Pretty bold to travel western Europe in winter

Not much to see in Cologne besides the cathedral and the Christmas markets.
You can go check Rheinauhafen for some modern architecture and for museums Ludwig museum and then there's also a Roman one.
You can get a nice view of the city from the skyscraper in Deutz, which has a accessible platform on top for tourists.
Otherwise visit local breweries and get served by impolite waiters cause that's the tradition in Cologne.
For good food go to Kebapland in Köln ehrenfeld, it's hyped up since years but it's deserved.

Other then that the city, especially the center, has gone downhill alot. Many closed shops, beggars, drug addicts, homeless and shady looking people. Weather will be almost guaranteed shit.
if you're lucky you'll meet some friendly people, but I don't know if Cologne has still retained that for what it is known for, being the friendliest city in Germany.

>>2844862
Maybe add more shitty cities, kek.

Anon not gunna lie, brussels is fucking dogshit

>>2844909
Maybe. I generally don't do much of anything with high expectations, but part of me can't even be fucked going on this trip so worst case I'll just lay about in the hotel doing fuck all

>>2844921
desu skip brussels and just go on to Ghent for those two nights. I cannot describe how dogshit Brussels is and with it being dark by 5pm you'll literally want to kill yourself because in Brussels all there is to do after dark is be brown and sit outside in public spaces and glare at non muslims. I was there for 1 night in August and 4 nights in Ghent and legitimately regret even doing a single night there. Believe the memes, brussels is utterly lost. Ghent is 30 min away and closer to bruges and is fucking delightful and full of college kids so its actually fun at night, and very few shitskins!! PLEASE Belgium is great dont ruin your trip in that hellhole

>>2844862
Besides all the crap everyone says about Brussels (which I agree with) I would say 3 nights in Bruges is way too much. I was there just for a day, didn't spend the night, and it felt long enough to see everything there was to see. It's a really small city, and it's just a fake, tourist-based city these days. I imagine it will be completely empty at night, no locals, maybe a few lost tourists.
I spent 2 days in Antwerp and it was awesome (this was summer though), and friends of mine have also had a great time in Liege.

I was also in Koln, not my favorite place, but we rented a car there and drove south along the Rhine, stopping at all these medieval castles. There's a nice touristic route, you can even spend the night at some hotels if you can afford it.

>>2844862
Swap Cologne with Berlin. Berlin has way more to do and is more fun

>>2845176
this

Swap Brussels and Bruges with Antwerp and Ghent.
Bruges is too touristy, especially now with the wintermarkets. Brussels is allright since it has a lot of good museums, but the city is more enjoyable in summer overall. It's not the dangerous depressing place people make it out to be here though.

>>2844862
Sounds utter dogshit lol. What are you actually expecting to achieve from these destinations?!

>>2844862
>Cologne -> Berlin
I assume you have a cheap flight out of there because this is utter nonsense otherwise if you're only going for 2 nights. Ditto for Paris, but at least it's half the distance.
Your days split is silly, by the way. Bruges is a small town you can walk all over in a day, but you're spending three nights there. There's fuck all to do in Koln for a whole 4-5 days. Yet you only have 2 nights in Paris, a city that has sights for weeks.
Rotterdam is pretty much a day trip place at most, so I assume you're splitting it with Delft and The Hague.

>>2844862
>Rotterdam - 2 nights
I visited The Hague and Delft instead of Rotterdam and I really enjoyed it. Then again, Rotterdam is a big university city so there might be a nice atmosphere

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>>2844862
>2 nights
>2 nights
>3 nights
>2 nights
>4 nights
>2 nights

>>2844862
American?

You're spending too short a time in most places honestly, except Bruges and Cologne which are too long. Europe on Christmas though doesn't have a huge amount...
Bruges I did in a day

Would spend another day in Paris as it has a huge amount and cut one from Belgium
Cutting a day from Cologne and adding one to Berlin would also be better
Make a day trip to Aachen from Cologne

>>2844862
Your planning is fucking shit. Think about the time period and the region and work out
>best new years eve party
>best christmas market
>best location for snow/winter

Plan for the geography, climate and weather. Don't just do a tripadvisor boxticking exercise like a faggot.

Why the fuck are you not going to the mountains?

Will look into some of the suggestions, cheers. For those talking about full on changes to the plan, not happening. I fucking hate organising shit like this and will be with the gf who's more of the autistic maximising time person so that stuff is falling on deaf ears at me desu. I don't particularly care if the trip turns out shit, and a few of the extra days in Bruges and Cologne are intended for me to lie about doing piss all anyway. Won't turn my nose up at recommendatons for somewhere to grab a decent bite or a good overlooked sight though

Not sure what you are into. I'm Dutch so I will only comment on Rotterdam.
The inner city looks like ass because the Nazis bombed it. No old, scenic, medieval vibes, just 1960s high rise buildings. If you are into ww2 history there is something there obviously. A harbor tour is an option. Again, don't know what you are looking for.
Rotterdam is different. Working class, kinda unforgiving. People are not friendly but they are proud. If you show a genuine interest in their city you might have a good conversation.
Food wise you got one of the best places in the Netherlands. A lot of sailor immigrants settled there and brought their own mix of cultures. The kapsalon, a fast food icon in the Netherlands was invented there.

>>2844862
These are some of the shittiest and rapey cities of Europe. You won't find much difference from other big cities. Go to nearby towns and villages instead.