Christmas in Cologne: A Travel Diary

This time last year, we were packing our bags to board a plane to Germany. Oh, what a grand luxury that was! The idea was to kick off our Christmas in Europe yearly tour, but alas, 2020 had other plans.

As soon as we landed in Cologne, we took the train to the city centre. Here’s a list of things we did…

1. Chinese Festival of Lights

This was held at the Zoo at night. It was an unforgettable experience and unlike anything we’d ever seen before!

festival
Swans and Castle at the Festival of Lights
festival
Deer at the Festival of Lights

2. Drachenburg Castle

Luckily, it occurred to us to check opening hours becase if we hadn’t, we would have missed out on a great day out! The interior was beautifully decorated and there was a Christmas market within the castle grounds, too. We had a bowl of warm soup as the weather started to get chilly in the evening.

Christmas Tree at the Castle
Christmas Tree at the Castle
mulled wine
Mulled Wine
castle
Drachenburg Castle

3. Christmas Market in Bonn

We climbed the Ferris Wheel and we bought a Christmas Star as a gift for a friend back home.

Christmas market
Stall selling Christmas Decorations in Bonn

4. Christmas Markets in Cologne

The best way to get into the Christmas spirit! The lights and the stalls make you feel as though you’ve walked into Christmas Town. We bought crepes and hot chocolate and scarves and various other keepsakes.

Christmas market

5. Cologne Cathedral

We climbed hundreds of steps (which left us breathless!) to see the spectacular view from the top – totally worth the effort!

cathedral cologne
Cologne Cathedral

6. A Walk along the River

Relaxing and refreshing; just what we recommend after a big breakfast.

river
Riverside Walk

7. Lindt Chocolate Factory

This is where we took a tour and learned about the history and process of making chocolate. The best part was eating the divine chocolate and buying loads of it to take back home with us, of course.

chocolate fountain
Chocolate Fountain

8. Shopping

We were pleasantly surprised to find a street full of shops where we got some much-needed retail therapy.

9. Food, Glorious Food! (And Drink!)

You could say we lived on Currywurst and Mulled Wine. Cheers!

sausage
Currywurst
mulled wine
Mulled Wine (again!)
potato soup
Delicious Potato Soup

We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this post as much as we enjoyed being there and writing about such a wonderful trip. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Merry Christmas!

Passport and Pathways x

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Christmas

Comments

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  2. Charity says:

    This looks like such a dreamy and beautiful place to spend Christmas! I haven’t ever heard of it before.

    1. We hope you get a chance to spend a few days there. It really is quite dreamy!

  3. Corinne says:

    This looks like a perfect place to spend Christmas. And YUM mulled wine!

    Corinne x

    1. Yes, it was absolutely wonderful! The mulled wine tasted extra delightful. Thanks for stopping by, Corinne 🙂 x

  4. Wonderful post! Thank you for sharing the lovely photos! The food looks delicious too!

    1. Thank you! It was! 😀

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