Farina Fragrance Museum

The Farina Fragrance Museum (Farina-Haus) is located at Obenmarspforten 21 in the Altstadt-Nord district of Cologne, directly opposite the Rathaus, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Farina family house traces its fragrance business to 1709, when Johann Maria Farina created Eau de Cologne and named it after his adopted city, and the company is considered the oldest fragrance factory still in operation. The museum occupies the historic site where the product was first made. Visits are by guided tour on a fixed schedule, and the guides explain the history of the scent, the ingredients such as citrus and bergamot, and the story of its spread across Europe's royal courts and cities. Visitors see a collection of historic bottles, distillation equipment and documents, and they are invited to smell some of the raw materials. A tour takes 45-60 minutes. Tours run in German and in English, with times posted at farina.org, and booking ahead is strongly advised because group sizes are limited. The museum is an eight-minute walk from the Dom and about five minutes from the Heumarkt Stadtbahn stop. It combines well with the 4711 Haus, which offers a different perspective on the same trade, and with the nearby Altstadt. Photography rules are set by the guides and may be limited in some rooms. Weekday tours are generally less crowded than weekend ones. Tickets are paid, and visitors should confirm the current fare at farina.org.