Cologne Cathedral Tower Climb

It’s 97 metres skyward without an elevator. You’ll need a certain amount of fitness and comfortable shoes, because you have to climb 533 steps. People go up on the right-hand side of the stairs and back down on the left-hand side. When you encounter descending visitors, it can get tight on the sometimes narrow, slippery steps.

But after completing the popular climb up the tower, you will be rewarded with a panoramic view over the city centre of Cologne, the Rhine and, in good weather, the Siebengebirge. The climb starts at the separate access structure on the side of the Cathedral. You’ll also find the box office there.

“Fat Peter” has had an eventful history. It was cast in 10 minutes, but the metal took weeks to cool — and it also took weeks to transport it up the tower. During World War II, it escaped being melted down after the City of Cologne cunningly claimed that “the bell would be needed to celebrate the final victory.” This argument actually worked.

In the 1950s, St. Peter’s Bell got a crack, and in 2011 the clapper weighing several hundred kilos broke off. Fortunately, it didn’t crash all the way down into the Cathedral, but bounced on 8-inch-thick wooden floorboards. And so “fat Peter” with its powerful deep C still rings into the hearts of Cologne residents and visitors today.