Sport in Cologne

Find your new favorite sports class: yoga, meditation, running, circle training, Cologne Marathon - get fit with Rausgegangen in Cologne

Cologne and sport: this is not a superficial relationship, this is a real love story with long traditions, great emotions and occasionally a bit of drama. Anyone who experiences sport in this city really experiences it, as a spectator in the stands, as a participant on the track or simply as a person who understands that sharing in the excitement creates its own kind of community. FC Köln 1, which regularly plays its home games in the RheinEnergieStadion in the green belt, provides the introduction and proves that soccer in Cologne is not just a leisure activity, but a question of identity. Anyone who has never stood in a sold-out Cologne stadium and experienced the collective sigh of relief of almost 50,000 people has not really gotten to know this city. For ice hockey fans, the LANXESS arena in Deutz is the place to be: Since 1998, the arena, one of the best-attended event halls in continental Europe, has been the home venue of the Cologne Sharks and regularly hosts top-class ice hockey games where the puck, crowd and volume generate an energy all of their own . If that's not enough, the arena has already hosted ice hockey world championships, EuroBasket and handball world championship finals in its history, making it one of the most versatile sports halls in the country. If you want to get active yourself, October is the month to do it: the Generali Cologne Marathon is one of the biggest running events in Germany every year and attracts over 35,000 participants and hundreds of thousands of spectators to the streets of the city. The route leads from Deutz right through the city center, past the cathedral, across Rudolfplatz and through Hohe Straße, and anyone who stands there as a spectator and experiences the crowds immediately understands why this marathon is an experience that goes far beyond pure running. Basketball runs under the radar in Cologne, but anyone who includes the regular home games of DTV Charlier Basketball Köln in their calendar will experience a sport that, with its dynamism and closeness to the audience, is more captivating than any soccer stadium. In short: the Cologne sports events calendar is not a stopgap, but a full annual program for all those who know that real emotions are simply better live than on the sofa. Take a look, find your match, your race or your game and go out.