Things to do in Essen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Essen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best season: Grugapark in flower, White Fleet sailing from April, beer gardens open and the Steige at their best.
Lake season at Seaside Beach and for sailing, but the theatres take summer breaks and days can be humid.
Full cultural seasons plus the Light Festival and SPIEL in October, with the best light on the Ruhr heights.
Christmas Market and Motor Show carry the dark season, while the lake loses its point in cold wet weather.
The weakest window outside Parkleuchten dates, with short grey days and only the museums justifying the trip.
What's on
- Parkleuchten February to March
A winter light trail through the dark Grugapark after dusk, the event that makes a late winter trip make sense.
- Essen Original May, dates vary
Essen's big free city festival, with open air stages across the centre and the city staying up later than usual.
- ExtraSchicht late June, one Saturday night
The Night of Industrial Culture, when Zollverein and Ruhr industrial sites open late with concerts and shuttles.
- SMAG Sundance Open Air July
An electronic open air festival on the beach at Seaside Beach Baldeney on the lake.
- Essen Light Festival 2 to 11 October
A free route of light installations and video mappings through the city centre, drawing hundreds of thousands.
- SPIEL Essen 22 to 25 October
The world's largest board game fair at Messe Essen, and the week hotel prices peak across the city.
- International Christmas Market Essen 13 November to 23 December
A large Christmas market through the centre with a medieval section, under the Lichtwochen light canopy.
- Essen Motor Show 28 November to 6 December
Europe's big tuning and performance car show fills Messe Essen for nine days.
Best things to do in Essen
Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site
A monumental Bauhaus influenced coal mine turned cultural site, with museums, tours and parkland on one vast UNESCO complex.
Ruhr Museum
The Ruhr region's whole story in a former coal washery, from coal formation to industrial change, with a rooftop view.
Red Dot Design Museum
The world's largest contemporary design exhibition in a former boiler house, where many award winning objects can be touched.
Museum Folkwang
One of Germany's great modern art collections in a light filled Chipperfield building, with the permanent collection free.
Villa Hügel
The Krupp family's 269 room residence above Baldeneysee, set in a large English style park dropping towards the lake.
Essener Dom
Essen's cathedral and treasury, home to the Golden Madonna and Ottonian treasures from the city's abbey centuries.
Philharmonie Essen
Essen's warm wood lined concert hall in the Saalbau, home to the Essen Philharmonic and visiting orchestras.
Aalto-Theater
Alvar Aalto's flowing postwar theatre and Essen's opera and ballet house, worth an evening for building and performance together.
Where to stay in Essen
Rüttenscheid
first trip, all round base
Essen's liveliest district along Rüttenscheider Straße, with the Folkwang, Grugapark and the city's best dining.
Stadtkern / Südviertel
trains, theatres and one night stays
By the Hauptbahnhof, Lichtburg, cathedral and tram 107 to Zollverein, with the Aalto and Philharmonie in the Südviertel.
Kettwig
couples, walkers and slow Ruhr valley trips
A half timbered old town on the Ruhr that feels like a separate small town, on the S6 and the PanoramaSteig.
Bredeney
lake, villa and golf weekends
Essen's prestigious villa quarter above Baldeneysee beside Villa Hügel, green and quiet and car oriented.
Think twice about
- Streets immediately behind Essen Hauptbahnhof
Unkempt and thinly peopled late, with visible street homelessness. Use the station, sleep on the Kennedyplatz or Südviertel side.
- Altenessen, Vogelheim and Altendorf
Essen's less regarded northern districts, with few hotels, almost no visitor dining and a rough industrial street feel.
- Katernberg and Stoppenberg around Zollverein
Magnificent by day and a dead zone by night, with little open after the museums close. Visit by tram, sleep in Rüttenscheid.
Best restaurants in Essen
Schote Gourmetrestaurant by Nelson Müller
Nelson Müller's starred tasting menu room on Rüttenscheider Straße, with wine and non alcoholic pairings.
Restaurant Hannappel
Casual fine dining in a former corner pub, seasonal four or six course menus with a vegetarian version.
Casino Zollverein
Fine dining in the high industrial hall at Shaft XII, best at dinner after a day touring the colliery.
Paul's Brasserie
A French brasserie by the Philharmonie on Huyssenallee, seafood leaning and ideal before a concert or opera.
Suvai Bar & Restaurant
Modern Tamil and South Indian cooking on Juliusstraße, spiced curries, grilled meats and a wide vegetarian range.
Dampfe
Essen's brewery inn in Borbeck, pouring its own Stern beer with generous German cooking and a big beer garden.
La Grappa
A long loved Italian institution on Rellinghauser Straße, fresh pasta, impeccable service and fair value.
miamamia am stern
Rüttenscheid's cosy cafe bistro at the Stern, for breakfasts, coffee and cake before a Folkwang morning.
Outdoor things to do in Essen
Baldeneysee
Essen's reservoir lake ringed by a flat 14 kilometre path for cycling, skating and walking between cafes and clubs.
BaldeneySteig
A 26 kilometre ridge trail through forests above Baldeneysee, with the Korte Klippe viewpoint and castle ruins en route.
Kettwiger PanoramaSteig
A long ridge walk above the Ruhr linking Werden and Kettwig, Essen's two prettiest old towns, through fields and forest.
Seaside Beach Baldeney
Essen's sandy beach club on the lake, with swimming, volleyball, a surf school, deckchairs and a cocktail bar.
Weiße Flotte Baldeney
Scheduled lake and Ruhr cruises from April to October, ideal one way with a walk or ride back along the shore.
Essener Golf-Club Haus Oefte e.V.
Essen's prestige parkland course around Schloss Haus Oefte, hilly and accurate, with weekday guest play and handicap required.
Golf Club Essen-Heidhausen e.V.
A wooded valley club in the Hespertal with 18 and 9 hole courses, and weekday green fees below Haus Oefte.
RuhrtalRadweg
The Ruhr valley cycle path through Essen's south, flat and signed past Werden and Kettwig towards Mülheim and Duisburg.
Best hotels in Essen
Schlosshotel Hugenpoet
A moated castle hotel in Kettwig parkland, Essen's one true luxury address and a destination stay in itself.
Parkhaus Hügel
A small long established hotel by Villa Hügel and Essen Hügel station, made for a quiet villa and lake weekend.
ATLANTIC Congress Hotel Essen
A 248 room hotel by the Messe and Grugapark with spa, fitness and two restaurants, and the Rü a short walk north.
Hotel an der Gruga
A well kept house by the Grugapark in Rüttenscheid, family rated and quieter than the big congress hotels.
Motel One Essen
A reliable design budget hotel on Kennedyplatz, minutes from the Lichtburg, cathedral and Hauptbahnhof.
B&B HOTEL Essen-Hbf
A clean modern budget house by the Hauptbahnhof, private rooms and bathrooms at the centre's lowest tier.
Hotel Jägerhof Kettwig
A well regarded family house in central Kettwig on the S Bahn, handy for the PanoramaSteig and Haus Oefte golf.
Is Essen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €120 a person |
| Splurge | €280 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site: a few days ahead
- Ruhr Museum: a few days ahead
- Villa Hügel: a few days ahead
- Philharmonie Essen: weeks ahead
- Aalto-Theater: weeks ahead
- Essener Golf-Club Haus Oefte e.V.: weeks ahead
- Golf Club Essen-Heidhausen e.V.: a few days ahead
- Schote Gourmetrestaurant by Nelson Müller: weeks ahead
- Schote needs weeks, Hannappel is small, and Casino Zollverein fills on Zollverein event nights.
- Book named Zollverein guided tours online and keep the confirmation, and check Villa Hügel's irregular calendar before travelling.
- Book hotels early for SPIEL in October and the Essen Motor Show, when every tier fills and prices jump.
Is Essen safe?
- Emergency number is 112, and the main visitor risk is pickpocketing at the station and in Messe and Christmas Market crowds.
- Finish the Baldeneysee loop before dark in winter, as stretches of the south shore path are unlit.
- If driving in, check Germany's environmental zone sticker rules and avoid crossing the city by car at rush hour.
Essen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Limbecker Platz and the Stadtkern malls will eat an afternoon and return nothing distinctive.
- Wandering Zollverein's free grounds without a tour or museum is only half the experience.
- Swimming at Baldeneysee is only allowed at the designated Seaside Beach area, not around the lake.
Getting around Essen: public transport and more
- Tram 107, the Kulturlinie, runs from the Hauptbahnhof past the centre to Zollverein.
- The S6 runs south through Werden to Kettwig, stopping at Essen Hügel for Villa Hügel and Baldeneysee.
- The VRR tariff covers Essen plus day trips to Duisburg, Oberhausen and Düsseldorf.
- Regional trains put Düsseldorf about 25 to 35 minutes away and Duisburg and Bochum about 10 to 15 minutes away.
Who Essen suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | OK |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Essen your trip
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