Image rights:
(1): Cologne_Panorama__c__pxhere.com
(2): Köln Dom (c) Poppe Reisen_MJ
(3):Cologne carnival © Tourismus NRW e.V._Oliver
Cologne has great activity offers. Here are some examples & suggestions:
Cologne orientation tour, walking
Duration: min 1,5h, can be extended as per wish, optimal is 2h for the historic city centre and 1h for the cathedral, = 3h
Min. no. pax: No min numbers
Max no. pax: No max numbers
Exclusive: Always
Character: Introducing, scenic, informative
Physical dem: No.
Experience: This orientation walk shows the historic city centre of Cologne to the group. That’s more than 2000 years of history! The cathedral spires tower over Germany’s oldest city and its innumerable cultural and historical treasures, world-famous museums and active art scene.
Your guides will take the group around for a city sightseeing tour. It will be done on foot as most of the historic city centre with it’s narrow streets is not accessible for coaches.
We start our guided city-tour at the remains of the roman north-gate and hear about the origins of the Roman town. A view on the Roman „Dionysosmosaic“ foreshadows the luxury in Roman Times.
Afterwards we proceed with the Middle Ages when the people in Cologne decided to build the biggest cathedral in the world.
A special highlight will therefore for sure be the visit of Cologne Cathedral. With having a look into the Cathedral we can anticipate why the idea to build the biggest church in the world was kind of too difficult to realize in the Middle Ages.
Hear why the construction works took so long time and why it was not finished until the 19th century. It’s an amazing building to be discovered.
Further interesting sights are located between the Cathedral and the „Altstadt“ (Old Town), for instance: Museum Ludwig, Gothic Town Hall, Mikwe (a Jewish ritual bath of the Middle Ages), Gürzenich (famous festival hall) or the Romanesque church Great St. Martin near the Rhine River. In the narrow streets of the Old Town and the busy squares like Roncalliplatz, Alter Markt and Heumarkt we get a felling for the life and mentality of Cologne as it was yesterday and as it is today.
Carnival shopping tour
Duration: tba, depending on general timing of the day
Min. no. pax: No min numbers
Max no. pax: No max numbers – if it’s a larger group, we can subdivide to several shops
Exclusive: No
Experience: Before we start with our carnival experience, guests must go shopping, as you cannot join Cologne Carnival without a costume. You would look like a stranger.
Our guides and coaches will pick up the group at the hotel and together we invade one of the large costume shops in Cologne.
Here a wide choice of all kinds of costumes are on sale. Each guest will be equipped with for example EUR 100,00 and can then find his favorite dress. Be it a pirate, 70ties disco boy, nurse, bear, cat…
Optional and depending on if the shop allows it: To bring the group into the right mood, we will serve a glass of bubbly and have prepared a typical Kölsch snack: A half roll with a slice of cheese – the so called “Halve Hahn” (which translated means “half a rooster” – don’t ask us why!)
(If you don’t want to do the shopping on site – one of the largest of these shops also run an online shop. Guests could choose in advance. We will then order accordingly and collect the costumes on site. Should they not fit, we could go onsite and try other versions/sizes.
Full day attendance of the Cologne street carnival
Duration: as long as you want
Min. no. pax: No min numbers
Max no. pax: Depending on max availability of grandstand seats the hotels are offering.
Phys. demanding: No
Character: Fun! Local
Experience: Today is the climax of the Cologne Carnival: It’s Rose Monday with the march of „Cologne’s Dreigestirn“ or Triumvirate – the Prince, the Peasant and the Maiden – in the kilometre-long Rosenmontag procession going through the city. The parade has a length of 6 kilometres and the Pass-by time is about 3 hours. There are 10,000 participants, 350 horse riders and 100 music bands. There are floats with political themes as well as floats of the different carnival clubs. From all of the floats, deriving from historical reasons, material is thrown – including „Strüßjer“ (bunches of flowers) and „Kamelle“ (sweets), which are loudly demanded by the crowds by shouting „Kamelle“.
Usually you simply stand along the routing of the parade, but for your group we can arrange seats on grandstands, so that it’s all a bit more organised and incentive like. All our hotels (Except Grandhotel Schloss Bensberg) have their own open or covered grandstands in front of the properties and offer all inclusive hospitality packages incl. catering & drinks.
We will bring the group to their seats and then they can party along with the masses and marvel at the colourful costumes and fantastic floats.
The whole day will be spend watching the carnival parade and thereafter guests can party on at own discretion after in the various pubs and bars we haven’t planned any more group programme for that day.