Walking
10 places in Cologne
Decksteiner Weiher
An elongated lake in the outer green belt – popular for walking, jogging and rowing, with the Haus am See restaurant.
Forstbotanischer Garten Köln
A sprawling forest botanical garden in southern Cologne with the adjoining Friedenswald – around 90 hectares of trees, ponds and calm, free to enter.
Friedenspark
A city park in the Südstadt near the Rhine, built on an old fort – a quiet green space by the approach to the South Bridge.
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.
Cologne Fortress Museum
A volunteer-run museum in a Prussian fort in Marienburg – with a sculpture park and Germany's last surviving folding bridge.
Rheinauhafen
A former trading harbour in the southern Old Town – today a lively riverside quarter with the striking Crane Houses.
Rose Garden
A symmetrical rose garden by Fritz Encke on a former fortress fort – in summer a fragrant sea of blossoms in the green belt.
Südbrücke
A listed railway bridge from 1910 with neo-Romanesque stair towers – today mainly for freight, pedestrians and cyclists.
Südpark
A small listed park in Marienburg from around 1900 – a quiet, well-kept green space in Cologne's elegant south.
