Question 1

Getting Around

Accepted Answer

KVB runs Cologne's trams, underground and buses, and one ticket covers the whole city. A single ticket for the city was €4.00 for adults and €1.80 for ages 6 to 14 in October 2026, and it is valid for 90 minutes. A short-trip ticket for up to four stops was €2.90. A 24-hour ticket for the city was €9.60 for one person or €19.20 for up to five people. Check fares before you go. Tickets are sold at machines on board the buses and trams, at machines at about 100 stops and in the KVB app. The Chocolate Museum is reached on foot along the riverbank. Walk upstream from the old town, and the museum is about 500 meters past the Deutz Bridge.

Question 2

What to Eat

Accepted Answer

Cologne's own beer is Kölsch, and the city's breweries serve it alongside Rhenish dishes such as sauerbraten. In a Cologne brewery the server, called a Köbes, brings the Kölsch around in a carrier known as a Kölsch wreath. The Chocolate Museum has a café with a terrace on the Rhine.

Question 3

Tipping and Currency

Accepted Answer

Restaurant bills in Germany include tax and service, and a tip of about 10 percent is common. Germany's currency is the euro, and bank cash machines work around the clock. Major credit cards are widely accepted in Germany. Prices shown in German shops and restaurants include taxes.

Question 4

The Cathedral and the Museums

Accepted Answer

Tourist visits to the inside of Cologne Cathedral have needed a ticket since July 1, 2026. The cathedral ticket was €12, or €6 reduced, in October 2026, and children up to 13 enter free. Tickets are sold online and at the ticket office at Roncalliplatz 2, which is open daily from 9 am to 5:30 pm. Visiting hours are generally Monday to Saturday from 10 am to 5:45 pm and Sundays and church holidays from 1:30 to 4:30 pm. Services, events and building work can change the hours at short notice, so check hours and prices before you go. Church services are free to attend, and the prayer area in the north transept stays free to enter. Bags larger than 40 × 35 × 15 cm are not allowed inside the cathedral. The cathedral has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996 and houses the Shrine of the Three Kings. Its treasury is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, and admission was €8. Museum Ludwig is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 6 pm. Admission was €15.40, and visitors under 18 enter free.

Question 5

History

Accepted Answer

Cologne began as a Roman colony and became a self-governing trading city in the Middle Ages. The Ubii, a Germanic tribe, founded the first settlement here in 38 BC. In AD 50 the Romans made it a colony named for Emperor Claudius and his wife Agrippina, who was born here. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288 the archbishops lost control of Cologne, which became a free city. Building of the cathedral started in 1248 and stopped around 1560. It was finished in 1880. Cologne was bombed in 262 air raids in World War II, and 61 percent of its built-up area was destroyed. Hohe Straße was rebuilt on its old line from 1948, and in 1967 it became one of the first pedestrian zones in Germany.

Question 6

Traveling with Family

Accepted Answer

The Chocolate Museum is on the Rhine riverbank, and the tour of the exhibition takes one to two hours. Chocolate Museum admission was €17.50 for adults on weekdays and €19 on weekends and holidays in October 2026. Children and students up to 18 paid €10 or €11.50, and children under 6 are free. A Chocolate Museum family ticket for two adults and their own children up to 18 was €35 on weekdays and €38 on weekends. The museum is normally open daily from 10 am to 6 pm, with last admission at 5 pm. It closes on some Mondays in winter and on December 24 and 25, so check the day and the prices before you go. A road train called the Schoko-Express runs every 30 minutes between the cathedral and the Chocolate Museum.

Question 7

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

Ask your cruise line which landing stage the ship will use and whether the gangway will be step-free on the day. The old-town landing stages at Frankenwerft are reached on level ground, but vehicles cannot drive up to them because bollards close off the area. Their operator rates them as suitable for passengers with reduced mobility. The cathedral's south tower has no elevator, and the climb is 533 steps. The cathedral treasury is barrier-free. Cologne Cathedral gives free entry to visitors with a recognized severe disability and to one companion. Ask at the ticket office what proof is accepted. The Chocolate Museum's exhibition rooms, café and shop are barrier-free. The museum has ramps and three elevators, and the paths to it are level.

Question 8

Shopping

Accepted Answer

Hohe Straße, a pedestrian shopping street, runs between the cathedral and Schildergasse. Most stores on Hohe Straße are open from 10 am to 8 pm. Sunday shopping is generally not allowed in Germany. Bakeries, gas stations and shops in train stations and airports are the usual exceptions.

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