What is the Cologne self-guided walking tour?
The Cologne self-guided walking tour runs through the old town between the cathedral and the Rhine at a pace you set, with audio narration on your phone where a guide would otherwise be. Allow about 3 hours: 24 minutes of that is time on your feet, the route measures 2 km, and at 10 stops you stand still and listen. Nothing is timed, and no group moves off without you.
Below the cathedral the narration starts with the building site that stood still from the 16th century until 1880, when the towers were finished to the medieval plans, and with the golden Shrine of the Three Kings inside. At the Heinzelmännchen Fountain it tells the legend of the house spirits who did the work of Cologne's craftsmen by night, until a tailor's wife scattered peas on the stairs to catch sight of them and they left for good. Later you hear that the Platzjabbeck beneath the town hall clock sticks out his tongue on every stroke of the hour, and why from 1259 cargoes coming down the Rhine had to be offered for sale in Cologne for three days.
- Durationabout 3 hours
- Walkingabout 24 min · 2 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do on the walk
Listen
Every stop brings narration about the place, its legends and the details you would otherwise walk past. The same text sits on screen for anyone who would rather read.
Walk on
Google Maps carries you from stop to stop: 24 minutes on foot over 2 km, flat the whole way and at whatever pace suits you.
Break off
Take a seat in a brewery tavern or spend an hour in a museum, then pick the walk up again, the same day or another one.
Eat and browse
Tips for food and shops near the route come with it. Your starting point and the order of the stops are yours to set in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of people. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Walk when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who the walk suits
A first visit
One walk puts the cathedral, the Romanesque churches, the market squares and the riverbank in order and explains what you are standing in front of.
Anyone who avoids groups
No raised umbrella to follow and no meeting time: you stay where something holds you and move on when you are ready.
A single day in the city
3 hours and 2 km take in the old town, which leaves the rest of the day for a museum, the cable car or an afternoon on the far bank.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Groups of up to 5 work best; larger groups split up, one ticket per person.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
The walk stop by stop: the cathedral, the Historic Town Hall, the Fischmarkt, the Chocolate Museum
10 stops · about 24 min walking · start: Cologne Cathedral · finish: Chocolate Museum
The walk opens on the square below Cologne Cathedral and turns into the old town for the Heinzelmännchen Fountain, the Alter Markt and the Historic Town Hall under its tower of stone figures. The bronze pair of Tünnes and Schäl follows, then Great Saint Martin Church and the gabled houses of the Fischmarkt beneath it, and after them the Heumarkt with its equestrian statue. Down on the Frankenwerft stands the Rhine gauge, and the Chocolate Museum out on the Rheinauhafen brings the walk to a close. A different opening stop or another order can be set in the app, and no stop asks for an entry ticket.
Open the route map ↗
1Cologne CathedralStart
Work on the cathedral began in 1248, stopped in the 16th century and was only completed in 1880, following the medieval plans. At about 157 metres it is the tallest twin-spired church in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, and it holds the golden Shrine of the Three Kings.
2Heinzelmännchen Fountain
This neo-Gothic fountain by Edmund Renard was built in 1899–1900 for the 100th birthday of the poet August Kopisch, who wrote the ballad of the Heinzelmännchen. According to the legend, these house spirits did the work of Cologne's craftsmen at night until a curious tailor's wife scattered peas on the stairs to catch them, and they left for good.
3Alter Markt (Old Market)
Recorded as Cologne's market as early as 922, the Alter Markt was also used for tournaments and executions in the Middle Ages. In the middle stands the Jan von Werth Fountain of 1884, and on house number 24 crouches the Kallendresser, a bronze figure with his trousers down made by Ewald Mataré in 1956.
4Historic Town Hall
Cologne's town hall is one of the oldest in Germany: a house of the citizens is recorded in the 12th century, and the Gothic core with the Hansasaal dates from around 1330. Its 61-metre tower of 1407–1414 carries more than a hundred stone figures, and below the clock the Platzjabbeck sticks out his tongue at every stroke of the hour.
5Tünnes and Schäl
This bronze pair near Great Saint Martin Church shows Tünnes and Schäl, two characters from Cologne's Hänneschen puppet theatre and the heroes of countless local jokes. Tünnes is the good-natured one with the big nose, Schäl the sly one, and rubbing Tünnes's nose is said to bring luck, which is why it shines.
6Great Saint Martin Church
With its square crossing tower and four corner turrets, this church is one of the twelve great Romanesque churches of Cologne, built mainly between 1150 and 1250. For centuries it was the church of a Benedictine abbey, and after heavy damage in the Second World War it was rebuilt over more than 40 years.
7Fischmarkt
The Fischmarkt takes its name from the fish, mostly herring, sold here from the Middle Ages, and the Stapelhaus recalls the staple right of 1259, under which Rhine cargoes had to be offered in Cologne for three days. Its narrow, colourful gabled houses below the tower of Great Saint Martin were largely rebuilt after the Second World War.
8Heumarkt
Named after the hay once traded here, the Heumarkt is one of the largest squares in Cologne's old town and was a busy market place in the Middle Ages. In the middle stands an equestrian statue of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III, and the Deutz Bridge across the Rhine starts right beside the square.
9Cologne Rhine Gauge (Pegelturm)
This small round tower on the Frankenwerft riverside promenade, near the Deutz Bridge, has measured the level of the Rhine since 1951. It shows the current water level, which matters in Cologne, where high water on the Rhine can flood the riverbank of the old town.
10Chocolate MuseumFinish
The Chocolate Museum opened in 1993 at the tip of the Rheinauhafen peninsula, in a glass and metal building that looks like a ship moored on the Rhine. It was founded by the Cologne chocolate manufacturer Hans Imhoff and tells the story of cocoa and chocolate, with a small working production line and a chocolate fountain.
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