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Chocolate Museum

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becks
becks
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4 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Cable Car and Chocolate Museum

  • August 28, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Joy S from Manchester, United Kingdom
Cable Car and Chocolate Museum

Two things in Cologne that we, as a family really enjoyed were a visit to the chocolate factory/museum and a ride on the cable car.

The chocolate factory and museum at Rheinauhafen 1a is on the banks of the river. It is in a glass palace and is devoted to the theme of cocoa and chocolate. Tuesday-Friday it is open 10am to 6pm, while weekend opening times are 11am to 7pm. Entrance is 6 euros.

The museum is on three floors and displays everything from the Inca history of chocolate to Victorian chocolate crockery. They have a little controlled temperature area where you can walk through tropical plants and a cocoa tree.
The most fun is the chocolate making process. They have a mini production line with machines making and wrapping chocolates. You can get up close and see exactly what is going on - our son found this fascinating.

At the end of this area there is a huge chocolate fountain. A lady dips biscuits into the chocolate and hands them out so you can taste what is made there - delicious. The top floor is an interactive area with games and quizzes all themed around chocolate. We spent two hours here, this included about 20 minutes browsing in the impressive gift shop.

The Rhine Seilbahn is the first and only cable car in Europe designed to span a major river. One of the best panoramas over the city of Cologne is from inside one of its cars. It stretches between a point near the zoo in Cologne Riehl to the Rhinepark in Cologne Deutz.

The cable car ride has been in existence for 80 years. The cars are designed for 4 people. The entire ride takes about 15 minutes and you go high - about 100 feet - above the Rhine. From the air you get an amazing view of the busy traffic on the river, the city itself and the countryside.

The Seilbahn operates April-October between 10am to 6pm and costs 5.50 euros. We all loved it - once we got over dangling above the river, and were sorry when it came to an end.

We got out at the Rhinepark. This is a lovely place to have a stroll. A big park with adventure playground for children, lots of walkways, beautiful flower displays and fountains. There was even a city beach - you had to pay to enter.

From journal A Weekend in Cologne

Schokoladenmuseum

  • April 3, 2006
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Mandan Lynn from Smithwick, South Dakota
Schokoladenmuseum

Schokoladenmuseum
Tuesday-Friday 10am-6pm
Saturday-Sunday 11am-7pm
Student price available

You don't have to be a German major to translate "Schokoladenmuseum." That's right, chocoholics—there's a museum just for us! You can't help but think of Willy Wonka as you wander from room to room, learning about the history of chocolate as medicine, chocolate's ties to eroticism, chocolate as a social event, chocolate production, cocoa harvesting, and more. All the text is in German and English.

You also have the opportunity to watch chocolate being made, and to nibble on a biscuit dipped into the chocolate fountain.

Their shop contains chocolate in all shapes and sizes in every variety, from your average milk chocolate bar to chocolate-hazelnut body paint.

Enjoy!

From journal Cologne, Germany

Editor Pick

Imhoff - Stollwerck Chocolate Museum

  • August 15, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Ed Hahn from Hong Kong, China
Imhoff - Stollwerck Chocolate Museum

After the Cathedral, we believe everything else is likely to be a disappointment. So we take the easy way out and decide to visit the Imhoff - Stollwerck Chocolate Museum as our next stop. A wheeled tram from Cathedral Square makes the run in about five minutes. Fortunately, we just miss it and decide to walk. I’m glad we do. The paved path along the Rhine provides vistas and photo opportunities by the dozens. The people-watching is fruitful too.

We enjoy the Chocolate museum far more than we thought we would. Once inside the museum we learn more about chocolate than we ever wanted to know. I like the historical information best. I also enjoy watching people make the chocolate and am fascinated with how they create chocolate sculptures in so many sizes and shapes. It’s possible to follow the production process right here on site. You can also see where the cocoa beans, chocolate’s raw materials, come from by visiting the greenhouse.

There is a chocolate fountain, where you can sample some of the luscious brown stuff. There are rooms full of chocolate memorabilia like advertising and packaging. The museum is surprisingly crowded. I guess chocoholism is a universal disease.

We eat in the museum cafeteria and the food is quite good and reasonably priced. The view of the Rhine through the windows is great. I can’t believe we skip dessert.

The entrance charge is 5 or 6 euros, but there are discount coupons in every tourist publication.

From journal The Rhineland - Beautiful, Romantic and Tacky

Chocolate Museum (Imhoff Stollwerck Museum)

  • May 2, 2005
  • Rated 5 of 5 by jg_heidelberg from Heidelberg, Germany
This museum is delicious! It's fun for everyone, even if you have no sweet tooth! It's one of the best company museums in the world; unfortunately, the company is going out of business. Trace the fascinating history of chocolate in Western culture, including the agriculture, production, and marketing of chocolate. Along with displays and interactive areas, there is also a small production line to show you how the Stollwerck makes chocolate Easter Bunnies and Santa men. The greenhouse include cacao trees and explanations of the difficult work of propaganda and harvesting cacao. This museum is a refreshing alternative after seeing the magnificent dome.

Stollwerck Chocolate was a big brand in the U.S. until WWI, once the U.S. government seized the assets of Stollwerck, which included large factories in the Northeast.

Highly recommended for the whole family—and I don’t even like chocolate.

From journal Köln Choco Loco

The Imhoff Stollwerck Chocolate Museum

  • February 19, 2005
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Funky Monkey from Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom
The Imhoff Stollwerck Chocolate Museum

The chocolate museum is situated right next to the river, and as well as displays on the history and production of chocolate, it also has a working factory that you can walk around. The gift shop boasts chocolates of every different type, including ones made in the factory. The museum's displays are informative and interesting, and many of them have English translations.

The museum also has a cafe where you can have a drink, watch the river go by, and eat chocolate.

The chocolate museum is a great place to go if you have kids or if you just love chocolate.

www.schokoladenmuseum.de (in German)

From journal Capers in Cologne

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