© KölnTourismus GmbH

Arts & Culture

Visiting museums

Small and select — or big and famous: more than 100 museums in Cologne are waiting for your visit. And they’re well worth visiting even if it’s not a rainy day. Let the Fragrance Museum enchant you, the Sports Museum warm you up, the world of chocolate stimulate all of your senses, and learn much more about the cultures of our world in these and other museums. If you’re interested in art and culture, Cologne offers you all this and much more. In addition, numerous art galleries look forward to having you drop in. There’s lots of art and culture in Cologne — for a day trip or a tour lasting several days. Just come to Cologne again and again — we’ll keep you up to date on our museums, exhibitions and events.

Top 4 Cologne museums

Museum Ludwig

Important art museum

© KölnTourismus, Foto: Christoph Seelbach

Kolumba

Art museum of the archdiocese

© KölnTourismus, Foto: Christoph Seelbach

Chocolate Museum

The whole world of chocolate

© KölnTourismus, Foto: Christoph Seelbach

MAKK

Museum of Applied Arts

© KölnTourismus, Foto: Jens Korte

Exhibitions

more
  • Open detail page 'Uncertain terrain'
    Abstract violet painting with swirling light shapes and colorful fragments
    © Künstlerin Katrin Laade
    Uncertain terrain09/07/2026
    08:00
    Exhibition
    Rooms of the Kölner Haus- und Grundbesitzerverein, Hohenzollernring 71-73, 50672 Köln
  • Open detail page 'The Fascination of Jewellery'
    Colorful brooch made of geometric elements arranged in a star shape on a grey background.
    © DetlefSchumacher.com
    The Fascination of Jewellery09/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Museum of Applied Arts, An der Rechtschule 7, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'O.M. Ungers – Architecture as Idea'
    Bright room with black windows and six round wooden armchairs arranged symmetrically
    © Eduard Hueber/archphoto
    O.M. Ungers – Architecture as Idea09/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Museum of Applied Arts, An der Rechtschule 7, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'WE ARE WHAT WE ARE NOT'
    A round flatbread covering a partially exposed decorated sherd.
    © RJM I Yohannes Mulat Mekonnen
    WE ARE WHAT WE ARE NOT09/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Rautenstrauch-Joest-Museum: Cultures of the world, Cäcilienstraße 29-33, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'Bubble Planet'
    People play in a pink illuminated ball pool with floating balloons
    © BUBBLE PLANET
    Bubble Planet09/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    COLONEUM Cologne, Studio 52, Butzweilerstraße 255, 50829 Köln
  • Open detail page 'The Architectural Eye | epochal – global'
    Dark, curved skyscrapers rise up in a foggy urban landscape with dense traffic
    © HGEsch Photography, Chaoyang Park Plaza, Architekt: MAD Architects, Beijing China 2019
    The Architectural Eye | epochal – global09/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Museum of Applied Arts, An der Rechtschule 7, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'OLGA OPPENHEIMER'
    Woodcut with three women working in the fields in front of yellow textured fields.
    © Familienbesitz
    OLGA OPPENHEIMER09/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Cologne City Museum, Minoritenstraße 13, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'B{L}OOMING'
    A magnificent flower garland of roses, lilies, anemones and other colorful blossoms on a dark background.
    © Rheinisches Bildarchiv, Köln
    B{L}OOMING09/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, Obenmarspforten 40, 50667 Köln

Museum landscape

more

    Gallery scene

    more

      Sights

      Cologne is home to about one million people — and about six million visitors come to this metropolis on the Rhine every year to explore the city and its tourist attractions. Of course the most outstanding highlights are Cologne Cathedral and the city’s 12 famous Romanesque churches. One good thing about Cologne is that you can combine visits to many highlights, monuments, hotspots and museums by simply walking around — for example, from the Cathedral through the Altstadt (Old Town) to the Rheinauhafen (Rheinau Harbour) district and back along the Rhine. Or you can visit the Zoo and the Flora botanical garden, cross the Rhine in a cable car and walk back along the right bank, crossing the Rhine again to the Cathedral via the Hohenzollernbrücke with its load of “love locks” weighing many tonnes. Cologne is a green metropolis with many attractive parks and gardens that offer pleasant opportunities to relax after gathering so many new impressions.

      Romanesque churches

      more

        Roman Cologne

        more

          Parks & Gardens

          more

            Fountains

            more

              Public Art & Monuments 

              more

                Discover More

                more
                • Open detail page 'Flora and Botanical Garden Cologne'
                  The picture shows the imposing historic façade of the Flora in Cologne, surrounded by flowering gardens and a central fountain. The well-tended park and the symmetrically arranged flowerbeds lend the place a picturesque elegance, while the architecture of the building impresses with its arches and windows.
                  KölnTourismus, Foto: Christoph Seelbach | CC-BY-SA
                  Tip Flora and Botanical Garden Cologne
                  Park/gardens
                  Alter Stammheimer Weg, 50735 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Cologne City Museum'
                  Depiction of a historic automobile next to a metal horse sculpture in the Cologne City Museum.
                  KölnTourismus, Foto: Christoph Seelbach | CC-BY-SA
                  Tip Cologne City Museum
                  Museum/Exhibition
                  Minoritenstraße 13, 50667 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Cologne Central Mosque'
                  Hall columns and domed roofs characterize the striking façade of Cologne's modern central mosque.
                  Tip Cologne Central Mosque
                  mosque
                  Venloer Straße 160, 50823 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Gürzenich'
                  The façade of the historic Gürzenich Köln with high windows and towers, under a clear sky.
                  KölnTourismus, Foto: Jesse von Laufenberg | CC-BY-SA
                  Tip Gürzenich
                  historical building
                  Martinstraße 29-37, 50667 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Römergrab Weiden'
                  An impressive Roman burial chamber with a stone ceiling, sculptures and stone benches.
                  © Förderverein Römergrab Weiden e.V., Foto: A. Thünker DGPh, Bonn
                  Tip Römergrab Weiden
                  Archaeological site
                  Aachener Straße 1328, 50859 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Old St Alban'
                  The ruins of the side wall of Old St. Alban's, with Gothic windows and statues. The street is visible below.
                  KölnTourismus, Foto: Jesse von Laufenberg | CC-BY-SA
                  Tip Old St Alban
                  Church
                  Quatermarkt 4, 50667 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Ubier Monument'
                  The picture shows historical masonry from the ancient Ubiermonument in Cologne. In the foreground is a cylinder, behind it brightly lit stone walls that emphasize the archaeological atmosphere.
                  © Römisch-Germanisches Museum der Stadt Köln / RBA / A. Wegner
                  Tip Ubier Monument
                  Archaeological site
                  An der Malzmühle 1, 50676 Köln
                • Open detail page 'House of Fragrances 4711'
                  The first floor of the famous 4711 fragrance house in Glockengasse with an elegant shopping ambience.
                  © Mäurer & Wirtz GmbH
                  Tip House of Fragrances 4711
                  Museum/Exhibition
                  Glockengasse 4, 50667 Köln