Germany · SELF-GUIDED TOURS IN COLOGNE
The 4 self-guided tours in Cologne worth booking today, with what each costs, how long it runs and who it suits. Number one is top for a reason, so start there.
You explore Cologne with a mailed box containing 16 sealed envelopes, each filled with clues and local facts. Start at the main station, then follow the trail to the Cathedral, Old Market, Heinzelmännchen fountain, Great St. Martin, Heumarkt, and the Rhine. There is no live guide, so you set the pace, pause for photos, and continue when ready.
Explore Cologne by solving a witch-themed city game on your phone. The route links Melaten Cemetery, Cologne Cathedral, Domplatte, Old Town, Central Station, and the Museum of East Asian Art. You set the pace and can pause anytime, but the start lies away from the cathedral and some directions may require extra patience.
“It is what it is. Would do it again because you get what you pay for. Some of the directions left us triple guessing though. We just had a very unsure time populated with ghost stories.”
Use the Explorial app to explore Bonn at your own pace, solving questions and photo challenges around Beethoven House, Bonn Minster, Electoral Palace, and Münsterplatz. The private, self-guided route takes about two hours, costs $13.26 per person, and runs in English with breaks allowed whenever you need them.
“I did a trail before so I knew what to expect. However, it was super fun again. the quizzes help you great really into it. very pretty place in general!”
Follow an English GPS-guided walk through Roman Cologne with the VoiceMap app. Start near the cathedral, pass Roman gates, mosaics, a palace, harbor road, churches, and Gothic carvings, then finish near the Ubii Monument. Download the tour for offline use and stop or restart whenever you like.
“We started in a place other than the cathedral and it was hard to figure out how to walk backwards with this audio tour (other tours make it much easier to map out and choose beginning places). Also, the tour was a bit boring truth be told.”
A city, a river, a castle ridge, a brewery.
