Thanks to air-conditioning, most department stores have pleasant temperatures between 15 and 20 degrees - so you might want to take a few turns around the clothes rail.

In addition to ice cream, frozen pizza and vegetables, you can treat yourself to a cool-down in front of the freezer in the supermarket before continuing with your shopping. In some supermarkets, even entire departments are refrigerated if the storage of certain foods requires it.

If you've had enough of shopping, you can escape the heat outside on a trip to a cave. The Kakus Cave in Mechernich is one of the largest open caves in the Eifel and you can explore it on your own. In the Brohl Valley there are trass caves that are over twelve thousand years old that you can also visit without a cave guide. The stalactite cave in Wiehl, with a temperature of around eight degrees Celsius, is also a suitable place to cool off.

If nothing else helps, it's best to just stay at home, and if you have the opportunity, you can cool off in the cellar while fetching potatoes, or you can go for a spin in the stairwell. What definitely helps to keep the heat out is to close the windows and pull down the shutters. And if there is no other option, you could fill the bathtub with cold water and lumps of ice.

Two ice cream parlours, park benches and the large fountain make Bonn's Kaiserplatz a popular place to visit on hot days. The square is at the beginning of Poppelsdorfer Allee between Bonn's main railway station and the main university building and owes its name to Emperor Wilhelm I. If you don't want to visit one of the restaurants, whose outdoor tables offer both sunny and shady spots, you can also find everything for "on the go" at a kiosk, a bakery and a baguette snack bar.

The game reserve was established in 1961 and since then, with all its inhabitants, has been an attraction for young and old. The trees provide shade, and the atmosphere offers respite from the daily grind. In addition to red and dam deer, you can watch wild boars and many birds. In the early morning, when the herds move across the pastures, it is an idyllic sight. Next to the forest playground, there is a restaurant in the Waldau, which is open from Wednesdays to Sundays.

You can also enjoy the shade of the trees in the Kottenforst. A bike tour is a great way to end the day. The Roisdorf railway station is a good place to start.

The outdoor pool season in Bonn has begun - but not all outdoor pools are open yet. You can find an overview of the open-air pools in Bonn and the region here.Cooling off at the lakeIn addition to some outdoor pools, there are also lakes in the region that offer a chance to cool off. An overview of the beaches can be found here.

You can find respite from the heat in a church. As a rule, churches are ten to twelve degrees colder than outside because of their thick old walls.

The indoor ski slope in Neuss has winter temperatures even in summer, so you can ski or snowboard away from the heat.

You can cool off and experience a little culture at the same time by visiting one of the many museums in Bonn. The temperatures are usually pleasant, so you can take a break from the heat. The Museum Koenig, the Bundeskunsthalle, the Kunstmuseum Bonn and the Haus der Geschichte are all open.

Translation: Jean Lennox