How high is that climb?

97 m, about 318 ft, which averages 182 mm per step.

How many steps to the top of Cologne Cathedral south tower?

Steps to the top of Cologne Cathedral south tower

533

Reaching the viewing platform at 97 m, below the spire · open to climb

A single continuous spiral of 533 steps with no lift and almost nowhere to stop, which makes it one of the harder cathedral climbs in Europe despite not being the tallest. Two-thirds of the way up is the belfry, home to the Petersglocke — at 24 tonnes, one of the largest free-swinging bells in the world, rung only on major feast days. The cathedral took 632 years to finish, from 1248 to 1880, and was briefly the tallest building in the world. It survived fourteen aerial bomb hits in the Second World War while the city around it did not.

The numbers

Steps: 533
Reaches: the viewing platform at 97 m, below the spire
Public access: Open to climb
Where: Cologne, Germany
Height climbed: 97 m — 318 ft
Average rise per step: 182 mm

What the climb is like

About 30 minutes up. Narrow two-way spiral with passing places; hard work and often congested.

Published counts for the same structure routinely disagree by five to ten per cent, and nearly always for one of three reasons: whether intermediate landings count as steps, whether the final platform step counts, and where the climb is deemed to start. The figure here says what it reaches.

How it compares

Only the ones marked open to climb can actually be walked.

Eiffel Tower 674 steps

Tokyo Tower 600 steps

St Peter's Basilica dome 551 steps

Cologne Cathedral south tower 533 steps

St Paul's Cathedral 528 steps

Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence Cathedral 463 steps

Notre-Dame de Paris towers 422 steps

Cologne Cathedral south tower ranks 24 of 56 here by step count.
Structure	Steps	Reaches	Access
Eiffel Tower	674	the second floor, at 115 m — the highest point the public can reach on foot	Open to climb
Tokyo Tower	600	the Main Deck at 150 m	Open to climb
St Peter's Basilica dome	551	the lantern at the top of Michelangelo's dome, at 136 m	Open to climb
Cologne Cathedral south tower	533	the viewing platform at 97 m, below the spire	Open to climb
St Paul's Cathedral	528	the Golden Gallery at 85 m, the highest point open to visitors	Open to climb
Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence Cathedral	463	the lantern at the top of the dome, at 91 m	Open to climb
Notre-Dame de Paris towers	422	the top of the north and south towers, at 69 m	Restricted — events or permit only

Common questions

How many steps to the top of Cologne Cathedral south tower?: 533, reaching the viewing platform at 97 m, below the spire.
Can the public climb Cologne Cathedral south tower?: Open to climb. About 30 minutes up. Narrow two-way spiral with passing places; hard work and often congested.
How high is that climb?: 97 m, about 318 ft, which averages 182 mm per step.

Cathedrals and churches All 19 here
How many steps up Leaning Tower of Pisa? 251 steps · open to climb
How many steps up St Peter's Basilica dome? 551 steps · open to climb
How many steps up Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)? 334 steps · restricted — events or permit only
How many steps up St Paul's Cathedral? 528 steps · open to climb
How many steps up Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence Cathedral? 463 steps · open to climb
How many steps up Notre-Dame de Paris towers? 422 steps · restricted — events or permit only
How many steps up Sagrada Família towers? 400 steps · restricted — events or permit only
How many steps up Milan Cathedral rooftop? 251 steps · open to climb

Sources

Official vendor product documentation — At One Place

How these figures are compiled and checked