--- title: "How many steps up Cologne Cathedral south tower? 533" description: "533 steps up Cologne Cathedral south tower in Cologne, Germany. Open to climb. What that count reaches, the height climbed, and how it compares." url: https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/cologne-cathedral/ site: "At One Place" --- # 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. ## Related pages - [Cathedrals and churches](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/cathedral/) - [How many steps up Leaning Tower of Pisa?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/leaning-tower-of-pisa/) - [How many steps up St Peter's Basilica dome?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/st-peters-basilica/) - [How many steps up Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben)?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/elizabeth-tower/) - [How many steps up St Paul's Cathedral?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/st-pauls-cathedral/) - [How many steps up Brunelleschi's Dome, Florence Cathedral?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/florence-duomo/) - [How many steps up Notre-Dame de Paris towers?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/notre-dame-de-paris/) - [How many steps up Sagrada Família towers?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/sagrada-familia/) - [How many steps up Milan Cathedral rooftop?](https://atoneplace.net/how-many-steps/milan-duomo/) ## Sources - Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)