Altstadt

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/6

Where it sits

The circle is Altstadt and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• A Rhine boat cruise2 min walk179 m
• The Chocolate Museum10 min walk799 m
• Rheinauhafen & the Kranhäuser11 min walk944 m
• The Belgian Quarter18 min walk1.5 km
• Ehrenfeld street art & nightlife11 min taxi3.5 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 1.Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) — One of the world's greatest Gothic cathedrals — 600 years in the making, its blackened twin spires erupting 157m above the city, and free to enter beneath soaring vaults and medieval stained glass. Overwhelming, unmissable, and right outside the station.
• 2.Climb the Dom's south tower — Haul yourself up 533 spiralling steps past the giant bells to a platform high on the cathedral's south spire, for a breathless panorama over the city, the Rhine and its bridges. A proper leg-burner and the best view in town.
• 3.Hohenzollern Bridge & love locks — The great railway bridge beside the cathedral, its fences buried under hundreds of thousands of padlocks left by couples, with trains rumbling across and the Dom framed behind. Walk it for the classic postcard view, best at dusk.
• 4.Old Town & the Rhine promenade — The colourful, rebuilt Altstadt lanes around the old market and Great St. Martin, spilling onto a lively riverside promenade of bars and beer gardens. Touristy but fun; walk it with a Kölsch and watch the barges go by.
• 5.Kölsch in a Brauhaus — The essential Cologne experience — a cheerful, wood-panelled brewery hall where the Köbes waiter keeps the little Kölsch glasses coming with hearty Rhineland food. Order a Halve Hahn and a Sauerbraten; loud, friendly and unmissable.
• 6.Museum Ludwig — A superb modern-art museum beside the cathedral — one of Europe's best Picasso holdings, plus Pop Art (Warhol, Lichtenstein), Expressionists and photography. A brilliant couple of hours; the building's rooftop faces the Dom.
• 7.Roman Cologne — Cologne was a major Roman city, and its treasures — the famous Dionysus mosaic, glassware and a towering tomb — are on show at the Roman-Germanic collection, with Roman ruins dotted around the streets. Fascinating layers beneath the modern city.
• 8.Great St. Martin & the Romanesque churches — The Gothic Dom gets the fame, but Cologne's twelve great Romanesque churches are its other glory — chief among them Great St. Martin, whose tower anchors the old-town skyline by the river. Serene, ancient and free to visit.
• 13.The birthplace of Eau de Cologne — The word 'cologne' was born here — visit the little Farina Fragrance Museum, on the site where the original Eau de Cologne was created in 1709, for a scented, surprisingly charming tour. A quirky, only-in-Cologne half-hour.
• 14.KölnTriangle viewpoint — Cross the river to the KölnTriangle tower in Deutz and ride up to its rooftop deck for the money shot — the whole cathedral and old town spread along the Rhine before you. The best place to photograph the Dom in full; superb at dusk.