Cologne's Free Christmas Market Tour: A Walking Tour Through Glühwein, Lights & Local Stories
What to Expect on Your Christmas Market Tour
Cologne’s Christmas markets are a must during the holiday season, but with so many in town, where do you even start?
That’s where we come in. On our Free Christmas Market Tour, a local guide walks you through some of Cologne’s biggest and most historic Christmas markets. You’ll hear the history that made these markets what they are, find out what to eat and drink (and what not to…), and learn what makes Christmas time in Cologne so special.
It’s a free, tip-based walking tour: at the end, you decide what it was worth to you.
What You Need to Know
- Price: Free, tip-based. You decide what the tour was worth at the end.
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Schedule: English: Thursdays to Mondays at 16:11
Spanish: Mondays, Fridays & Saturdays at 16:11 - Duration: About 2.5 hours
- What to bring: Warm clothes! We’re outside at the markets the whole time.
- Meeting point: Next to the Kreuzblume, the fleuron replica in front of the Cathedral
- Group size: Max 15 guests. Book up to 5 spots together; for larger groups, book a private tour.
In late November, Cologne becomes one of Europe’s Christmas capitals.
With more Christmas markets than we know what to do with, the city turns into a winter wonderland, and our Free Christmas Market Tour is here to help you navigate that chilly paradise.
We’ll visit five of Cologne’s major Christmas markets (plus a few smaller ones along the way) and share the stories that make Christmas in this city what it is for us Kölners. We start at the biggest and most iconic of them all, the Christmas market in front of Cologne Cathedral, and work our way through the historic Old Town, taking in the city’s Christmas sights as we go.
Along the Way
- A Glühwein stop, and what sets the different varieties apart
- The legend of the Heinzelmännchen, Cologne’s very own elves
- Christmas traditions from Germany’s past
- Tips on which presents to buy, and for whom
- A finale with the only singing reindeer we know, at Rudolfplatz by the Hahnentor gate on the edge of the Belgian Quarter, with one last Glühwein to end on
The Markets We Visit
- Weihnachtsmarkt am Kölner DomThe Cathedral Christmas market, where we start
- Heinzels WintermärchenAlter Markt & Heumarkt in the Old Town, home of the Heinzelmännchen
- Markt der EngelNeumarkt, the “Market of the Angels”
- NikolausdorfRudolfplatz, where we finish
- & MoreA few smaller markets and Christmas sights in between
Where We Meet
Meet us here!
At the Kreuzblume, the giant replica of the Cathedral’s stone finial, directly in front of Cologne Cathedral, near the Köln Tourismus office.
- Dress warm! We’ll be outside for two to three hours.
- Glühwein stop. We’ll stop for Glühwein along the way, so there’s always something warm to drink.
Join us on our free Christmas Market tour of Cologne's best Markets!
Find more visuals and information on our Freewalk Cologne Instagram
