The Zoo Express is back from its winter break on March.23rd.2024 and departs every 30 minutes starting at 9:30 a.m. from the stop at the Cologne Cathedral to the Zoo of Cologne and at 10:00 a.m. from the Zoo of Cologne to the Cologne Cathedral!

Elephant, Cheetah, Giraffe  – visit them at the “Zoo of Cologne” with the Zoo-Express.

This route is popular for all who like to visit the „Zoo of Cologne“, the „Cologne Cable car“ or the „Flora of Cologne“ with its beautiful Botanical Garden.

The first part of the Zoo-Express round trip starts at the Cologne Cathedral. The Mini train runs along the beautiful Rhine River shore where a great overview of the Rhine River, the boats and the opposite shore with its landmarks like the “Tanzbrunnen“ and the second highest building, the “Cologne Triangle tower“ with its observation deck is provided.  Afterwards, the Zoo-Express passes the “Cologne Cable car“, before arriving at the “Zoo of Cologne“ Mini train stop.

The district features the “Zoo of Cologne“, the historical “Cologne Flora“, built in the architectural era “Gründerzeit”,surrounded by the Botanical Garden which is home to over 10.000 species of plants, a Palmtree alley and several rose gardens and last but not least the “Cologne cable car“. Enjoy the area and discover the attractions as everything is in walking distance from our Zoo -Express Mini train stop.

Recommendation:  With the purchase of the Combination Ticket “Himmel & Äd“, a ride of the „Cologne Cable car“ is included and brings you to the other side of the Rhine River and of course back. That provides the opportunity to visit the other side of the Rhine River with its attractions as well. The ticket „Himmel and Äd“ is available at our Mini train stops.

The second part of the round trip continues along the „New Town North“ district, passing the Whine Museum and the historical building of the regional “Court of Appeals“, all located at the traditional „Agnesviertel“ district. Before the Mini train runs back to the Cologne Cathedral, it will pass the “Old Town North“ area with its Eigelstein City Gate, located in one of the two oldest and most original districts of Cologne – the Eigelstein district.

Back in the 60ties, 70ties and 80ties this area was known as the amusement district of Cologne, hosted among other things the „red-light district“ which attracted criminals, gangsters and the High Society of Cologne. The district is one of the reasons why Cologne received the name „Chicago am Rhein“ (Chicago at the Rhine River).

Stops

Cathedral / Burgmauer

Departure: every 30 min.
starting at 9:30 am

Last departure: 6:00 pm
(last round trip 5:30 pm)

Zoo / Main entrance

Departure: every 30 min.
starting at 10:00 am

Last departure: 6:00 pm
(last round trip 5:30 pm)

Travel time Cologne Cathedral – Zoo of Cologne:  15-20 min.

Stay at the Zoo: ca. 10-15 min.

Travel time Zoo of Cologne – Cologne Cathedral: 20-25 min.

Travel time for a complete round-trip: 50-55 min.

Tickets

Chocolate- / Zoo-Express

Adults:
12,00 € Roundtrip (Hop-on-Hop-off)
  7,00 € one way (no return ride)

Children up to 12 years old:
6,00 € Roundtrip (Hop-on – Hop-off)
3,50 € one way (no return ride)

Children up to 2 years old, travelling without a stroller ride for free.
Charge for a stroller                                                 6,00 € Round-trip
3,50 € one way.

Combination-Ticket: “Heaven & Earth” combined Mini-train and Arial cable car ticket 
(valid from March/ April – mid November)

19,00 € Adults
  9,50 € Children between 4-12 years old
(Children up to 4 years old, travelling with a stroller, a fee of 5,00 € is due for the Roundtrip)

Additional Information

Walkers and wheelchairs:
All foldable mobility aids are free of charge
Non-foldable mobility aids need to be registered in advance before the ride takes place in order to pick the right Mini-train with according space.

Note
small dogs (size of a cat) are free of charge if they travel on the pet owners lap. Larger well behaving dogs are permitted and will be priced like a child.

Guests of our Mini-train receive a 50% discount on the entrance ticket for the fragrance museum “Farina Duftmuseum“ when showing the Mini train ticket plus 10% off on in-store purchases at the „Farina Duftmuseum“ store.

Furthermore, every adult receives a 6 ml sample of the original „Eau de Cologne“.

 

Request Form

We only accept and proceed reservations if your group counts more than 12 people. No reservation is needed if the group does not exceed the number of 12 people.

A reservation of seats is only possible at our mini-train station at the Cologne Cathedral. No other mini-train stations are eligible for a reservation.

It is not necessary to contact us in case your already confirmed reservation slightly changes in regards of the number of participating people. We recommend to inform us if the number of participating people increases or decreases more than 4 people. We appreciate it if you let us know in case you are no longer able to uphold the reservation.

Please make sure to arrive 15 min before your departure in order to keep your reservation valid.

Enjoy your trip with our Christmas-Market-Express.