Attractions in Cologne
Imhoff Chocolate Museum
The museum is housed in a beautiful building on the Rhine and shows all possible details of the fascinating history of chocolate in an entertaining and educational way. The museum also has a production line that is in operation and opens into a chocolate fountain.
Address: Rheinauhafen, Altstadt-Süd, Cologne
Phone: (0221) 931 88 80
Opening times:
Open Tuesday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Open on Saturdays, Sundays and on public holidays from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Closed on Monday. In December the museum is open every day.
Website: http://www.schokoladenmuseum.de
Entrance fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Cologne cathedral
Not to be missed in every respect is this giant, the Cologne Cathedral, one of the most impressive buildings in the world. It contains numerous treasures such as the golden coffin in which the remains of the three wise men lie, the Gero cross from the 19th century, the three-part altarpiece by Stefan Lochner and the colorful church window glass from the Middle Ages.
For a breathtaking view over the city and down into the treasury, you have to climb the 509 steps to the viewing platform of the 157 meter high south tower.
Address: Domkloster, Altstadt-Nord, Cologne
Phone: (0221) 17 94 02 00
Opening times:
November – April: Open daily from 6 a.m. to 7.30 p.m.
May – October: Open daily from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Website: http://www.koelner-dom.de
Entrance fee: With admission fee.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: Yes
Cologne Zoo / Botanical Garden / Cable Car
With over 4,000 animals representing 500 species, Cologne Zoo is one of the best zoos in Europe. It is right next to the beautiful botanical gardens. Visiting both sights should be combined with a ride in the neighboring cable car over the Rhine (the cable car is open from mid-March to early November).
Cable car
Riehler Straße 180
Tel: (0221) 547 41 83.
Internet: www.koelner-seilbahn.de
Address: Riehler Straße 173, Riehl, Cologne
Telephone: (01805) 28 01 01 (chargeable from the German landline).
Opening hours:
March 1 to October 30: Open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Last admission and ticket office closes at 5:30 p.m.
Animal houses close at 5.45 p.m.
October 31 to February 28: Open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., aquarium until 6 p.m.
Last admission and ticket office closes at 4.30 p.m.
Animal houses close at 4.45 p.m.
Website: http://www.koelnerzoo.de
Entrance fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Museum Ludwig
This world-class modern art museum houses an abundance of eye-catching late 20th-century pop art icons, including masterpieces by Andy Warhol (Campbell’s soup cans), Roy Liechtenstein and René Magritte, and other hundreds of less important works by Pablo Picasso. The huge painting “La Gare de Perpignan” by Dalí is worth the entrance fee alone.
Address: Heinrich-Böll-Platz, Altstadt-Nord, Cologne
Telephone: (0221) 22 12 61 65
Opening times:
Tue – Sun and on public holidays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Open every first Thursday of the month from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed on Monday.
Website: http://www.museenkoeln.de/homepage
Admission fee: Yes.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Romanesque churches
The city has 12 wonderful churches with a lot of atmosphere, which look mostly modest from the outside and which were originally built between the 10th and the middle of the 13th century and later rebuilt and restored after severe damage. The churches of Groß St. Martin, St. Aposteln, St. Gereon, St. Maria im Kapitol, St. Cäcilien (where the Schnütgen Museum for Sacred Art is located today) and especially St. Ursula with its amazing and macabre Golden Chamber, whose Vaulted ceilings are adorned with bones, and their relics are not to be missed.
Address: Cologne
Website: http://www.romanische-kirchen-koeln.de
Entry fee: Free entry.
Disabled access: No
UNESCO: No
Roman-Germanic Museum
The Roman-Germanic Museum is dedicated to the importance of Cologne as the capital during the Roman period in Germany. It is built around a wonderfully preserved mosaic stone floor (the best of its kind in Northern Europe) made up of over a million pieces.
Address: Roncalliplatz 4, Altstadt-Nord, Cologne
Telephone: (0221) 22 12 44 38, 22 12 45 90.
Opening hours:
Tue – Sun open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Open every first Thursday of the month from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Website: http://www.museenkoeln.de/roemisch-germanisches-museum
Entrance fee: With admission fee.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Wallraff Richartz Museum
The museum has an excellent collection that covers everything from medieval art from 1300 to impressionism at the end of the 19th century. Famous artists from all over Europe like Rubens, Rembrandt, van Dyck, Tintoretto, Renoir, Monet, Manet, van Gogh, Cézanne, Gauguin and Munch are exhibited here.
Address: Obenmarspforten (at Cologne City Hall), Altstadt-Nord, Cologne
Phone: (0221) 22 12 11 19
Opening times:
Tue – Sun open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Thursdays until 9 p.m.).
Website: http://www.wallraf.museum
Entrance fee: With admission fee.
Disabled access: Yes
UNESCO: No
Tourist offices
CologneTourism
KölnTourismus Unter Fettenhennen 19 is the headquarters. A branch is located in Terminal 2 of the airport on the arrival level and another in the Cologne fair at trade fair times. Rooms can be booked at the headquarters and at the branch in the airport.
Address: Altstadt-Nord
Unter Fettenhennen 19 (opposite the main entrance to the cathedral), Cologne
Telephone: (0221) 304 00
Website: http://www.koeln.de/tourismus
Visitor passes
It is worth buying a Cologne Welcome Card if you want to visit most sights. It grants admission to most sights and tours at reduced prices and includes free use of public transport. The card is available from the tourist office.
