Family Holidays to Cologne

Sightseeing is an important part of any family holiday and Cologne with its famous cathedral, the colourful medieval streets of the Altstadt (old town) and its setting along the Rhine has enough to keep you busy. The excellent department stores in Cologne’s pedestrianised areas are also a great attraction for all the older members of the family. Younger children, however, have a slightly different take. For them the right recipe is a little sightseeing and a lot of activity, hopefully laced with ice cream and chocolate. Well they’ve come to the right place in Cologne. When its warm and sunny there are lots of lovely parks with grassy slopes, play areas galore, lakes with pedalos and rowboats, strolling entertainers to amuse them AND cafes with ice cream to achieve that default state of young children: sticky. If you are coming in Winter, try and overlap with Cologne’s famous Christmas Markets, which are held all over the city with even a Fairy Tale Christmas Market especially for children. In summer try and coincide with the Midsummer firework festival on the river called the Kölner Lichter (Cologne Lights). It is really awesome. At any time of the year children will definitely enjoy a visit to Cologne’s famous Chocolate Museum and another chance to brush up their stickiness.  Whatever your age, a Cologne holiday will be one to remember. 
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Top attractions in Cologne at any time

Cologne’s top attraction has to be its world famous cathedral, a masterpiece of Gothic architecture and inspiring both inside and out. The children will want to see the golden reliquary containing the crowns of the Three Kings who came to the birth of Jesus. The new stained glass window by Gerhard Richter is also very beautiful.

Kölner Lichter, Cologne’s Lights, is the name of Cologne’s most spectacular summer event. It starts in the afternoon with musical performances from barges moored on the river. In the evening the whole of the Rhine is lit with lights on every surface, culminating in a firework display with musical accompaniment.   Small children especially like the touch of lighting their own sparklers when the festive convoy of lighted boats stops between the main bridges. This year (2009) it is on July 11 and in 2010 on July 17. At Christmas time, almost every district of Cologne has its own Christmas Market with a magical atmosphere of street performers and stalls with Christmas gifts, overlaid with the heavy scent of hot spiced mulled wine, and sugar-roasted almonds. The main traditional markets are on Neumarkt, Alter Markt and beside the Cathedral but do take the children to a new arrival, ‘Fairy-tale Christmas Market’ on Rudolfplatz. You’ll be just as entranced as the kids.

Take the children on a tour of a real chocolate factory, at The Cologne Chocolate Museum. This modern building, scenically built out onto the Rhine is close to the cathedral. The tour not only shows how chocolate is made, but includes a walk through a tropical cocoa plantation, a look at the world’s largest chocolate fountain and a mouth-watering historical account of the history of all their favourite chocolate from Mars to Lindor. All exhibits are also labeled in English and of course there’s a shop!     

Take the Zoo-Express from outside the cathedral for the short ride to Cologne’s ultra child friendly zoo. The setting is just delightful with more green areas than buildings and full of the most entertaining and interesting animals. There is also a modern aquarium in the grounds and it is just a short walk from Cologne’s colourful Botanic Gardens. 

No city worth its salt would lack an enormous Activity Park close by and Cologne’s is called Phantasialand in the town of Brühl only a twenty-minute train ride away.  It has all the thrill rides you can imagine, plunging, hurtling, splashing and burrowing through fantastic landscapes like Darkest Africa, the magical Land of Wuze and an underground Gold Mine. Save a visit till last as the little ones and not so little ones will want to come again and it’s fairly pricey! (However there are savings to be made - Children under 7 years go free plus you save €13.50 on a 2 day adult ticket) For a wet alternative the very popular Aqualand, in the Chorweiler district, offers all the fun you would expect of a Water Park at very modest prices.    

The Augustusburg Palace, also in Bruhl, provides a very real contrast to Phantasialand. Its impressive architecture, lovely setting and rococo interior could not be more different than its rumbustious neighbour next door. If your family enjoys visits to Stately Homes. Try not to miss this one. It is so precious it has been placed on the Unesco World Heritage list.     

Cologne is a city of parks and so there is no shortage of attractive outdoor areas for both you and the children. The only problem is that there are too many to choose from. The most popular and closest to the centre is Volksgarten garden with a lake with pedalos to hire, a children’s playground and many lovely outside areas to eat. The Rheinpark with its views of the city and the river is also very popular with playgrounds and cafes and it is also where you can take the Cologne Rhine Cable Car, something to really remember. The Stadtpark is a little further out but this gorgeous forested area with its lakes and woods has many play parks, a hands-on little zoo, pony rides and even an actual children’s railway. This is a top destination for families with younger children.        

Eating with your children in Cologne
Cologne is the first city in Germany to start an ‘eating with the children’ initiative. Restaurants, which are especially child friendly with special children’s menus, portions and prices, can now advertise themselves with a special sign.

Getting around
Cologne has a very good subway/tram and bus network KVB (Kölner Verkehrs Betriebe) with one and three-day passes are available. As a holidaymaker however the most attractive option is to buy the Köln Welcome Card. This gives you and the family free access to city transport and big discounts on the entry fees to most of Cologne’s main attractions.