To find out what's on pick up a free copy of the monthly bilingual Köln im ... [name of month in German] (website: www.koeln.de/en/whatson/whatson.html) available from the tourist office.

Music: Oper der Stadt Köln, the Cologne Opera company, Offenbachplatz (tel: (0221) 2212 8400; website: www.buehnenkoeln.de) has a high reputation for its classical and contemporary works. Extraordinary architecture and excellent acoustics are the hallmarks of the Philharmonie concert hall in Bischofsgartenstrasse 1 (tel: (0221) 204 080; website: www.koelner-philharmonie.de). Every Thursday lunchtime at 1230 a free 30-minute rehearsal concert is performed. Meanwhile, students of the academy stage top class jazz, blues and classical concerts plus dance evenings alongside guest performers at the Hochschüle für Musik, Dagobertstrasse 38 (tel: (0221) 9128 18105; website: www.mhs-koeln.de).

Theatre: Cologne has a lively theatre scene, but the vast majority of productions are in German. Venues such as the Theater am Sachsenring, Sachsenring 3 (tel: (0221) 315 015; website: www.theater-am-sachsenring.de), and the Studiobühne Köln, Universitätsstrasse 16A (tel: (0221) 470 4513; website: www.studiobuehne-koeln.de), regularly host international and foreign language events. The official tourist website theatre page can be found at www.koeln.de/kultur/theater.html, or click on www.koeln3.com/theatre.

Film: Metropolis, Ebertplatz 19 (tel: (0221) 739 1245) shows films in their original versions, from mainstream to arthouse.