Hop-On Hop-Off Bus in Cologne: Is the 24-Hour Ticket Worth It?
4 min read
The 24-hour hop-on hop-off ticket pays off if you want to reach the Chocolate Museum, the zoo or the Rhine-side districts without walking, and less so if you only plan to see the cathedral and the Old Town. Those two sit at the very start of the route and can be covered on foot. The bus earns its place once you use it as transport between stops that are far apart.
What the ticket gives you
The booking page lists these two items: the 24-hour ticket and a 90-minute audio guide. Food and drinks are not part of that list, so plan for them yourself. The audio commentary comes in German, English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Dutch, Chinese and Japanese.
The 24-hour ticket costs €24 and is rated 4.3 from 3,331 reviews. If you want to use the ticket across two days, ask the operator when your 24 hours start. The operator, CityTour (Willms), lists the same 24-hour ticket on its own site at €24 for adults and €5 for children aged 4 to 13, at most two children per paying adult; on board you pay by card only (citytour.de).
Stops and timetable
The bus is a double-decker with a choice of top deck or lower deck. The page lists 14 stops:
- Cathedral (start and end of the loop)
- Old Town
- Gürzenich
- Rothgerberbach
- Chlodwigplatz
- Chocolate Museum
- Triangle Tower
- Tanzbrunnen
- Lanxess Arena
- Zoo/Flora
- Eigelstein
- Mediapark
- Friesenplatz
- Neumarkt
According to the page, the first bus leaves the cathedral at 10 a.m. and the last at 5 p.m., and a bus reaches each stop every 30 minutes. A full loop is about 90 minutes, so the first bus is back at the cathedral at 11:30 a.m. and the last at 6:30 p.m. The page tells you to check the detailed timetable at a stop, and the same page warns that no seat is guaranteed when demand is high.
The operator’s site gives the same times, daily, and says the bus runs in any weather, with the roof closed when it rains. Two exceptions stood there on 8 November 2026: on Wednesday 11 November 2026, the opening of the carnival season, there are no tours at all, and the Gürzenich stop is not served because of roadworks, so use the Old Town stop instead.
Access and rules
The page says the bus is barrier-free in the lower area, that dogs are allowed on the lower level, that smoking is not allowed, and that one companion of a person with a Category B disability pass travels free. The page gives Burgmauer 6 as the starting location.
When it works, when it does not
It works if you:
- want the Chocolate Museum (ticket guide) and the zoo on the same day;
- travel with someone who tires of walking;
- like to hear the city’s history in your own language from an audio guide.
It does not work well if you:
- have only a few hours, since a full loop already takes 90 minutes without a stop;
- want a guide who answers questions. The bus has audio commentary, not a live guide.
What to compare it with
For the cathedral and the Old Town alone, a guided walk is a better fit; our Old Town comparison lists six. For the view from the water, the Rhine cruise guide compares five boat trips, and the 1-hour cruise costs €15.20. The zoo and aquarium ticket costs €23.
What we would book
Book the bus if your day includes at least two stops away from the cathedral, and start early, because the last bus leaves at 5 p.m. Avoid 11 November, when the bus does not run. For a short visit, a walk plus a boat is the simpler plan. More bus and bike options are on the bike and bus tours page.
