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Visitor fee for Cologne Cathedral will be 12 EUR from July 1st 2026

Starting July 1, 2026, the Metropolitan Chapter of Cologne Cathedral will put the financing of Cologne Cathedral on a sustainable long-term footing with a new visitor concept.

Tourists will only be able to enter the interior of Cologne Cathedral after purchasing a ticket.

  • Full-price visitors will pay 12 EUR per person to tour the the treasury, and to climb the tower.
  • The reduced admission fee of 6 EUR will apply in the future to students aged 14 and older, apprentices, university students, and chaperones accompanying school groups.
  • Children up to and including age 13 will receive free admission in the future —not only to the interior of the cathedral, but also to the treasury and the tower climb. Until now, children have paid a reduced admission price of four euros for each of these attractions.
  • See the linked press release for full price information.

Regular visiting hours are Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. (last admission: 5:30 p.m.) and, on Sundays and religious holidays, generally from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. (last admission: 4:15 p.m.).

Attendance at church services remains free of charge without restriction.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Link to press release with price table in German language informing about the new visitor concept:
https://www.koelner-dom.de/aktuelles/domkapitel-erlaeutert-details-zum-neuen-besichtigungskonzept

Posted by
4767 posts

Current admission fees of other Cathedrals (source WDR article):

  • Berlin Cathedral: 15 EUR
  • Barcelona's Sagrada Familia: 26 EUR
  • Notre-Dame de Paris: free
  • Milan Cathedral: 11.50 EUR
  • St. Peter's Basilica; free, or 7 EUR for fast lane

Btw: cost for operations of Cologne Cathedral are 44,000 EUR - per day.

Funny side story: after announcement today thunderstorms with lightning are expected by forecast. Are the fees too high or too low? ;-)

Posted by
5886 posts

€12 is reasonable, especially considering that according to an article I was reading that 99% of the traffic through the cathedral are tourists. Doing the math, they should be able to turn a good profit based on 6 million visitors/year.