One wonders who the people responsible for letting this (potential and former) jewel of a museum go to seed? There's plenty of money in Cologne, also for such venues, and there is a circle of wealthy donors. But this, also architecturally magnificent, place was dusty, run-down, damaged, shabby; exhibition locked at the entrance because a new one was put up (you gotta be kidding); and the café is permanently closed. Absolut verantwortungsloses Management! So I was there for the "Asien explosiv" exhibition, a misnamed one on European-Far East interaction and colonialism. Tiny, no loans, badly curated and I guess the Ausstellungsmacher had no idea themselves what the message would be. But the building in itself and the permanent collection are in parts fantastic, so it is still worth going. But in a time and age of the ascent of Asia, where this place would be absolutely crucial to educate people on the Far East, to see it in the present state is sad.

Small collection, poorly annotated. In a typical room, maybe 40% of the objects are identified; the others are completely unlabeled. I can't remember the last time I've seen anything like that in a museum. So usually you'll be standing there looking at something, wondering what it is (and too often, I had to suspect that I was looking at a fake, especially since virtually everything was donated by this or that private collector). If you're sure you want to go, budget an hour at most--but also at least half an hour of travel time each way, since it's nowhere near the city center. There are too many other sights in Cologne for this to be at the top of your list.