Blick vom Rathaus auf die Essener Skyline

Trip planning

This is Essen

Versatile, vibrant and cosmopolitan – that’s Essen, a city in the heart of the Ruhr region. Around 1,160 years of eventful history lie behind it, making Essen older than Berlin, Munich or Dresden. Founded around 850 by Bishop Altfrid as an abbey for the daughters of Saxon nobility, Essen grew in prominence thanks to coal, Krupp and steel, turning the city into one of the world’s most important centres of heavy industry. But the days of black gold are long gone. Today, Essen is the “European Capital of Culture” (2010), “European Green Capital” (2017), an attractive trade fair and science hub, and home to around 590,000 people.

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Art and (industrial) culture

Essen breathes culture and excels in its great diversity. The main tourist attraction is the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein, with its distinctive double headframe. Today, the approximately 100-hectare site of what was once the world’s most beautiful and most productive hard coal mine brings together coal and coke with art and culture. The site is home to, among other things, the Red Dot Design Museum and the Ruhr Museum, which tells the fascinating natural and cultural history of the Ruhr region in the spectacular spaces of the former coal-washing plant. The Museum Folkwang is one of the world’s most renowned art museums, with its outstanding collection of 19th-century painting and sculpture, classical modernism and art from after 1945. Visitors can see four Van Goghs here free of charge. The Essen Cathedral Treasury and Essen Cathedral also house artworks of immeasurable value. The cathedral is home to the Golden Madonna, the world’s oldest fully sculpted figure of the Virgin Mary.

The opera house, opened in 1988 and designed by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, epitomises understated elegance. It is now one of the best in Germany and enjoys a high international reputation. The Aalto Ballett Theater Essen and the Essen Philharmonic Orchestra are every bit a match for the house’s vocalists. The Grillo Theatre is also a sought-after cultural venue and has received several awards for its unpretentious, contemporary productions.

The city also offers a wealth of entertainment highlights, including the Lichtburg, Germany’s largest historic cinema, the GOP Artistical Theatre and the legendary Grugahalle.

Shopping and going out

Shopping in Essen means variety, short distances and quality. The city centre alone has around 1,000 department stores and shops. Whether you’re looking for trendy shoe and fashion stores, exclusive boutiques or young fashion, all your shopping wishes will come true here. Fans of indoor shopping will feel right at home at the Rathaus Galerie and the Limbecker Platz shopping centre. With around 70,000 square metres of retail space, the latter is one of the largest city-centre shopping centres in Germany. If you’d like to treat yourself to a meal or go out at the end of a successful day of shopping, you’ll find plenty of options in the many bars and restaurants in the city centre, and especially on “Rü”, as locals affectionately call Rüttenscheider Straße.

Nature and leisure

Essen is the greenest city in North Rhine-Westphalia. The most popular green oasis is the 70-hectare Grugapark. But the city is at its greenest in the south, where the eight-kilometre-long Baldeneysee makes you feel as if you’re on holiday. Overlooking the lake is Villa Hügel, once the Krupp family’s residence and now a first-class exhibition venue. Hiking enthusiasts can discover the city’s natural beauty on the “BaldeneySteig” or the “Kettwig Panorama Trail”. If you’re in top shape, you can combine the two circular routes for a 60-kilometre hike through the scenic landscapes along the Ruhr.

And if you’d rather explore the city’s many sides and industrial heritage highlights on two wheels, there are around 260 kilometres of well-maintained cycle paths to choose from.