2 days in Cologne

Day by day

1. Day 1: Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge

   Cologne Cathedral, Hohenzollern Bridge, Museum Ludwig and Cathedral south tower climb, then Belgian Quarter in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Cologne Cathedral

      Inside are the gilded Shrine of the Three Kings, the 10th-century Gero Cross and a stained-glass window by Gerhard Richter made of thousands of coloured squares. Entry to the nave is free.

   2. Late morning

      Hohenzollern Bridge

      Walking across takes about 10 minutes and leads to the best views of the cathedral and old town.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Kölsch

      Traditional brewhouses in the old town and around the cathedral, and pubs across the city.

   4. Afternoon

      Museum Ludwig

      Next to the cathedral, Museum Ludwig is one of Europe's leading modern-art museums, with a large Picasso collection, Russian avant-garde works, German Expressionists and one of the most important Pop Art collections outside the United States, including Warhol and Lichtenstein.

   5. Late afternoon

      Cathedral south tower climb

      Peter's bell on the way. The views stretch over the Rhine, the Hohenzollern Bridge and the old town.

   6. Evening

      Belgian Quarter

      Come in the late afternoon to shop, then stay for drinks around Brüsseler Platz.

2. Day 2: Wallraf-Richartz Museum and Old Town and Alter Markt

   Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Old Town and Alter Markt, Great St. Martin Church and Farina Fragrance Museum and 4711 House, then Old Town in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Wallraf-Richartz Museum

      The city's oldest museum covers European painting from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century, with the gold-ground altarpieces of the medieval Cologne School, Rubens and Rembrandt, and a strong collection of Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.

   2. Late morning

      Old Town and Alter Markt

      Brewhouses fill the ground floors, and the coloured houses of the Fischmarkt line up beneath Great St. Martin Church.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Halve Hahn

      Every brewhouse menu in Cologne.

   4. Afternoon

      Great St. Martin Church

      It is one of twelve major Romanesque churches in Cologne, and excavations beneath it reveal Roman warehouse foundations.

   5. Late afternoon

      Farina Fragrance Museum and 4711 House

      A short walk away on Glockengasse, the 4711 house plays a carillon on its façade on the hour.

   6. Evening

      Old Town

      Brewhouses and pubs around the Alter Markt and Heumarkt, busy every evening.

Before you go

If it rains

• Swap in Chocolate Museum (Rheinauhafen): Go on a weekday morning; weekends and rainy afternoons bring long queues.
• Swap in Kolumba (Cathedral): Pick up the room guide at the entrance; the absence of labels is deliberate.
• Swap in EL-DE Haus (NS Documentation Centre) (Innenstadt): Allow time for the basement cells, which are the most powerful part of the visit.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 11–15 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 7.9 hours in December to 16.5 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Walking covers the old town, the cathedral area, the Rheinauhafen and the Hohenzollern Bridge to Deutz.

More or fewer days

• One day in Cologne
• 3 days in Cologne

Questions travellers ask