Belgisches Viertel

The Belgisches Viertel is Cologne's style headquarters. Laid out on a tidy grid of streets named for Belgian cities, the quarter packs the city's densest concentration of independent fashion boutiques, design studios, specialty cafes and cocktail bars into restored Gründerzeit blocks. Life revolves around the Brüsseler Platz, the square in front of the St. Michael church that fills with crowds on warm evenings, and spills along Maastrichter and Antwerpener Strasse. The fashion strip of the Ehrenstrasse runs right alongside, and the Stadtgarten, with its renowned jazz venue, and the city's green belt provide nearby breathing room. For investors, the Belgisches Viertel is Cologne's prestige address. Yields are slim, squeezed further by NRW's high 6.5% transfer tax and rent caps, so the case rests on scarcity and appreciation rather than income. But the quarter's cachet with the city's creative and media classes keeps demand strong and vacancy negligible.

Belgisches Viertel in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany