Christmas in Cologne Germany is an experience like no other! Last December I headed to Cologne to experience the wonders of Cologne Christmas markets as a trip with my girl friends, and it was a truly incredible and unforgettable experience. In fact, I think Cologne is one of the best Christmas markets in Europe (and Europe has plenty of Christmas markets to choose from!)

I love European Christmas markets: nothing gets you in the festive spirit quite like the twinkly lights, little wooden huts, and delicious food. The Cologne Christmas markets are also a good place to indulge in some pre-Christmas shopping, whether you’re looking for gifts for kids, friends or family, as well as beautiful glass-blown and wooden Christmas tree decorations.

Planning a trip to Cologne at Christmas or to visit the Christmas markets? Here’s everything you need to know to organise the perfect Koln Christmas market break in 2025:

1. When Are The Cologne Christmas Markets in 2025?
2. Where Are The Cologne Christmas Markets?
3. Key Attractions in Cologne at Christmas
4. What To Eat And Drink At The Cologne Christmas Markets
5. Where To Stay in Cologne For The Christmas Markets
6. Practical Tips For Visiting in 2025
7. Conclusion

Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!

When Are The Cologne Christmas Markets in 2025?

What makes Cologne so special, and such a great place to visit to explore the Christmas markets, is that it boasts not one but seven different Christmas markets. Each of these seven Cologne markets has slightly different opening and closing dates, so if you’re visiting early or late in the season, pay particular attention to these.

The general market dates for the Cologne Christmas markets in 2025 are November 17th – December 23rd 2025. However some of the markets have their own specific dates.

• Cologne Cathedral Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmarkt am Kolner Dam) opens from November 17th – December 23rd but is closed on November 23rd for the whole day.
• Alter Markt opens from November 24th – December 23rd 2025
• Heumarkt opens from November 24th and closes on January 4th 2026. The market is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
• Harbour Christmas Market (Hafen-Weihnachtsmarkt) opens from November 14th – December 28th. It is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
• Market of Angels (Markt de Engel) opens from November 17th to December 23rd but is closed on November 23rd.
• Christmas Market in the Stadtgarten still has its dates markets as TBC on the official website, but this is expected to run from November 15th to December 23rd.
• Heavenue Christmas Market runs from November 17th to December 23rd but is closed on November 23rd.

Where Are The Cologne Christmas Markets?

The Cologne Christmas markets are spread across the city, but they’re all wonderfully easy to access.

TOP TIP: There’s a land train that connects the markets to each other, and you can book a day ticket for the train to get you from one to the next without any hassle (that’s what we did, and I highly recommend doing this!) Either book on the day or in advance here.

If you do decide you’d rather walk from one market to the next then you have stronger legs than I do, and i’ll pop the addressses for all of the markets for you below:

• Christmas Market at Cologne Cathedral (Weihnachtsmarkt am Kölner Dom): Roncalliplatz, 50667 Cologne. 
• Market of Angels (Markt der Engel): Neumarkt, 50667 Cologne. 
• Rudolfplatz Christmas Market: (Weihnachtsmarkt auf dem Rudolfplatz): In front of the Hahnentorburg, Rudolfplatz, 50677 Cologne. 
• Harbour Christmas Market: (Hafen Weihnachtsmarkt): Near the Chocolate Museum, Am Schokoladenmuseum, 50678 Cologne. 

Key Attractions in Cologne at Christmas

The BEST Christmas markets in Cologne (In my opinion at least) are the market that surrounds the Cathedral and Heinzels Winter Fairytale, which is comprised of two separate markets that sit side by side: Alter Markt and Heumarkt.

If you’ve seen photos of Cologne’s Christmas Markets before, then chances are those pictures of of the Cathedral Christmas Market. With the Cathedral creating a dramatic backdrop, this is the most picturesque of the markets we visited, and probably my favourite. Cologne Cathedral has a rich history, and you can even see bullet holes and shell damage on the outside of the cathedral from WWII. Try to drag yourself away to look inside, you really won’t regret it.

If you’ve got the time, I actually recommend booking onto a Cathedral and Old Town walking tour. This only costs £20 per person, and is a great way to learn about Cologne’s rich history in a relatively short period of time. It’s also a great activity for in the mornings, before the Christmas markets open!

Check availablity and book a Cologne and Old Town walking tour here.
Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off ticket prices.

My second best rated Christmas market in Cologne is Heinzel’s Winter Fairytale: this might be cheating because technically this is two markets, but they’re side by side and very easy to visit at the same time. I love this market because it’s the only one with an ice skating rink and we had SO MUCH FUN whizzing round on the ice surrounded by fairy lights and Christmas trees. I love to ice skate, but I don’t get to do it very often.

We visited on a week day during term time so we didn’t book the ice skating and got straight on. If you want to go at a weekend or prime holiday period I recommend pre-booking (you can do this directly via the Heinzel’s website here).

I also thought that Heinzel’s Winter Fairytale had the best food, as well as cozy beer halls where you could get a hot chocolate (or a beer of course!) and watch the hustle and bustle down below. If you’re travelling with kids then this market also has a beautiful carousel and a small ferris wheel that kids would love (I know mine would!)

Smack bang in the middle of the two markets here (Alter Markt and Heumarkt) you’ll find another attraction that’s a lot of fun for the whole family. A Virtual Reality Time Travel Experience. We didn’t do this but we did take photos outside the tram with the conductor and it looked like so much fun!

Hop on a replica of the Cologne Tramway and embark on an exciting journey through time with virtual reality and experience undestroyed Cologne and the captivating lifestyle of the Golden Twenties. At just £17 each, this is another affordable experience too.

You can prebook the Virtual Reality Time Travel Experience in Cologne here
Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off ticket prices.

I also felt there was a lot of entertainment at this market, and we saw an amazing violinist and a wandering carol singing group in Victorian attire that really added to the festive spirit of the event. At the Cathedral Christmas Market there was a big stage that had regular entertainment, and this was a lot of fun too, but this was a little more formal/felt less spontaneous, which is why Heinzel’s appealed to me so much.

What To Eat And Drink At The Cologne Christmas Markets

The very best thing to do at the Cologne Christmas Markets is to eat and drink all the delicious festive food: make sure you take your appetite because the smell of cooking means you’re permanently hungry and honestly, everything looks so good!

TOP TIP: Share dishes with friends/family if you’re travelling with a group. We shared every dish between the three of us, and it meant we had the room to try so many more dishes (as well as not wasting money and throwing away things we didn’t like!)

I loved the hot chocolate, and I especially love it when it was spiked and loaded with cream. I tried a couple of these (we weren’t driving!) and the hot chocolate with ameretto was a firm favourite.

Some of the best dishes to try at Cologne’s Christmas Markets are the traditional German foods – you didn’t come all this way to eat a hamburger!

Make sure you try the Bratwurst (grilled sausage), Kartoffelpuffer/Reibekuchen (potato pancakes) served with applesauce, and Käsespätzle (cheese egg noodles). I also love the mushrooms which are served smothered in a white garlic sauce, but google doesn’t seem to be able to help me with their German name!

If you want something sweet then try Gebrannte Mandeln (candied almonds) and Lebkuchen (gingerbread) especially when its covered in chocolate. The chocolate covered marshmallow kisses are a personal favourite too. When I’m at a German Christmas market I could eat these things all day long!

On the subject of food and drink, one of the things I really wanted to do in Cologne, but we just didn’t have the time, was to visit the Lindt Chocolate Museum. I love Lindt chocolate, and this is probably the most famous museum in Cologne, so it would have been a match made in heaven! As well as exploring historic machines from the industrial era, revealing how chocolate was crafted, you get to see the chocolatiers at work and taste from the huge chocolate fountain. Apparently you are given chocolates to take home too – I was gutted with missed out!

You can buy tickets for the Lindt Chocolate Museum in Cologne here
Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off ticket prices.

Where To Stay in Cologne For The Christmas Markets

Cologne is a relatively compact city, and all of the main attractions are concerntrated in the city centre, making it super-easy to explore on foot. Even the main airport is only a 8 minute train ride from the city centre (if you take the fastest service). This is GREAT news when it comes to choosing your accomodation in Cologne, because you can’t really get it wrong: even if you’re staying right out by the airport, it’s still easy to get to and explore the Cologne Christmas markets.

I always like being as close to the city centre as possible. So I’ve put 5 different options of highly regarded, central hotels in Cologne with great reviews for you to choose from:

• Hilton Cologne. This is a 5 star spa hotel that’s centrally located in Cologne, within a 10-minute walk of Cologne Cathedral and Old Market. Use this link to check prices and book.
• Cologne Marriott Hotel. With gorgeous modern interiors, this is is centrally located in Cologne, a 4-minute walk from Musical Dome and 7 minutes by foot from Cologne Cathedral. Use this link to check prices and book.
• KONCEPT Hotel International. An affordable hotel with bright, modernist inspired interiors. Use this link to check prices and book.
• Holiday Inn Express. We use these a lot as they’re affordable and reliable. This is a great choice if you have a car in the city. Use this link to check prices and book.

Practical Tips For Visiting in 2025

The Cologne Christmas markets are a lot of fun, but I do have some practical tips to help you make the most of the experience:

• Bring cash. A lot of the stalls will take cards, but a decent number don’t (especially the food stalls) so it’s worth having cash with you. Smaller notes and coins are particularly handy.
• Dress warmly and wear layers. All of the markets in Cologne are outdoors, and it can feel bitterly cold, particularly in the evenings. I wore a thermal base layer (this one) underneath my clothes, which kept me toasty warm all day.
• Not a big fan of crowds? Cologne Christmas markets are popular, so they’re always busy but visiting on a weekday afternoon is the best way to experience the markets with the lowest crowd levels.
• Collect the Christmas mugs. When you order a hot drink, you pay a deposit to have it served in a unique souvenir mug. Each market has its own mug. Return the mug to get your deposit back OR do what we did and keep your mugs as a fun and practical souvenir!
• Carry a power bank. I wouldn’t be without mine, and on long days like this one where you’ll want to take photos of everything you’re going to find that your phone battery drains fast. My power bank was a lifesaver!

Conclusion

Cologne Christmas Market is truly one of the most beautiful I’ve ever experienced. Admittedly a little more compact than the markets in Berlin, the atmosphere was unbeatable, and the people were so welcoming and friendly. Visit on a weekday if you can, to avoid the huge crush of the weekend crowds. Allow plenty of time to shop and stop for snacks, and enjoy every minute!

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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!