Aachen
Augsburg
Baden-Baden
Bamberg
Berlin
Bernkastel-Kues
Bonn
Braunschweig
Bremen
Celle
Coburg
Cochem
Cologne
Dinkelsbuehl
Dortmund
Dresden
Duesseldorf
Erfurt
Europa Park
Essen
Ettal
Frankfurt
Freiburg
Goslar
Goettingen
Hamburg
Hamelin
Hannover
Heidelberg
Hildesheim
Karlsruhe
Kassel
Kempten
Kleve
Koblenz
Leipzig
Ludwigsburg
Luebeck
Lueneburg
Mainz
Mannheim
Miltenberg
Monschau
Muenster
Munich
Nuremberg
Oberhausen
Osnabrueck
Passau
Potsdam
Regensburg
Rostock
Rothenburg/Tauber
Ruedesheim
Saarbruecken
Stralsund
Stuttgart
Trier
Tuebingen
Ulm
Weimar
Wismar
Wiesbaden
Wuerzburg
 

 

 



 
 

 

 

 
Google		  
  German National Tourist Office


Cologne Christmas Market Dates 2008
 

Home Dates & Locations Shopping Tips Christmas Traditions Tour Operators Bits & Bobs Reviews Contact Us

Cologne

City Break

 

 28.11. – 23.12.2008

11am-9pm daily

 


 



 

 Cologne's Christmas Markets
 
The city of Cologne offers six Christmas markets in total. Among them are four big Christmas markets - at the Cologne Cathedral, on the Alter Markt, on the Neumarkt and on the Rudolfplatz.

Every year these four markets attract almost 2 million visitors. The market at the Cologne Cathedral is the most impressive one of Cologne's Christmas markets due to the backdrop of the imposing Cathedral. Beneath the largest Christmas tree in the Rhineland you can find 160 attractively designed wooden pavilions. Here you can choose from numerous sweet delicacies, watch artisans at work and enjoy the “Original Christmas mulled wine” out of the festively decorated Christmas mugs. 

The Christmas market on the Alter Markt takes place in front of narrow-gabled houses of the Old Town Hall. It has an especially idyllic atmosphere because of its half-timbered stalls. Children in particular will find lots to do here. With a nostalgic children’s roundabout, puppet theatre, Santa Claus’ grotto and many toy stands, this Christmas market in the heart of the Altstadt (Old Town) has attracted young and old to Cologne for many years.

Cologne's oldest Christmas market is the market on the Neumarkt, in the shopping area against the backdrop of the Church St. Aposteln. There, several old stands still bear witness to the origins of the market back at the beginning of the 70s. A nostalgic flavour is provided by decorative plates with illustrations of the Christmas markets with their long traditions, which are sold there alongside many other artisans’ products.

The Christmas Market on the Rudolfplatz takes you to the world of fairy tales. Against the historic backdrop of the mediaeval Hahnentorburg, large fairy tale figures and festive illumination provide a special eye-catcher. 

Besides the four big Christmas markets there is also a Medieval Christmas Market outside the Chocolate Museum and a Floating Christmas Market on board MS Wappen von Mainz (KD Riverboats) alongside the old quarter. There is also plenty of entertainment on offer as Christmas approaches: a variety of Christmas concerts, Nativity scene displays and a huge temporary ice rink on Heumarkt.

FIND A HOTEL
IN COLOGNE >>

 



Weather in Cologne
© meteo24.de
Cologne Cathedral


Cologne/Rhine: St. Martin's quarter, medieval town houses on Fischmarkt square and Great St. Martin's Benedictine Collegiate Church (13th century)


Cologne: St. Aposteln church, roofs in the snow

 About the City of Cologne
 
The city's very name bears witness to its Roman past as the town of Colonia. As well as the legacy from Roman times and the Middle Ages, particularly the world-famous cathedral, Cologne has an extremely lively arts and culture scene. And besides being a centre of carnival activity and the "capital of Rhenish joie de vivre", Cologne is also an extremely attractive shopping centre. Open, friendly and uncomplicated: that's Cologne!

Cologne is an exuberant and contrast-packed city with something for night owls and culture fans alike. Dominated by its mighty cathedral, Cologne is Germany's fourth largest city offering a very interesting contradiction of historic and very modern.

The Cologne Cathedral - with its two 157-metre-high towers and a designated UNESCO World Heritage site - has been the city's most famous landmark and Germany's most famous architectural monument for centuries. It took 632 years for Germany's largest cathedral to be completed. The cathedral is one of the most important pilgrimage churches in Europe, attracting visitors from all over the world.

Cologne is also an ideal base for rail or Rhine steamer excursions, or why not treat your kids to a visit to the nearby theme park, Phantasialand, which is open during the festive season and also has its own Christmas Market on site.

FIND A HOTEL
IN COLOGNE >>

Cologne Tourism Office
Tel: 0049 221 2213 0400
www.koelntourismus.de
 info@koelntourismus.de