Green & Relaxed Corners

Location: Kôln, Germany

August is the month when a city exhales in Europe. People ease into a slower rhythm, letting go of the small, relentless pressures of daily life. At noon, when the heat begins to rise, the city of Köln offers refuge—shaded pathways, leafy parks for picnics, benches tucked beneath old trees, and riverbanks where you can sit and watch the sun dissolve into the evening sky. In Köln, life gathers along the Rhine, where the breeze softens the warmth of the day.

What makes summer living in a city truly pleasant is thoughtful design: walkable streets, green corridors, and quiet corners where people can pause. The world’s most livable cities share certain features—parks, rows of trees, public swimming pools, ponds or nearby lakes—and often, a river running through their heart. The Rhine in Köln, the Seine in Paris, the Danube in Vienna and Budapest, the Rhône and Saône in Lyon and so on. There is a charm of having a river that passes through the city. It shapes urban life in summer. Water, shade, and space to wander—these are the quiet luxuries that make city living feel generous and alive.