Historic Old Town
Historic Old Town
4.5
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Top ways to experience Historic Old Town
The area
Neighbourhood: Altstadt-Nord
How to get there
- Koln Central Station • 9 min walk
Reach out directly
Best nearby
Restaurants
2,445 within 5 kms
Attractions
571 within 10 kms
See what travellers are saying
- ToyotababyMemphis, Tennessee461 contributionsGREAT PLACE TO VISIT!OMGOODNESS! What an awesome, beautiful place...what a great place to just enjoy the sights, sounds and good eating. We walked around Old Town enjoying the beautiful old buildings and statutes. Visited the Cathedral...WOW! SO WORTH VISTING!!! Even our 3 grands 12, 10 and 8 were impressed!! 😅Visited October 2023Travelled with familyWritten November 10, 2023
- JohnKMiamiLakesMiami Lakes, Florida291 contributionsPeaceful and BeautifulI am one who enjoys the sights, colors, and people of Europe's historic Old Towns. They are usually the first stop on my itinerary . The cafes, architecture, and streets take me to another time and place. People watching enhances my experience because I wonder what they do, where they are going, and who they are. Additionally, many of the sights and museums are generally near the Old Towns. Enjoy a lunch or drink of choice and plan your next stop in the area.Visited February 2024Travelled soloWritten May 20, 2024
- scotterb60Farmington, Maine63 contributionsWorth a visitWe almost skipped Old Town Cologne - we had spent the morning at the Cathedral, walked across the Rhein, and were about to head back to Bonn (our hotel) when we decided that the Old Town was close by. We thoroughly enjoyed it - nice shops, some good food, streets that had character and felt less like a big city. It was a thoroughly enjoyable time!Visited May 2024Travelled with friendsWritten June 5, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
1,391 reviews
Excellent
695
Very good
520
Average
148
Poor
24
Terrible
4
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Malissa H
18 contributions
Jun 2022 • Couples
A beautiful historic district. It's a small area so won't take a lot of time to explore. If/when the museums are open they will likely make the experience something you can spend more time on. I would recommend sitting down for a glass of beer and schnitzel.
Written July 3, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Massimiliano P
Novara, Italy42,852 contributions
Aug 2023 • Couples
The historic center of Cologne, if we exclude the majestic Cathedral, is truly unattractive both in terms of the architectural aspect of most of the buildings, which are frighteningly anonymous and devoid of any aesthetic taste, and in terms of the sense of neglect it conveys tangibly. Many shops, breweries, pastry shops but these are things that can be found in any city, however in much better contexts. Much more appreciable, to my taste, are the modern areas along the river.
Written November 9, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Reise-Dreamer
Munich, Germany372 contributions
Jun 2024 • Solo
The historic old town was completely destroyed in the Second World War and then faithfully rebuilt. In the many alleys there are breweries, restaurants and cafes with the Cologne flair to experience. It is fun to marvel at the colorful houses and the old town is close to the Rhine! Thus a must for all visitors to Cologne.
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Written August 13, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Emily A
Madrid, Spain270 contributions
Dec 2020
As a tourist, I thrive on the old town districts and this was my first German one. It did disappoint. Walk and enjoy, take it all in, read the historic plaques, take a free tour, sit and enjoy nature and ancient Roman and middle ages architecture. I love the old gates and Romanesque buildings especially, on and those lovely squares with cobble stone streets.
Written July 18, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Walgreenguy
Chattanooga, TN70 contributions
Oct 2019
Food, food, food and beer, beer, beer. A great place to spend an evening, or two, or three. So many places to eat and drink. I did two nights and don’t think I made a dent. Food and beer are very reasonable. Quiet in the afternoon but come 5 pm or so....it’s time to get the party started! And as quick as it starts, it ends just as abruptly. By 9:30 pm the streets were near empty. This was during the week, so I imagine that the weekends are outrageous. Just don’t miss this area!
Written February 9, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
FTMDave
Adria, Italy7,673 contributions
Aug 2020
The Cathedral, the Rathaus and the Gross St. Martin church are absolutely stunning. Then there are pretty squares, secondary attractions and modern buildings too as the city was nearly destroyed during WWII. Lots of places to eat & drink.
Written August 23, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
claudie62
Boulogne-sur-Mer, France1,474 contributions
Sept 2024 • Couples
Set of very lively little streets with beautiful shops, bars/restaurants... often pedestrian. Sometimes a nice building. The tower of the old Rathaus is superb, the facade of the current Rathaus, right next door, surprises.
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Written September 5, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Toyotababy
Memphis, TN461 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
OMGOODNESS! What an awesome, beautiful place...what a great place to just enjoy the sights, sounds and good eating. We walked around Old Town enjoying the beautiful old buildings and statutes. Visited the Cathedral...WOW!
SO WORTH VISTING!!! Even our 3 grands 12, 10 and 8 were impressed!! 😅
SO WORTH VISTING!!! Even our 3 grands 12, 10 and 8 were impressed!! 😅
Written November 10, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Razorfish
Little Rock, AR5,287 contributions
Apr 2022 • Couples
My wife and I walked through Historic Old Town Cologne after our morning tour of the Cologne Cathedral on our Viking Rhine River Cruise. The different colored buildings were very picturesque. This area around the Cathedral was one of the few places in Cologne not bombed by the Allies during WWII. I’m glad Historic Old Town survived the War.
Written September 1, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
jasjam98
Reading, UK824 contributions
Aug 2022 • Family
We took a free walking tour . Small area of cobbled streets , painted buildings, cathedral, Roman ruins , stumbling blocks. Backs on the the Rhine . Grab a Kölsch and sausage or pork knuckle in one of the many restaurants. Loads of places to sit and take it all in .
Written August 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi
I am thinking of visiting on a weekend break how to prices for eating and drinking and attractions compare to other cities please
Thank you
Wendy
Written November 5, 2018
Cologne is a friendly, walkable town. Most of the restaurants we went to were reasonably priced and there was a lot of choice in cuisines as well. We ate at a lot of the Kolsch breweries and we met a lot of locals this way and had a great time. Fruh was our favorite! Did not do a lot of attractions but we walked past a few of them, just strolling along the river was fun in itself. The church of course is hard to miss and has some neat historical archaeological things around it, all of which are out in the open - (free) to peruse. I dont think you will be disappointed.
Written November 6, 2018
I guess so, I have seen some parking around there.
Written November 3, 2018
How far away is it from the Hotel Engelbertz Obenmarspforten 1-3, Cologne 50667
Written January 22, 2018
You are in the old town area and within 10 minutes walk to the Cathedral, if I am correct about your location.
Written January 23, 2018
We are in our 70s and will arrive to Cologne by train. We will only have a 4 or 5 hours to visit. Is it a short walk from the Cathedral to Old town? Is there a tram to get around? We can't walk miles... Is there anything else we really need to see in our short time there? Thanks!
Written November 3, 2017
Hello!
I'm visiting Germany for the first time and I was hoping to see cologne cathedral on my 2nd day. I'm staying in Frankfurt, but I'm planning to check the cologne for a day and then go back to Frankfurt.
With the tour, do I have to stay in Cologne hotel to be picked up or is there any other places to be picked up by the minivans or the tour? Thanks and hope to hear from you guys soon!
Sincerely,
Jessica
Written June 7, 2016
Meeting place for tours is at Tourist Information Centre infront of Cathedral. If your hotel is in city centre the cathedral is reachable on foot.
Written June 8, 2016
Hi, I've read your reviews about Cologne and found them very helpful. We (myself & my wife) intend to visit Cologne for 2 days in July (we'll be coming after spending 3 days in Berlin). We've booked a hotel very close to the Cathedral.
The main purpose of our trip is to walk around and enjoy the "historical" aspects of the City.
Will be grateful for your advice on how to maximise our requirements during the short 2 days stay.
Thanks & regards
Waqas
Written March 4, 2016
Hello, the previous answers have recommended all the main sight-seeing atractions. Apart from the online tourism websites, there is a tourist office right on the cathedral square, where you can pick up maps and info. The old town is very lively - lovely in summer, as you can walk along the river, have a drink or dinner in the restaurants which have tables outside. The menus there are in English too. On the other side of the old town and the river, over the bridge, there is the Hyatt Hotel. For a lovely view, visit their restaurant Glashaus on the top (pricey but good) The most typical local pubs are Päffgen and Früh. The latter is near the cathedral. There you can have the local (very hearty!) specialities of knuckle of pork with saurkraut, Bratwurst (the local sausage, very tasty) with Bratkartoffeln (fried potatoes with onions) Himmel'n Äd which is blood pudding with apples, onions and mashed potatoes. The interior is typical and worth seeing. You can (like I do!) just have a salad or something less daunting! There are restaurants of every type in Cologne. The ones near the cathedral are all very touristy, though sitting on the Rhine is fun, plus there is a Thai restaurant there which is good, but I would advise going further afield the second evening.You can take the tram which goes from the cathedral You have to buy a ticket then stamp it in the machine on the tram.
There is a little train which goes from the cathedral to the chocolate museum ( I personally found the museum uninteresting, but coffee in their café is good as you have a lovely view).There is also a hop on hop off bus which like everywhere, allows you to get on and off when you like. I would recommend that.There are lots of pubs and cafés - if you want to have the typical Kaffe und Kuchen go to Café Reichart right on the cathedral square. One interesting museum is the Stadt museum, as it is about the history of cologne.
There are also good shops - Jakobi, Kaufhof, Appelrath und Cupper, if your wife feels like doing some shopping..! There's also a cinema showing English films called Metropolis, near Ebertplatz. Feel free to contact me again if you want to know anything else as I've lived just outside Cologne for years, so know it well. Enjoy your trip!
Written March 6, 2016
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