North Rhine-Westphalia · Self-guided walk
Cologne in one walk 8 sights, 70 minutes
A self-guided walking tour of the Cologne Old Town: 8 sights on one 4.8 km loop, about 70 minutes on foot, back where you started.
No two days to spare? Here is the short version: the big sights in one loop. I would take longer. I always take longer.
At a glance
The walk in numbers.
- Distance
- 4.8 km, a loop
- Time
- about 70 minutes of walking at 4 km/h, plus however long you stop
- Sights
- 8
- Start and finish
- Kölner Dom
- Steps
- on Weltjugendtagsweg, An Groß St. Martin
- Cost
- free: no guide, no booking, no tip
The route
Map of the Cologne walk: 8 stops, one loop.
The gold line is the walk. The numbers are the stops, in the order you reach them. The pale lines are every other street in the Old Town.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
The stops
8 sights in Cologne, in walking order.
Each stop says how far the next one is and which streets take you there.
1. Kölner Dom
the start · inside open Mon–Sun 06:00–20:00
The twin towers on every postcard of the city. 533 steps take you to a viewing platform about 100 metres up, and one of its bells weighs as much as 6 or 7 rhinos. The part I like best is inside. I am not telling you which.
Next: Hohenzollernbrücke, 780 m, about 12 min, along Domplatte, Kurt-Rossa-Platz, Hohenzollernbrücke.
2. Hohenzollernbrücke
about 12 minutes of walking from the start
The bridge right behind the Dom. Bridges are chewy, and this one is the chewiest I know. Walk out along the footpath and look closely at the fence. I am not explaining.
Next: Groß Sankt Martin, 660 m, about 10 min, along Hohenzollernbrücke, Am Bollwerk.
3. Groß Sankt Martin
about 22 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Tue–Sat 09:30–19:39, Sun 10:00–19:15, Mon closed
The square crossing tower, 75 m tall, that shapes the skyline together with the Dom. Since 2009 it has been a monastery church again, after more than 200 years. The best of it is underneath.
Next: Historisches Rathaus, 170 m, about 3 min, along An Groß St. Martin, Lintgasse, Alter Markt.
4. Historisches Rathaus
about 24 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon 08:00–16:00, Tue 08:00–18:00, Wed–Thu 08:00–16:00, Fri 08:00–12:00, Sat–Sun closed
A tower 61 m tall, built from 1407 to 1414, carrying 124 statues, with a Renaissance loggia from 1569 out front. Under it lie parts of the Roman governor's palace, found in 1953. Look up at the tower when the clock strikes.
Next: Dufthaus 4711, 580 m, about 9 min, along Marsplatz, Obenmarspforten, Brückenstraße, Glockengasse.
5. Dufthaus 4711
about 33 minutes of walking from the start · inside open Mon–Fri 09:30–18:30, Sat 09:30–18:00, Sun closed
4711. Four digits in the Altstadt, world famous on perfume bottles. Come by on the hour, between 9 in the morning and 7 at night, and look up.
Next: Neumarkt, 560 m, about 8 min, along Glockengasse, Krebsgasse.
Lunch break
About Coffee, Glockengasse 68, about 60 m off the route, open Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00, Sat 10:00–18:00, Sun closed.
On the Glockengasse, just off the shopping streets, where the city paper noted there was hardly anywhere to have breakfast. More on what to eat in Cologne.
6. Neumarkt
about 41 minutes of walking from the start
A square is basically crust. This one has about 28,000 sq m of it. Look up at the roofs around it, and at a tower nearby.
Next: Hahnentorburg, 560 m, about 8 min, along Mittelstraße, Rudolfplatz.
7. Hahnentorburg
about 50 minutes of walking from the start
The gate at the Rudolfplatz, right where my meal ends at the Ring. The main road out of the city ran through here. Today the city holds weddings in the big room in the middle, and the EhrenGarde, a Cologne carnival corps, keeps its museum in the north tower. The gate has a couple of odd stories. I am keeping them.
Next: Helenenturm, 660 m, about 10 min, along Rudolfplatz, Pfeilstraße, Ehrenstraße, St.-Apern-Straße.
8. Helenenturm
about 60 minutes of walking from the start
A 10-metre tower of the ancient city wall. Not all of it is as old as it looks, and what it was used for later is the best fact in the neighbourhood. I am not telling you what.
Back to the start: Kölner Dom, 850 m, about 13 min, along Am Römerturm, Burgmauer.
Every stop counts from the street; the hours are for going inside. Opening hours from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors. Check before you go.
After the walk
The rest of Cologne.
This loop is 8 sights. The Old Town is 124 streets, and I have opinions about all of them. Every street of the Cologne Old Town, with what to eat and where.
Cobble Gobble is a walking game for iPhone: every street is a line of dots you collect by walking it, and the phone stays in your pocket. Your first city is free.