When are the 2027 Cologne Christmas markets?

Expected from the second half of November to 23 December 2027. Cologne closes a day earlier than Nuremberg and Strasbourg, and the 2026 season opened as early as 16 November.

How many markets are there?

Half a dozen significant ones. The cathedral market is the famous one; Heumarkt and Alter Markt sit together by the river, and Rudolfplatz and Neumarkt are a few tram stops west.

Can I do it as a day trip?

Yes, more easily than any other market on this site — the main one is two minutes from the station, and the trains from Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt are fast.

Where do I stay to avoid the prices?

Deutz, across the river. One stop by train, a view of the cathedral, and a clearly lower price band than the Altstadt.

No, the markets are free. Since July 2026 the cathedral interior charges admission, which is a separate thing from the market outside it.

Cologne Christmas Markets 2027

Name: Cologne Christmas Markets 2027
Start: 2027-11-22
End: 2027-12-23
Location: Roncalliplatz, by the cathedral

Cologne, Germany

22 Nov – 23 Dec 2027

Expected, based on previous years

Cologne opens in the second half of November and closes on 23 December, a day earlier than the markets that run to Christmas Eve. The 2026 season opened on 16 November, earlier than in previous years, and the city re-tendered the operator — so treat these dates as the pattern and check before booking the last nights.

387days to go

Hotels for these dates

Right Weekend earns a commission when you book through links on this page. It never affects which days or districts we recommend.

Our verdict

Go: Weekdays in the first two weeks; any Advent Saturday is the one to avoid
Stay: Deutz
Book by: July 2027 for an Advent weekend, October for a weekday

Not one market but half a dozen, each a few tram stops apart, with the big one under the cathedral and the station immediately beside it. That makes Cologne the easiest of the four to reach and the hardest to sleep in cheaply — unless you cross the river.

Illustration: a dense Christmas market of red-roofed wooden stalls at night beneath a vast gothic cathedral, strings of lights overhead, crowds moving between the rows, mist in the cold air — Illustration — a generated image of the kind of scene, not a photograph of the venue.

Which days to go

Day	What happens	Hotel price	Our call
Opening week22–26 Nov 2027	The markets open through the week; the cathedral square is busy from the first evening	×1.5	The cheapest days of the season, and everything is already running
First Advent27 Nov – 5 Dec 2027	The first weekend crowds, and the river markets at full strength	×2.4	Go on the Thursday or Friday rather than the Saturday
Second and third Advent6–19 Dec 2027	Peak weeks; day-trippers by train from across the Ruhr and the Netherlands	×3	The two Saturdays when the Altstadt stops being walkable
The last days20–23 Dec 2027	Quieter evenings, then everything closes on the 23rd	×1.8	Remember Cologne shuts a day earlier than Nuremberg or Strasbourg

Hotel price is what the same hotel costs on these dates against its rate four weeks before the event. Crowd and price are our estimates from how the event has run, not live rates.

Where to stay

Roncalliplatz, by the cathedralNorth is up. Numbers match the table.

#	District	To the venue	Price	What it is
1	Altstadt	5 min walk	$$$$	Between the cathedral and the river, with four markets inside a fifteen-minute walk
2	Around the Hauptbahnhof	5 min walk	$$$	The station is next to the cathedral, so the station hotels are the market hotels
3	Belgisches Viertel	15 min metro	$$$	The city's nicest district to eat in, fifteen minutes from the cathedral
4	Deutz	10 min train	$$	Across the Rhine with the cathedral view, one stop on the train, consistently cheaper
5	Ehrenfeld	20 min metro	$$	Residential and well connected; where rooms exist on an Advent Saturday

Hotel	What it is	Book
Altstadt
Excelsior Hotel Ernst	Opposite the cathedral, which is also opposite the main market	Booking Expedia
Around the Hauptbahnhof
Hotel Mondial am Dom	Between the station and the market; the convenient, obvious choice	Booking Expedia
Belgisches Viertel
25hours Hotel The Circle	In the good eating district, fifteen minutes from the cathedral	Booking Expedia
Deutz
Hyatt Regency Köln	Across the river with the cathedral in the window, one stop by train	Booking Expedia
Ehrenfeld
Hotel Chelsea	Residential and well connected, at a price the Altstadt does not offer	Booking Expedia

When to book

9 mo beforeFebruary 2027
Altstadt and cathedral-view hotels for the Advent weekends
6 mo beforeMay 2027
The station hotels at a rate that is not a market rate
3 mo beforeAugust 2027
Belgisches Viertel and the Deutz side on peak weekends
1 mo beforeOctober 2027
Weekend nights anywhere central; Ehrenfeld and the suburbs hold out

Getting there

Cologne Bonn is twenty minutes from the centre by S-Bahn, and the Hauptbahnhof is the best-served station in western Germany — Brussels, Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt are all direct, several of them under two hours.

The cathedral market is a two-minute walk from the station platform, which makes Cologne the only one of the four you can reasonably visit as a day trip. The other markets — Heumarkt, Alter Markt, Rudolfplatz, Neumarkt — are within a few tram stops of each other.

Deutz station is one stop across the Rhine with trains every few minutes, and the walk over the Hohenzollern bridge with the cathedral ahead of you is worth doing once in the dark.

Flights to CGN Trains and buses

Tickets

The city's market listing, dates and hours (koeln.de)Official

Also on these dates

Nuremberg Christkindlesmarkt26 Nov – 24 Dec 2027 · Nuremberg
Strasbourg Christmas Market26 Nov – 24 Dec 2027 · Strasbourg
Vienna Christmas Market12 Nov – 26 Dec 2027 · Vienna

Questions

When are the 2027 Cologne Christmas markets?: Expected from the second half of November to 23 December 2027. Cologne closes a day earlier than Nuremberg and Strasbourg, and the 2026 season opened as early as 16 November.
How many markets are there?: Half a dozen significant ones. The cathedral market is the famous one; Heumarkt and Alter Markt sit together by the river, and Rudolfplatz and Neumarkt are a few tram stops west.
Can I do it as a day trip?: Yes, more easily than any other market on this site — the main one is two minutes from the station, and the trains from Brussels, Amsterdam and Frankfurt are fast.
Where do I stay to avoid the prices?: Deutz, across the river. One stop by train, a view of the cathedral, and a clearly lower price band than the Altstadt.
Do I need a ticket?: No, the markets are free. Since July 2026 the cathedral interior charges admission, which is a separate thing from the market outside it.

Updated 2026-10-31 ·See every event in 2027