Cologne
You see the cathedral from the platform, before you even leave the station
- When to go
- October 13° · 15 rainy days
- Per day
- €€€€price 4 of 5
- How many days
- 2days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 15 km Cologne · 42 km Düsseldorf
- Right now
Cologne is one of the few cities where you don't have to go looking for the first view: you step off the train and the cathedral is fifty metres away, too big to fit in the frame. It took 632 years to build, with a pause of nearly three centuries, and was finished in 1880 to the original medieval plans. The rest of the centre went up fast after the war and doesn't try to compete.
From 1 July 2026 the cathedral charges for sightseeing: €12, €6 reduced, free under fourteen. Anyone coming for mass, to pray or to light a candle pays nothing, and the north transept stays open for exactly that. The tower is a separate ticket and a separate door outside: 533 steps to a platform at about a hundred metres, €8, last entry half an hour before closing. The staircase is narrow and one-way in places, so you come down when the top clears.
Under the city there is a Roman layer. Cologne was founded as Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, which is why the centre keeps turning up a wall, a drain or a mosaic under a glass lid. The Romano-Germanic Museum has moved to the Belgisches Haus near Neumarkt while its building is rebuilt: €6, closed Tuesdays. The big Dionysus mosaic stayed behind in the shut building on Roncalliplatz and can't be seen for now. The Roman tower on Zeughausstraße stands in the open, for free.
Kölsch comes in a 0.2 litre glass, and that isn't a pose but a system: the waiter, called a Köbes, brings a fresh one the moment yours is empty and marks each on your beer mat. To stop, you put the mat on top of the glass — no words needed, and you pay by the marks. The rules are formal enough that a Kölsch Convention was signed on 6 March 1986, setting out who may call their beer that. You drink standing, or at a long table with strangers, and here that is normal.
What to see in Cologne
The cathedral
Begun in 1248, stalled around 1560 and only finished in 1880 to the original plans. For four years it was the tallest building in the world, at 157 metres. Inside is the Shrine of the Three Kings, started in 1190, which made Cologne a pilgrimage city for centuries. UNESCO-listed since 1996.
Kölsch in a brewhouse
You order 'ein Kölsch' — nobody asks about size or brand, because every big brewery keeps its own hall in the centre and pours only its own. Früh is right by the cathedral, and the difference between the halls is smaller than locals claim.
The bridge of locks
The Hohenzollern Bridge carries trains and pedestrians, and since 2008 padlocks too — estimates run from 40 to 60 tonnes. The railway tolerates them: one regional train of five double-deck coaches weighs almost 350 tonnes. The best frame of the cathedral is from the bridge, best at dusk, when the towers light up and a train goes past every few minutes.
533 steps up the south tower
You enter down a flight of steps beside the south tower, on the Roncalliplatz side, not through the church. The last stretch is metal stairs. March to October 9–18, November to February 9–16. No lift, and nowhere to step aside.
Carnival
The season opens on 11 November at 11.11, but the streets are only taken over in February. For 2027: Weiberfastnacht falls on 4 February, Rosenmontag with the big parade on 8 February, and it ends on Ash Wednesday, 10 February. The city does not run normally on those days and beds go months in advance.
The museums by the cathedral
Museum Ludwig is right beside it, with pop art and a large Picasso holding, and wants more than an hour. The Wallraf-Richartz has the older painting. The Romano-Germanic Museum, temporarily near Neumarkt, stays open until ten on the first Thursday of the month.
Two things you probably did not know
Cologne cathedral took 632 years to build, with a three-century pause: begun in 1248, halted in 1473 and finished in 1880. When it was done it was the tallest building in the world.
Kolsch is served only in two-decilitre glasses, and the waiter brings a new one as soon as the old is empty until you put your beer mat on top. Beer may be called Kolsch only if it is brewed in Cologne.
Ready for Cologne?
Within reach from here
Places sorted by straight-line distance from Cologne — day trips or weekends.
All 277 places we write about sit on one page — narrow them down by continent, country, price or what you are travelling for.
Within reach from here: Maastricht, Frankfurt and Utrecht
See how much of that actually suits you — or pin Cologne if you have been.
Front row for the next trip
Leave your email and we'll let you know when a new destination or story goes up.