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Germany
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North Rhine-Westphalia
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Cologne
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Tours & Activities
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Cologne Hop-On Hop-Off Bus Tour and Rhine River Sightseeing Cruise
1 day
Instant confirmation
About this activity
With roots dating back to Roman times, Cologne is packed with buildings and monuments that testify to its ancient and medieval past. Add great museums, an impressive postmodern quarter and top-notch shopping and nightlife scenes, and Germany’s fourth-largest city has plenty for sightseers.
Armed with your 24-hour ticket (valid from time of first use), board an open-top, double-decker bus to experience Cologne’s top attractions. Your ticket lets you create your own, personalized itinerary and explore at your own pace — simply hop on and off at any of the 16 stops as you wish. See the Itinerary for a full list of stops.
Alternatively, stay aboard for the entire 1.5-hour loop and watch Cologne’s top landmarks roll by. Learn about the sights from your English- and German-speaking guide or wear your headphones to hear the audio commentary.
Admire top Cologne attractions such as the world-famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) with its towering twin spires, or perhaps leave the bus to stroll through the picturesque Old Town (Altstadt). Alternatively, hop off at the avant-garde Rheinauhafen quarter and visit the fascinating Chocolate Museum (Schokoladen Museum).
Your hop-on, hop-off ticket includes a 1-hour round-trip cruise on the Rhine River. Board your comfortable sightseeing boat and see Cologne from the water as you drift along the legendary river.
Admire the soaring cathedral, snap photos of the gabled riverfront houses, and pass the Rheinaufen waterfront, famed for its crane towers — three blocks shaped like hoisting cranes — as the informative onboard commentary brings the landmarks to life.
The hop-on hop-off buses depart every hour daily from morning to evening, while the sightseeing cruises depart every 90 minutes daily, from morning to evening.
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Armed with your 24-hour ticket (valid from time of first use), board an open-top, double-decker bus to experience Cologne’s top attractions. Your ticket lets you create your own, personalized itinerary and explore at your own pace — simply hop on and off at any of the 16 stops as you wish. See the Itinerary for a full list of stops.
Alternatively, stay aboard for the entire 1.5-hour loop and watch Cologne’s top landmarks roll by. Learn about the sights from your English- and German-speaking guide or wear your headphones to hear the audio commentary.
Admire top Cologne attractions such as the world-famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) with its towering twin spires, or perhaps leave the bus to stroll through the picturesque Old Town (Altstadt). Alternatively, hop off at the avant-garde Rheinauhafen quarter and visit the fascinating Chocolate Museum (Schokoladen Museum).
Your hop-on, hop-off ticket includes a 1-hour round-trip cruise on the Rhine River. Board your comfortable sightseeing boat and see Cologne from the water as you drift along the legendary river.
Admire the soaring cathedral, snap photos of the gabled riverfront houses, and pass the Rheinaufen waterfront, famed for its crane towers — three blocks shaped like hoisting cranes — as the informative onboard commentary brings the landmarks to life.
The hop-on hop-off buses depart every hour daily from morning to evening, while the sightseeing cruises depart every 90 minutes daily, from morning to evening.
Included
- German- and English-speaking guide on hop-on hop-off bus
- Onboard bus audio commentary in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Chinese and Japanese
- Onboard boat audio commentary in English and German
Not included
- Gratuities
- Food and drinks
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Child tickets (ages 3-14) are available at departure point on the day of travel
Features
Tourism
95%
Cultural
80%
Original
25%
Reviews
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The bus tour was OK...finding the stops can be a little confusing. They are not the regular bus stops but the representative didn't give much instruction on what to look for. The buses only come every 30 minutes, so we waited quite a bit. One one bus, the commentary was only in German and my headset didn't work, but another bus had a much better guide who spoke German and English. Once on the bus, it takes you to most major landmarks and attractions you would want to visit. The river cruise made up for the shortcomings of the bus tour. We enjoyed it very much and also had commentary. Overall, I would recommend this experience.
Good way to see the City. Too bad the head phones were working well.
It was okay. Hop on Hop off bus was okay. It's very hard to hear since the loud speaker was talking in German very loud and headphone was not very helpful. Boat ride was okay. Confortable, no announcement, just sightseeing. Only thing I found in Cologne interesting was Cathedral. Not much to see in Cologne.
The cruise was lovely, well done and the narration was excellent - in English and in German. I was interested to see so many German tourists as well as people from all parts of the world taking this cruise. The hop-On Hop-Off bus tour - the first bus was excellent and the gal that did the narrating was excellent as well as the bus driver, The last bus driver - did not speak English, had a taped narration and was a bit crude since he did not know English. Plus he was late getting there.
A very pretty town - must remember to let the driver know that you want to get off - does not stop unless requested.
This was our highlight of our Hop-On-Hop-Off and our stay in Cologne. This river ride is highly recommended and no visitor to Cologne should give this a miss.