Family-friendly
55 places in Cologne
Aachener Weiher
An artificial lake in the inner green belt with a beer garden – one of the most popular summer meeting spots around Aachener Straße.
Aqualand
A large leisure pool in the north of Cologne – with slides, a wave pool, sauna and fun for the whole family.
Beethovenpark
A near-natural landscape park in Sülz from the 1920s – with wide lawns, mature trees and a special garden.
Blücherpark
A strictly geometric people's park in Nippes from 1913 – with a pond, play lawn and Baroque-style avenues, designed by Fritz Encke.
Kahnstation Decksteiner Weiher
Rowing and pedal boats on the idyllic Decksteiner Weiher in the green belt.
Bootsvermietung Kalscheurer Weiher
Boats and a kiosk at the tranquil Kalscheurer Weiher in southern Cologne.
Comedia Theater
An independent children's and youth theatre in the Südstadt – a hub for young audiences with its own productions, dance, cabaret and comedy.
Decksteiner Weiher
An elongated lake in the outer green belt – popular for walking, jogging and rowing, with the Haus am See restaurant.
Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum
Germany's national sports museum on the Rheinauhafen – from antiquity to the Olympics, with hands-on stations and a sports court on the roof.
Flora Botanical Garden
Cologne's botanical garden with over 10,000 plant species, historic themed gardens and the grand glass ‘Flora' festival hall in Riehl.
Fritz-Encke-Volkspark
A socially minded people's park by Fritz Encke (1920s) in Raderthal – with flower gardens, an open-air theatre and a reading garden as rare features.
GeoMuseum
The natural-history museum of the University of Cologne with minerals, gemstones, meteorites and fossils – Cologne's only natural-history museum.
Groov
A popular leisure island on the Rhine in Zündorf – with a marina, beer gardens, mini-golf, a pool and lawns, linked by a Rhine ferry.
Hänneschen-Theater
Cologne's storied rod-puppet theatre on the Eisenmarkt – home of Tünnes and Schäl and Germany's largest puppet theatre.
Kletterfabrik Köln
Climbing gym in Cologne-Ehrenfeld. One of the region's largest climbing centres with tall rope routes and a big bouldering area.
Klingelpützpark
An inner-city park in the northern old town on the site of a former prison – today a popular green open space.
Cologne Rose Monday Parade
Germany's largest and oldest Rose Monday parade – over 7 km of floats, music and sweets through the city centre.
Cologne Cable Car
A cable car over the Rhine since 1957 – floating between the Zoo/Flora and the Rheinpark with a grand view of river and skyline.
Cologne City Forest
A sprawling woodland park in Lindenthal with a deer enclosure, ponds and playgrounds – a popular recreation area in western Cologne.
Lentpark
A modern combined ice rink and swimming hall near the centre – year-round ice skating, swimming and an outdoor pool in one place.
Museum Ludwig
20th- and 21st-century art on the Domplatte – home to Europe's largest Pop Art and the world's third-largest Picasso collection.
Cologne Planetarium
A small school planetarium with an observatory in Nippes – showing groups the starry sky and offering a look through the telescope.
Rheinpark
A riverside park between Deutz and Mülheim on the right bank, heritage-listed since 1989 – with views of the Old Town.
Chocolate Museum Cologne
A cultural-history museum on the Rheinauhafen peninsula with a glass chocolate factory and a walk-in tropical house – one of Cologne's most visited museums.
Straßenbahn-Museum Thielenbruch
A tram museum in a 1906 depot hall – around two dozen Cologne trams from the horse-drawn era to the modern light-rail car.
Tanzbrunnen
A large open-air venue in the Rheinpark on the right bank – with a stage for up to 12,500 guests, a beach club and a view of the skyline.
Volksgarten
A popular park in the Südstadt with a boating lake, pedal boats, beer garden and the Orangerie – one of Cologne's loveliest meeting spots.
