Rare mskaufman Posted June 12, 2017 #1 Share Posted June 12, 2017 Viking offers an optional excursion to the top of the Cologne Cathedral. Has anyone been on this who can provide feedback? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted June 12, 2017 #2 Share Posted June 12, 2017 If the tour costs more than €5, it's price gouging. It is so easy to climb the Dom on your own, at your own pace. The ticket is about €4. We did it, as have many others who post here. The Dom is easy to find and the entry to the tower is on the side of the church facing the German-Roman museum. If you're facing the main doors, just circle around the church to your right and you can't miss it. Entry is at basement level. Info: https://www.koelner-dom.de/informationen/oeffnungszeiten/?L=1 I can't say much about the guided tour, but it's a great climb. I posted pictured on my Rhine blog a few years ago, and I know Robin (acwmom) did too, on her blog from earlier this year. Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acwmom Posted June 15, 2017 #3 Share Posted June 15, 2017 I agree with JP, that if you pace yourself, it's an easy DIY. The bell tower platform is about halfway up, which is a good breath-catching spot, and then, there's another resting spot before the last 150 steps, which are actually pretty easy. However, I have seen Viking's tour reviewed, and they go up the other tower, which is being renovated, and use the construction elevator. I can't recall the cost, but I believe it was around 80 euros? And, I'm not sure how accessible it is, some of the passageways I saw were pretty narrow. I'm by no means in great shape, and I made it. (We tend to do church tower climbs, and castle climbs, whenever the opportunity arises:-) ) Robin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted June 16, 2017 Author #4 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Thanks, We have OBC and don't drink much outside of dinner so were looking at optional excursions as a way to use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted June 16, 2017 #5 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Ah, optional tours are a good way to use obc. We do that too, but we try to choose excursions that go to places we can't easily get to on our own. I'd personally look at other options before using obc on this one, but that's just me. Enjoy, and if you do end up doing this excursion, come back and let us know how it was. Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted June 20, 2017 #6 Share Posted June 20, 2017 Thanks, We have OBC and don't drink much outside of dinner so were looking at optional excursions as a way to use it. In Cologne on the Grand European Tour last year we took the optional excursion to the BRÜHL UNESCO PALACES. I highly recommend it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted June 21, 2017 Author #7 Share Posted June 21, 2017 In Cologne on the Grand European Tour last year we took the optional excursion to the BRÜHL UNESCO PALACES. I highly recommend it. Were you still able to do the Cologne tour in the morning or did this tour take the morning and the afternoon? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted June 21, 2017 #8 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Were you still able to do the Cologne tour in the morning or did this tour take the morning and the afternoon? We did both. The included walking tour was in the morning, the tour of palaces was after lunch. BTW I thought the staircase at Augustusburg Castle was more impressive than the one at the Würzburg’s Bishops’ Residenz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mskaufman Posted June 21, 2017 Author #9 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I am gathering that this picture was taken on the tour. More impressive than many of the staircases we saw in St. Petersburg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OneSixtyToOne Posted June 21, 2017 #10 Share Posted June 21, 2017 I am gathering that this picture was taken on the tour. More impressive than many of the staircases we saw in St. Petersburg. Yes. This was considered a "summer house." You also visit the falcon hunting "lodge" where they really roughed it. The staircase there is covered in Delft tile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted June 21, 2017 #11 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Very impressive OneSixtyToOne, love the photo. The palaces (there are two) are somewhat off the beaten track for river cruisers but well worth visiting IMO as well. They are a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a reason. :) Here is the website: http://www.schlossbruehl.de/en_worldheritage_site They are Southwest of Cologne at the town of Brühl, the English website has the coordinates: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustusburg_and_Falkenlust_Palaces,_Br%C3%BChl It should not be far on the coach from Cologne, I reckon about 35mins. notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sherrysings Posted June 27, 2017 #12 Share Posted June 27, 2017 I would suggest taking the walk up to the top of the Dom on your own, it's around 4 euros and simple to find the entrance. The walk up is long and you want to go at your own pace rather than being held up in a group setting. The walk to the Cathedral from the boat is around 10 min and easy to find. I would save the shipboard credit for excursions that you cannot do on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrkstl Posted July 3, 2017 #13 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Viking offers an optional excursion to the top of the Cologne Cathedral. Has anyone been on this who can provide feedback? Hello, We did the Viking "Top of Cologne" tour which was a major highlight of the trip. It's a very detailed behind the scenes tour that takes you up via construction elevator, and then through the roof, walking around the roof, inside and up high in the cathedral, etc. It's a completely different tour than simply walking up the steps, etc. If you're at all interested in the Dom history and if architecture is something you like, I would *highly* recommend this! Beware - this one sells out quickly and I believe only has 16 or so spots to sell. Also, it's not available for all Rhine cruises as it seems to depend on which day you spend in Cologne. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have, so ask away :) Again, highly recommend this! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare jpalbny Posted July 3, 2017 #14 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Hello, We did the Viking "Top of Cologne" tour which was a major highlight of the trip. It's a very detailed behind the scenes tour that takes you up via construction elevator, and then through the roof, walking around the roof, inside and up high in the cathedral, etc. It's a completely different tour than simply walking up the steps, etc. If you're at all interested in the Dom history and if architecture is something you like, I would *highly* recommend this! Beware - this one sells out quickly and I believe only has 16 or so spots to sell. Also, it's not available for all Rhine cruises as it seems to depend on which day you spend in Cologne. I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have, so ask away :) Again, highly recommend this! Jeff That sounds like a very cool excursion! I found some information but only in German. This looks like the in-depth kind of tour that we'd like. We did something similar at Salisbury Cathedral years ago, and loved it. I wonder if you can do it on your own for an even better personalized tour? You can book your own private group for €170-190, up to 17 persons. So even if you have only 4-6 persons, it's only 30 or 40 per person. That's really cheap for what you get. I might try this the next time we're there. What does Viking charge for the tour? Notamermaid, can you have a look at the site and see what I'm missing? http://www.domfuehrungen-koeln.de/Dach Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare notamermaid Posted July 3, 2017 #15 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Happy to do that, jpalbny, had a quick look and it says you can book the times in green on the screen, i.e. you click on it and a booking form pops up. What you need to know is that there is no guarantee for being able to use the work lift, you might have to climb 240 steps. There are two versions with booking slots, the public one marked with ö (the number of free places is given behind the ö) and the group one marked with G. Mondays to Fridays tours on the high roof are only available after 4pm. notamermaid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrkstl Posted July 3, 2017 #16 Share Posted July 3, 2017 What does Viking charge for the tour? It was $80 per person, I believe. Worth. Every. Penny. One of these days I'll get my pics organized and will share the link of my Flickr account... Here is Viking's YouTube video about the Dom and tour. After viewing this, I was OBSESSED with doing this excursion. As stated before, I was not disappointed :) Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nnsundial Posted August 15, 2017 #17 Share Posted August 15, 2017 It was $80 per person, I believe. Worth. Every. Penny. One of these days I'll get my pics organized and will share the link of my Flickr account... Here is Viking's YouTube video about the Dom and tour. After viewing this, I was OBSESSED with doing this excursion. As stated before, I was not disappointed :) Jeff So wish we had done this! Cologne is such a fabulous cathedral..... would have loved to taken this excursion. NEXT TIME! Sent from my iPad using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larsh Posted September 15, 2017 #18 Share Posted September 15, 2017 I was just in Cologne with Viking a few days ago. The included (ie. free) excursion takes you to the Dom. It's about €4-5 to climb to the top. Quite a tight spiral staircase; luckily never encountered any opposing traffic! Great view though, so worth it. There was scaffolding up at the top of the opposite spire. Partially blocked some views, but not too bad. Not sure what an optional tour would cover, but personally, couldn't justify a big charge for it. Sent from my SM-T530NU using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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