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Cologne

The Great Cathedral on the Rhine

Plan this trip
2 daysIdeal stay₹9,590From / night₹2,980Food / day₹850Entry

A Roman city on the Rhine dominated by its Gothic cathedral (UNESCO), free to enter, with 533 steps up the south tower. The Hohenzollern Bridge with its love locks, the Chocolate Museum, Roman and Romanesque churches, the old-town breweries serving Kölsch, and Carnival, which opens on 11 November and peaks in February. Frankfurt is just over an hour by ICE, Amsterdam and Brussels about two to three hours. The Sri Kamadchi Ampal temple at Hamm, one of the largest Hindu temples in continental Europe, is about an hour and a half away by train.

Highlights

  • Cologne Cathedral and the tower climb
  • Hohenzollern Bridge and the Rhine promenade
  • Chocolate Museum
  • Old-town Kölsch breweries
  • Carnival (11 November and February)
  • Christmas markets by the cathedral

Things to do

  • Cologne Cathedral and the south-tower climbMorning · 2h 30m
  • Rhine promenade, Old Town and the Hohenzollern BridgeAfternoon · 2h 30m
  • Chocolate MuseumAfternoon · 2h
  • Museum Ludwig (modern art)Morning · 2h 30m
  • Day trip to Aachen Cathedral or BonnMorning · 6h

Tours & tickets

Tours & tickets in Colognevia GetYourGuideTours & tickets in Colognevia Klook

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When to go

Best time: May – September, late November – December, February (Carnival)

Heads up

Christmas: Shops and Sights Close 24-26 December

Christmas Eve afternoon, Christmas Day and 26 December are Germany's quietest days: shops, most museums and many restaurants close, the Christmas markets end on or before the 24th, and trains run a holiday timetable. Plan arrivals and sightseeing around them. Shops are closed every Sunday too.

Heads up

Summer Heat and Few Air Conditioners

Heatwaves of 30-35°C come most summers, and many German hotels, flats and older trains and trams have no air conditioning. If you sleep badly in the heat, filter for air-conditioned rooms when booking for July and August.

Worth knowing

Carnival Takes Over Cologne

From the Thursday before Rose Monday to Shrove Tuesday (4-9 February in 2027) Cologne's old town is one street party: costumes, crowds, drinking and closed shops, with the Rose Monday parade the peak. Hotel prices jump. Join in or come another week; the cathedral stays open.

  • Cologne Christmas markets · 23 Nov – 22 or 23 Dec (expected) — Several markets in the old town, the biggest at the foot of the cathedral, others on the Neumarkt, in the old market square and on a boat on the Rhine. Weekend evenings are packed; go on a weekday afternoon.
  • Cologne Carnival — Germany's biggest carnival: the season opens at 11:11 on 11 November, and the street carnival runs from Weiberfastnacht (the women's carnival Thursday) to Shrove Tuesday, with the huge Rose Monday parade. Costumes everywhere, bars packed, much drinking and noise; hotel prices jump. Fun if you join in, hard work if you came for the cathedral.