© 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

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  • Open detail page 'Uncertain terrain'
    Abstract violet painting with swirling light shapes and colorful fragments
    © Künstlerin Katrin Laade
    Uncertain terrain23/07/2026
    08:00
    Exhibition
    Rooms of the Kölner Haus- und Grundbesitzerverein, Hohenzollernring 71-73, 50672 Köln
  • Open detail page 'Stefanie Pluta: Scenario for a Crystal'
    Glacier areas under spread-out protective tarpaulins with folds and partially open areas
    © Stefanie Pluta
    Stefanie Pluta: Scenario for a Crystal23/07/2026
    09:00
    Exhibition
    Italian Cultural Institute, Universitätsstraße 81, 50931 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 Idea23/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Museum of Applied Arts, An der Rechtschule 7, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'Fabric of the nation'
    White soccer jersey with black, red and gold pattern and DFB emblem with four stars
    © picture alliance / M.i.S. | Bernd Feil
    Fabric of the nation23/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    German Sports & Olympics Museum, Im Zollhafen 1, 50678 Köln
  • Open detail page 'HERE AND NOW at the Museum Ludwig'
    Hand holds tightly bundled silver metal cones hanging from fabric ribbons.
    © Foto: Mario Gallucci, Courtesy: die Künstlerin
    HERE AND NOW at the Museum Ludwig23/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Museum Ludwig, Heinrich-Böll-Platz, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'OLGA OPPENHEIMER'
    Woodcut with three women working in the fields in front of yellow textured fields.
    © Familienbesitz
    OLGA OPPENHEIMER23/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Cologne City Museum, Minoritenstraße 13, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'Yayoi Kusama'
    Artist Yayoi Kusama works intently on her colorful painting.
    © YAYOI KUSAMA
    Tip Yayoi Kusama23/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    Museum Ludwig, Heinrich-Böll-Platz, 50667 Köln
  • Open detail page 'Michael Schumacher Private Collection'
    Red formula car in glazed exhibition hall with large-format photos of Michael Schuhmacher in the background
    KölnTourismus, Foto: Christoph Seelbach | CC-BY-SA
    Michael Schumacher Private Collection23/07/2026
    10:00
    Exhibition
    MOTORWORLD Cologne Rhineland, Butzweilerstraße 35-39, 50829 Köln

Museum landscape

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    Gallery scene

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      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

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        Roman Cologne

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          Parks & Gardens

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            Fountains

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              Public Art & Monuments 

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                Discover More

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                • 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 '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 '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 'Synagogue'
                  Romanesque façade of the synagogue made of sandstone with large, round windows and pointed towers.
                  © Herbert Sachs
                  Tip Synagogue
                  synagogue
                  Roonstraße 50, 50674 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Museum of Applied Arts'
                  Exhibition room with colorful design objects such as red seating furniture, cactus figure and retro chair.
                  KölnTourismus, Foto: Christoph Seelbach | CC-BY-SA
                  Tip Museum of Applied Arts
                  Museum/Exhibition
                  An der Rechtschule 7, 50667 Köln
                • Open detail page 'Kolumba'
                  In the Kolumba Museum in Cologne, two people look at a large, antique relief on a modern exhibition wall.
                  © KölnTourismus GmbH
                  Tip Kolumba
                  Museum/Exhibition
                  Kolumbastraße 4, 50667 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