Cologne in a Nutshell

Cologne in one hour: 2,000 years of history on a short, easy walk. We start at Cologne Cathedral, begun in 1248 and finished only in 1880, home of the golden Shrine of the Three Kings. Then we go underground. In the cathedral car park, right next to the parked cars, stands a piece of the Roman city wall that once protected Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, a Roman colony since AD 50. Legend says Archbishop Anno II escaped the rebellious citizens through a gap in this wall in 1074. On the Alter Markt, Jan von Werth and his lost love Griet wait on their fountain, and the Kallendresser bares his backside to the town hall. Then comes Great St. Martin, the Romanesque church on a former Rhine island, built over Roman warehouses, its tower crowning the Old Town skyline. We end where Cologners end their day: at the Bierhaus en d'r Salzgass, with a fresh Päffgen Kölsch from the barrel. Short, packed with stories, and the perfect first hour in Cologne.

our Cologne in a Nutshell tour (about 1 hour) Meet in front of the main portal of Cologne Cathedral (0:00) Cologne Cathedral: 632 years from first stone to completion, and a short look inside at the Shrine of the Three Kings (approx. 12 min) Down into the cathedral car park: the Roman city wall between parked cars, and the story of Archbishop Anno’s escape (approx. 10 min) Walk through the Old Town to the Alter Markt (approx. 5 min) Alter Markt: the Jan von Werth fountain, the town hall tower and the Kallendresser (approx. 10 min) Great St. Martin: a Romanesque church on a former Rhine island, built over Roman warehouses (approx. 10 min) Short walk to the Salzgasse (approx. 2 min) Bierhaus en d’r Salzgass: one Päffgen Kölsch from the barrel (approx. 11 min) Tour ends at the Bierhaus en d’r Salzgass, Salzgasse 5-7, in the heart of the Old Town