Cologne · With kids

Am Schokoladenmuseum 1a, on a spit of land in the Rheinauhafen, open daily 10:00 to 18:00. There is a glass chocolate factory running behind the exhibits, a tropical house and the chocolate fountain; tastings, courses and guided tours are booked as add-ons. The café looks straight down the Rhine.

Open 365 days a year: 09:00 to 18:00 from March to October and 09:00 to 17:00 from November to February, with last entry half an hour before closing. The animal houses and the aquarium shut 30 minutes before the zoo itself, so do those first if you have small children flagging by mid-afternoon.

Merianstraße 1 in Chorweiler, reachable on the S-Bahn. Nine slides, an outdoor sunbathing lawn and a separate Kinderland area for small children, alongside eleven saunas and two steam baths aimed at adults. This is the wet-weather fallback when the Rhine is grey.

Several themed worlds, three on-site hotels and the Fantissima dinner show, voted Germany's best theme park in the 2024/25 Parkscout audience award. Brühl is a short regional-train hop south of Cologne, with a shuttle bus from the station to the gates. Buy dated tickets online; the gate price is the worst way to do it.

533 steps up a spiral and metal staircase to a platform roughly 100 m above Roncalliplatz, taking most people 30 to 45 minutes. Open 09:00 to 18:00 March to October and 09:00 to 16:00 November to February. Children can climb with a parent if they can manage the stairs themselves; from age 12 they may go up alone.