Sea Life group, which operates two dozen interactive aquariums throughout Europe. The Zoological Garden (Riehler Strasse 173, tel 49 221 778 50, http://www.zoo-koeln.de), with its elephant park and tropical rain forest pavilion, is also a good time, especially if you combine it with a cable car trip across the Rhine on the Kölner Seilbahn (Riehler Strasse 180, tel 49 221 547 4184, http://www.koelner-seilbahn.de).

LODGING

HOTEL IM WASSERTURM

It’s not smack in the town center, but it is housed in a historic water tower, which makes this a most unusual place to bed down. Interiors feature blond wood and modernist furniture. If you’re traveling with the family, take a duplex maisonette or suite, which include kitchenettes. The top-rated rooftop restaurant has fabulous views of the Kölner Dom. Weekday rates do not include breakfast; weekend rates and packages generally do. Kaygasse 2, tel 49 221 200 80, http://www.hotel-im-wasserturm.de $$$$

Maritim hotel köln

This big hotel — nearly 450 guestrooms — with a great location beside the Rhine has all the services you could require, including wireless and high-speed Internet access, a swimming pool, sauna and fitness center, plus several restaurants. Many of the guestrooms and suites offer beautiful water views. Breakfast is included in the room rate. Heumarkt 20, tel 49 221 202 70, http://www.maritim.de $$$$

Hotel lyskirchen
Hotel lyskirchen Looking good following a 2006 renovation, this 4-star hotel is clean, comfortable and conveniently located. In addition to guestrooms, it offers eight apartments and a roomy suite, all with kitchenettes that include coffeemakers and microwave ovens. There’s also a sauna and an indoor pool. Rates include breakfast. Filzengraben 26-32, tel 49 221 209 70, http://www.hotellyskirchen.com $$$

DINING

HANSE STUBE

This see-and-be-seen restaurant is located in one of Cologne’s top hotels, the Excelsior Hotel Ernst. Décor is dark and formal and tables are spaced far apart to make them conducive to both deal-making and marriage proposals — both of which happen here quite often. Fish and game meats are specialties. Trankgasse 1-5, tel 49 221 270 3402, http://www.excelsiorhotel-ernst.de $$$$

HAXENHAUS

A good time is guaranteed for all, thanks to a relaxed beer hall atmosphere led by enthusiastic owner Wilhelm Wichert. The menu is home-cooking fare, such as sausage, pork knuckles, lamb, turkey and hearty soups paired with black bread. Wash it all down with Kölsch, served in slender glasses. Frankenwerft 19, tel 49 221 947 2400, http://www.haxenhaus.com $$$

PETERS BRAUHAUS
Some locals think this beer hall with its own trademark brew is touristy, but that doesn’t stop other locals from packing it nightly. Food is typical German fare — pork, cabbage, potatoes — served in heaping portions. Arrive hungry. Mühlengasse 1, tel 49 221 257 3950, http://www.peters-brauhaus.de

DAY TRIPS

Bonn Meander down the Rhine by train, bus or boat to Bonn, birthplace of Beethoven. Tour his home and, if you’re visiting in late summer-early fall, take in a concert at the annual Beethoven Festival. Just outside the city, there’s good hiking in the Rhine Valley and along the 192-mile Rheinsteig route from Bonn to Wiesbaden.

Brühl Less than 15 miles from Cologne, Brühl is home to the baroque Augustusburg Castle and Falkenlust Hunting Lodge, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites open to visitors. For the kids, there’s Phantasialand, an amusement park open from April to November. For art lovers, Brühl is the birthplace of surrealist painter/sculptor Max Ernst and there’s a museum dedicated to him here.

INFO TO GO

Cologne-Bonn Airport (CGN) has limited international service, including one nonstop flight from New York.The closest major international airport is Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS). Catch a train from Düsseldorf International Airport to Cologne Central Station (Köln Hauptbahnhof), which, frankly, is the nicest way to arrive in Cologne. Unlike many European cities, whose main train stations are in unappealing parts of town, Cologne’s main station is right beside Cologne Cathedral, so you step off the train and immediately see the biggest attraction in town. The trip from Düsseldorf airport takes between 40 and 90 minutes, depending on the number of stops the train makes. High-speed, intercity Thalys trains link Cologne to Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris (http://www.raileurope.com).

Getting around is easy on foot or by public transportation. Buy a Köln WelcomeCard and you will receive discounted admission to most major sites, plus free transportation on buses and trams for the life of the card — 24, 48 or 72 hours (http://www.koel ntourismus.de). Avoid driving; streets are narrow and complicated. If you must travel by car, licensed taxis are easy to spot thanks to their distinctive beige color.