Things to do in Krefeld
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Krefeld
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months: full leaf, beer gardens and lake in use, Flachsmarkt in late spring and Krefeld PUR in September.
Good museum and villa months with thinner crowds and mild weather.
Warm and sometimes humid, best for the lake and Stadtwald shade, worst for older hotels with patchy air conditioning.
Dark wet winter, good for museums, theatre and Christmas markets, poor for parks, Linn and Uerdingen.
Karneval culminates on Rose Monday in February or March, lively and local in Krefeld.
What's on
- Flachsmarkt Pentecost weekend, May or June
A large medieval and crafts fair around Burg Linn with a knights tournament, crafts, falconry and music.
- Rosenmontagszug Rose Monday, February or March
The Rhineland carnival parade in Krefeld, the culmination of a season that opens on 11 November.
- Krefeld PUR Usually a September weekend
A fashion, food and lifestyle weekend in the centre celebrating the silk city textile identity.
- Krefeld Christmas Market Late November to 23 December
Christmas markets in the centre through the Advent season.
Best things to do in Krefeld
Museum Haus Lange
A Mies van der Rohe brick villa for a silk family, now an exhibition house where the rooms and gardens are the exhibit.
Museum Haus Esters
The second Mies van der Rohe villa on the same street, visited with Haus Lange for the full Bauhaus pair.
Kaiser Wilhelm Museum
The city art collection from Monet to Richter, strongest in the post war art its director bought early and cheap.
Museum Burg Linn
A moated 12th century castle, hunting lodge and Roman museum in a preserved old town on the edge of Krefeld.
Haus der Seidenkultur
The last Jacquard hand weaving hall on its original site in Europe, with working looms that wove vestments until 1992.
Deutsches Textilmuseum
A major historic textile collection of over 30,000 objects, shown in rotating exhibitions in Linn old town.
Zoo Krefeld
A compact green zoo in a silk baron park, with a walk through penguin area, gorilla garden and butterfly jungle.
Botanischer Garten Krefeld
A quiet botanical garden with glasshouses by Schoenwasserpark, the best free green reset between museums.
Where to stay in Krefeld
Bockum
best all-round base, villas, zoo and Stadtwald
Leafy silk villa streets with Haus Lange, the zoo and the best restaurant row, and a tram to the centre.
Stadtmitte
rail arrival, theatre and museums, one night stops
Most convenient for the station, Kaiser Wilhelm Museum and Jazzkeller, but quiet and hollowed at night.
Krefeld Süd
drivers and budget road trips
Cheaper rooms and parking south of the centre, trading a walkable evening for price.
Traar
golf, lake and green weekends with a car
Semi rural edge by Elfrather See and the Elfrather Mühle golf course, a short drive from the centre.
Linn and Uerdingen
character, Rhine and slow return visits, apartments
The most atmospheric districts, castle and Rhine old towns, but hotel stock is thin and apartment led.
Think twice about
- Hauptbahnhof perimeter and centre-south pocket
Vacant shops, problem buildings, an open street drinking and drug scene the city polices with an alcohol ban, and a deserted feel after shops shut. Use it for trains, sleep in Bockum or Traar.
- Schinkenplatz and Philadelphiastraße side streets
Part of the same centre-south pocket, with city inspected problem buildings and a poor late night walk back. Choose a main street hotel instead.
Best restaurants in Krefeld
KRASSERIE
Krefeld top table, a Gault and Millau listed modern European room and the special occasion dinner in the city.
PUR Essen & Trinken
A Gault and Millau listed tasting menu restaurant in Cracau, composed menus from starter to dessert.
Bistro Lisboa
A Portuguese bistro in Bockum with seafood, huge portions and a porto tonic reviewers name by name.
Küferei
The centre grown up French option, a classic wine with dinner room well placed for a theatre night.
Osteria Verona
A small Italian osteria in the centre with a perfect traveller score on a modest base, book ahead.
Nordbahnhof
A brewery restaurant in the old north station, house beer, brewery cooking and a platform beer garden.
Las Tapas
Spanish tapas and seafood in Bockum, the group friendly long evening on the same street as Bistro Lisboa.
Stadtpark Restaurant bei Magda
Greek and European cooking on a park terrace in Uerdingen, the long summer lunch after a Rhine walk.
Outdoor things to do in Krefeld
Stadtwald
A 120 hectare forest park with pedal boats, meadows and a huge beer garden where Krefeld spends sunny weekends.
Erholungspark Elfrather See
A large lake park for sailing, rowing and cycling, with a separate bathing lake for a full summer day.
Hülser Berg
Krefeld highest natural hill in the Hülser Bruch woods, with a lookout tower, forest walks and a hill beer garden.
Golf & Country Club Elfrather Mühle
Krefeld serious 18 hole country club by the historic mill, with a terrace restaurant over the 18th green.
Golf Club Stadtwald e. V.
A relaxed 9 hole course laid out inside the racecourse in the Stadtwald, playable in half a day.
Krefelder Galopprennbahn
A beautiful 1912 racecourse in the Stadtwald with Art Nouveau stands and only about six race days a year.
Rheinradweg
Flat signed Rhine cycling through Krefeld, rideable south to Düsseldorf or as short Uerdingen and Linn loops.
Best hotels in Krefeld
Hotel Krefelder Hof
Krefeld traditional big hotel in Bockum near the zoo and the Mies villas, loved for breakfast and staff.
Holiday Inn Express Krefeld - Düsseldorf
A modern predictable Express hotel for a short centre base, clean rooms and a known breakfast at a fair price.
B&B HOTEL Krefeld-Süd
The budget tier done properly, a clean compact B&B hotel with parking for drivers using Krefeld as a base.
Mercure Tagungs- & Landhotel Krefeld
A green country and conference hotel by the Elfrather lake and golf, the most comfortable sleep with a car.
Is Krefeld expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €70 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €130 a person |
| Splurge | €260 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Theater Krefeld und Mönchengladbach: a few days ahead
- Golf & Country Club Elfrather Mühle: weeks ahead
- Golf Club Stadtwald e. V.: a few days ahead
- Krefelder Galopprennbahn: a few days ahead
- KRASSERIE: weeks ahead
- PUR Essen & Trinken: a few days ahead
- Bistro Lisboa: a few days ahead
- Küferei: a few days ahead
- Check villa museum changeover closures and the silk museum limited afternoons before building a plan.
- Book KRASSERIE, PUR, Bistro Lisboa, Las Tapas and Osteria Verona for weekends.
- Fix theatre tickets and visitor golf tee times before travel, and book early for Flachsmarkt and race days.
Is Krefeld safe?
- Krefeld is generally safe, but avoid basing by the Hauptbahnhof and centre-south pocket for the reasons in the stay section.
- Lock bikes properly and note Rhine banks are unlit in stretches after dark.
- Emergency number is 112.
Krefeld travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not build an afternoon around Hochstraße and Königstraße shopping; go to Düsseldorf for shopping instead.
- The Schwanenmarkt mall is a functional local mall, not a destination.
- Eat in Bockum rather than at the zoo catering, which reviewers call expensive for its quality.
Getting around Krefeld: public transport and more
- Ride SWK trams and buses inside the VRR; tram 044 and buses 047 and 059 serve Linn and Burg Linn.
- Regional trains reach Düsseldorf in roughly 25 minutes and Düsseldorf Airport is about 14 km away.
- Walk the centre and Bockum and cycle the Rhine route; Krefeld is flat and bike friendly.
- Check SWK special timetables on Flachsmarkt and race days, when trams fill.
Who Krefeld suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Krefeld your trip
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