We found ourselves in Cologne on a very wet and busy August Saturday. We’d stayed a couple of nights in a great family-friendly flat a little way out of the city so that we could enjoy the peace and quiet. On the morning of our day trip, we parked at the local station and took the train into the city. 

With young children – they were aged 2.5 and 5.5 at the time – we like to keep our itineraries simple so we had two main goals for the day: the Cathedral and the Chocolate Museum.

THE DOM (CATHEDRAL)

The Kölner Dom – third tallest church in the world – loomed over us as we emerged from the underground station. There was a queue to enter but no charge for the main interior. 

Germany’s most-visited landmark is an incredible Gothic masterpiece and has made it onto the UNESCO World Heritage list. It’s easy to see why those completing the build in 1880 were keen to adhere to the original ambitious 1248 medieval plans.

Inside is even more impressive with its soaring ceiling and vibrant stained-glass windows wherever you turn. Never have we visited such a busy place of worship – we joined hundreds of other tourists trailing quietly anti-clockwise past shrines and statues. 

Small and Tiny always seem to sense the need to be a little quieter and a little less wild in churches and temples which is helpful! Tiny did ask for a snack about 368583 times though! We emerged from the cathedral into a period of beautiful sunshine!

Key information: Entry to the main church is free although donations are encouraged. You can also pay to visit the treasury (€8/€4) and the tower (€8/€4). Combo and family tickets available. There’s also a gift shop and toilets. No tourist visits during services.

SCHOKOLADENMUSEUM

A perfect rainy day activity – although actually it was our plan whatever the weather – the Schokoladenmuseum was a delicious way to spend a couple of hours. It was opened in 1993 by a chocolatier named Hans Imhoff and, since 2006, has been home to Lindt chocolate – my favourite! As with the rest of Cologne, it was incredibly busy even with pre-bought timed entry tickets but, removing that from the equation, here’s what was involved.

It starts with learning about the environments where cocoa grows and talks about the plants themselves. Small’s takeaway fact from this area was that global warming means that by 2050 the right conditions for the trees to grow may no longer exist!

Next you can visit a small living ‘rainforest’ enclosure which included a cocoa tree.

Then it’s back to the museum to learn about how pods are harvested and by who via a range of information boards and interactive exhibits. Tiny and I enjoyed a simulation of cleaning, opening and sorting cocoa beans. There are 3 types of cocoa – bulk, fine and flavour – with the latter two being much rarer and used in more expensive, refined chocolate. 

Next was an area all about sustainability and the political/environmental/social/etc impact of chocolate production. 

Then it was on to chocolate production. This started with information about ingredients in white, milk and dark chocolate. Something I found interesting was that in the 1800s, when chocolate was available only for the rich, it was sometimes bulked out by plaster, brick dust, chalk powder, acorns and sawdust (alongside some more edible options)! 

The factory was next, with machines doing the whole production process from roasting and grinding all the way to a robot delivering one perfectly formed chocolate down a chute for us to enjoy! The scents of the vats of bubbling chocolate were divine!

Then came the historical section featuring so many chocolate-related artefacts, from Aztec drinking vessels and Mayan metate (grinding stones) to Victorian hot chocolate sets and racist advertising posters. All fascinating.

If you’re thinking of visiting and wondering just how much chocolate you will be able to sample, here’s the lowdown:

• Lindor truffle on entry
• A small piece from the robot (you could do this in two places)
• A small piece from an employee (maybe luck!)
• Wafer dipped in the chocolate fountain
• A little stack of four small wrapped pieces on exit

My verdict on this: enough but not overly generous. We didn’t leave feeling Augustus Gloop-full but perhaps this is carefully calculated to ensure you leave via the gift shop!

Key information: secure tickets (€19/€11.50/under 6s go free) before you go although you’ll likely still have to queue to enter at peak times. Additional experiences available to book. Toilets, café and gift shop on site.

ALTSTADT (OLD TOWN)

The rest of our day was filled with meandering through the city, diving under cover every time it rained. Spots like the squares near the cathedral are great for people-watching and snack breaks but then there are also endless cobbled streets to wander with little shops and cafes to visit. 

The Altstadt was full of historic charm and sits along the River Rhine. It also includes the storybook-style pastel, gabled houses of the 12^th century Fischmarkt (no actual fish on sale any longer!) and views of the impressive Great St Martin Church.

We recommend trying some Reibekuchen (German potato pancakes above) from Rievkoochebud. There may be a queue but it’ll be worth it! We also dodged another downpour with an ice cream and a view of the river (above).

We meandered along the path next to the Rhine, back to the train station for our journey home. 

OTHER ACTIVITIES

If you have more time, here are some other kid-friendly activities that we didn’t do:

• Cologne Zoo
• Hohenzollern Bridge – a railway bridge covered in love locks.
• Wolters Bimmelbahn – a yellow and green mini tourist train (runs on streets not tracks) with audio narration of the sights which runs from the cathedral to either the Chocolate Museum or the Zoo 
• Cologne Cable Car over the Rhine River
• Rhine River cruises

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THE FULL ROAD TRIP ITINERARY

Cologne was just one stop in our 2.5 week road trip from Derbyshire (UK) to Copenhagen in Denmark. The full itinerary, using our own car, is below. I’ll come back and link in future blog posts as I write them. It was overall a great trip but, if we’d had more time, we’d have broken up or spread out the long travel days, perhaps adding an extra day on our way north and possibly again on our return leg. The kids were fine with the duration of the journeys (they’re used to long trips down to Cornwall) but the days were just a bit too long and intense for Dean as driver.

Day 1: home to Folkestone for our LeShuttle crossing; drive to Bailleul, France (or similar for 1 night) (a long travel day but broken up so it didn’t feel too bad)

Day 2: long travel day #1 – breakfast in France, lunch in Belgium at Chateau d’Hélécine (free bouncy castles and amazing playgrounds next to a lake and café) and dinner in Germany (stay 2 nights in Weilerswist or similar or stay in Cologne if preferred)

GERMANY

Day 3: visit Cologne

Day 4: long travel day #2 – Cologne to Fleckby (or similar for 1 night) via Bremen Rhododendron Park (playgrounds, walks and a pricey/busy café so maybe bring a picnic). 

DENMARK

Day 5: travel to Svendborg (4 nights) and visit Odense

Day 6: visit Aero island by passenger ferry

Day 7: visit Egeskov Castle

Day 8: visit Langeland island (self-drive tour)

Day 9: visit Sagnlandt Lejre (Land of Legends) then travel to Roskilde (or similar or stay in Copenhagen if preferred for 2 nights)

Day 10: visit Copenhagen

Day 11: visit Lisleje Beach then travel to Askeby (or similar for 2 nights)

Day 12: visit Mon island (self-drive tour)

Day 13: long travel day #3 – Askeby to Lubeck (2 nights) via a stop in Heiligenhafen Pier

GERMANY

Day 14: visit Lubeck

Day 15: long travel day #4 – Lubeck to Oberhausen (or similar for 1 night) via a stop in Celle

BELGIUM

Day 16: visit Ghent, Belgium (stay 2 nights in Wingene or similar or in Ghent/Bruges if preferred)

Day 17: visit Bruges

Day 18: Bruges to home