As a result of the measures applied in the pandemic, many older people have seen their contact behaviour restricted. Findings in different age groups on the implementation of measures to combat the pandemic are of high relevance for health policy and for understanding inter-generational solidarity in crisis times. In a representative panel survey as part of ‘The CoMix Study’ from December 2020 to April 2021 adult participants (15+) were asked about their awareness, attitudes and behaviours in response to COVID-19. Participants recorded face-to-face contacts made on the previous day, specifying certain characteristics for each contact. Contact matrices were calculated and related to (i) setting, (i) duration, and (iii) frequency of contact to different age groups. Information on the context in which contacts took distinguished between home, work, education and other (leisure, social contacts, shopping). The average number of contacts showed a marked reduction compared with pre-pandemic data. The largest number of contacts in all age groups took place as intra-generational contacts, i.e. within the respective own age cohort. The perception of measures is strongly associated with the average number of contacts. The study reveals intergenerational differences in the motivations to adhere to health policy measures during the pandemic. It contributes to a better understanding of how attitudes and perceptions influence the contact behavior of older people and of younger generations.