Cologne, or Köln in German, is famous for its cathedral, its beer, and its intense Karneval parties. High on our list for our visit also included the Cologne Chocolate Museum right on the river Rhine. I truly didn’t expect to enjoy this museum as much as I did – but it is well laid out, interesting, and fun for adults and kids.
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Cologne Chocolate Museum history
You can thank Dr Hans Imhoff for this monument to chocolate. Born in Cologne in the 1920s, Imhoff began his chocolate and sweets company after the Second World War, and bought larger and larger German chocolate companies including Stollwerck and Hildebrand. In 1993, he opened the Imhoff-Schokoladenmuseum. Lindt has partnered with the museum since 2006. Imhoff’s daughter and her husband continue hold the reins of the museum today.
What is in a chocolate museum anyway?
There are a few sections to the museum: a look at the cocoa plant itself including a small greenhouse, overview of cocoa production and shipping, the process of making chocolate including a full assembly line, the Lindt Atelier where you can make your own chocolate bars, the history of chocolate consumption, and chocolate marketing through the ages. There’s also a nice restaurant on the ground floor where you can indulge in various chocolate desserts and drinks, and I think my favourite museum gift shop of all time.
The excellent snack and confectionery blogger Lindsay over at Eat, Explore, Etc suggested to head straight for the Lindt Atelier to make our special Lindt chocolate bars first, as they require 45 minutes to cure. This tip was bang on, as we then took in the rest of the museum, picking up our custom bars on the way out. It’s a little way past the initial part of the museum, but use the map they hand you on the way in to make your way straight there.
Do this first: making your own chocolate bar
I’m going to be honest, this is one of the best parts of the museum. In the Lindt Atelier, you can pick up a form and choose what chocolate you would like, and what else you’d like to add. You queue up to hand over your forms, and pay about 4€ for each custom bar. After, you can watch the chocolatiers make your bar behind glass. You have to wait 45 minutes to pick up your chocolate, so the key is to head straight to the Atelier, put in your chocolate order, and then explore the rest of the museum.
Have you seen a cocoa plant before?
I certainly hadn’t, not in real life. There is a whole museum section dedicated to the growing of cocoa, the different types, and what it looks like, but the most interesting bit for me was the little greenhouse with live cocoa plants growing there. It’s worth noting that all the information texts are written in German and English, and there are plenty of kid-friendly touching and flap-opening options.
Chocolate factory behind glass
As you approach the Lindt Atelier, you will find a chocolate factory behind glass panels, allowing you to see every step of the process from processing the cocoa to tempering chocolate to pouring it into molds to packaging, all by machine. It’s mesmerizing. I have always loved those ‘How Things Are Made’ shows, so seeing it live was super cool. Kids of all ages love watching the machines too. It doesn’t hurt that there is a giant, and I mean giant, chocolate fountain right there, with a friendly staff member handing out wafers dipped in warm fresh chocolate.
Labels, machines, Kinder Surprise!
Upstairs there are rooms upon rooms of old chocolate advertising posters, labels, and packaging, as well as full-size vending machines used to dispense chocolate from all over Europe. There was a great interactive game that my son played with some other random children we met for half an hour up there as well. The display of every Kinder Surprise toy in a big pile was impressive to say the least. I loved the displays of old candy shops with all their drawers and jars. Less interesting for us was the history of chocolate from Central America to the present day. There is a lot to read, and my son wasn’t up for that part.
The gift shop, oh the gift shop!
I have never enjoyed a gift shop as much as I did at the Cologne Chocolate Museum. It wasn’t just kitschy chocolates in the shape of Cologne Cathedral (though there were some of those too), but really imaginative bars by smaller chocolate manufacturers as well as chocolate liqueurs, hot chocolate mixes of many types, cocoa nibs, raw chocolate bars, and little tins of chocolate of every description. The prices are quite reasonable for the quality. For the kids there are loads of chocolate cars, castles, keys, soccer balls, people, emoji tins and more. We are still eating our way through our haul a month and a half later! *cough* We may have gone a little crazy in there.
Chocolat Grand Café
The cafe at the museum is of course, dedicated to chocolate. There are many options for hot chocolate, or what we call an Eisschokolade in Germany, which involves liquid chocolate poured over chocolate ice cream with some added cream for good measure. I ogled the glass case full of cake options, but I didn’t have time for a leisurely stop during either of my visits unfortunately. In the summer, the outdoor terrace is open too, though it seems to fill up quickly so make sure you try the cafe early in your visit if that’s something you’re looking forward to.
What to do after your visit to the Cologne Chocolate Museum
After you are all sweet thinged out, a meal of savoury things is in order. There’s not much else down there, so the family-friendly Vapiano right there is your best bet. They have a kids menu which is very affordable but also quite small portions, so if you have a big eater, just get an adult portion. It’s one of these places where you order at the menu station along the wall, and then receive a buzzer that vibrates when your food is ready. It’s really best to get all children situated and then figure out the food.
The Sports and Olympics Museum is right there next to the Cologne Chocolate Museum. We didn’t visit as we were all a bit museumed out at that point, but it looks like it would be good fun with kids. You can borrow sport equipment and go play a game on the rooftop field, as well as check out sports memorabilia throughout the exhibitions. If I’m honest, we’re not really sports people, so it wasn’t our thing.
How to get to the Cologne Chocolate Museum
The easiest, and most entertaining, way to get down to the Cologne Chocolate Museum is to take the Chocolate Express mini train. It leaves from right outside the Cologne Cathedral, and you get a little tour of the city as you head down to the Museum. The tour voiceover is in English and German. You can buy a round-trip ticket, which takes you back up to the Cathedral after you’re finished down on the riverside, though check the last train times if you plan to be down there towards the end of the day. The return journey takes a different route, so it’s well worth it.
The Cologne Chocolate Museum is right on the riverside on its own little corner of the harbour, and the address is Am Schokoladenmuseum 1a, 50678 Köln. I’ve marked it on the map below so you can get a sense of where it is in the city.
Getting to Cologne
Cologne is a short trip from Frankfurt, about an hour and a half on the ICE (intercity express) train – I have a direct booking link for you here:
Frankfurt-Köln
Looking for some other kid-friendly day trips from Frankfurt? I have you covered.
awesome place! I’ve been to a chocolate museum in Prague and to a chocolate factory in Austria:)
Excellent!
Omgosh how yummy! I didn’t know there was a Chocolate museum in Cologne!! Wish I could pin this! I definitely want to make my own bar! #FarawayFiles
It’s quite fun really, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did.
Ah ok, your pins are hidden, but I found it! 🙂
Thank you! I know, it’s a toss up about putting them in visibly or not… I should probably do both!
I love it when museums or workshops have glass fronts so you can see the process, it makes it so much more interesting. #FarawayFiles
You had me with the title & then I read about the Lindt Atelier, making your own chocolate bar & watching the process too and it is now certainly on my list. A good excuse to head back to Cologne at some point as I havent visited for nearly 40 years! #FarawayFiles
I loved the Cologne Chocolate museum. And I liked the fact it was a very interactive and all informative about Chocolate and cocoa. Beautiful post . #farawayfiles
It’s quite fun isn’t it?
It is indeed.
My kids would go mad for this museum, Erin. For some reason they’re obsessed with Lindt chocolate so the idea of being able to create their own chocolate bar would send them to Chocolate Heaven. Thanks for sharing on #FarawayFiles
Yes! My son is also pretty into Lindt (what have we done?!) and the chocolate bar creation was a huge hit. Getting to watch them make yours is really cool, I had no idea they were going to do it right away, but they turn the cards so you can see whose bar they are making at the moment.
This museum sounds so fab. I have a huge sweet tooth and anyone who knows me knows that I love any kind of candy including chocolate! I love the idea of seeing memorabilia from old candy stores. A chocolate museum recently opened in NYC and I need to get on it! Thanks for linking up with #farawayfiles
Lovely post! I live close to Cologne and haven´t been to the Chocolate Museum for so long. Thanks for reminding me how great it is and that I have to go again soon 🙂
Yum! you had me at chocolate 😀
So wished I’d known about this sooner!! We visited Cologne for only 24 hours or so in October and it was such a miserable day that this would have been a perfect thing to to!
Oh no! It is a great rainy day activity that’s for sure.
I love chocolate! This is amazing! I’ve been to Köln many times but I didn’t know about this place.
#TheWeeklyPostcard
Oh excellent, you’ll have to check it out next time!
this looks awesome!I Thought I went to a lindt thing in switzerland once, but maybe not. ive never been to cologne! I like that you can make your own chocolate – how fun! YUM!
I am considering to visit next month 🙂
http://carmelatte.co/dead-sea-masada-tour/
Girl I have such a sweet tooth so you can bet visiting a chocolate museum is right up my alley! I went to the Hershey Factory in Pennsylvania before and we got to make our own chocolate bars, too. Definitely fun for kids and adults. Oh, and my husband and I love Vapiano! Even though we try not to go to chain restaurants all the time, we make an exception for Vapiano 😉
I’m a chocolate addict, so this museum is definitely right up my alley! I would probably be salivating for the entire visit though (lol!) #TheWeeklyPostcard
Oh a chocolate museum sounds like it is right up my alley! Great post!
I went to Cologne but didn’t know about the Chocolate Museum. It looks like a lot of fun for chocolate lovers of all ages. I think making my own chocolate bar would be my favorite part too. Thanks for sharing on #TheWeeklyPostcard.
Chocolate Museum?! I’n in! My kids would love this and so would I it looks a lot of fun and my daughters would love to make their own chocolate bar and see the world’s biggest lindor! #FarawayFiles
I wasn’t aware of existance of this a chocolate museum in Köln. It looks awesome! I would love to visit it! Reminds me a lot of Chocolat Frey Visitors Centre and Maison Cailler in Switzerland! #TheWeeklyPostcard
Ooo I’ll have to check out those Swiss ones!
Oh yes, you should! 😉
I love all the old tins and containers, I have a few Danish ones, but not necessarily for chocolate! We need to get to Köln, my husband studied there in college (many moons ago!) but we’ve yet to make it back since living in Europe! Chocolate would be a perfect thing to put on the list when there! Thanks for sharing with #FarawayFiles.
The cathedral is worth a visit, and Schloss Drachenburg just out of town is cool too. But of course…. the chocolate!
We almost visited 🙁 It was one of the stops on the X-mas market train ride, but we were running out of time. I think we only did the shop. Chocolate was great.
I’d love to visit a chocolate museum and create my custom chocolate bar! 4 euros for that doesn’t even sound too expensive! I also love seeing the vintage packaging!