Things to do in Oberhausen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Oberhausen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, warm enough for viewpoints, cycling and beer gardens, with the festival spine running.
Value shoulders, the Kurzfilmtage in April and Movie Park Halloween season in October, with weather a gamble.
Festival heavy and hot, with Ruhr-in-Love in early July and locals away on holiday.
Christmas markets run from mid November to 23 December, the one winter reason to come in numbers.
The worst stretch outdoors, grey and early dark, so plan an indoor city of museums, water park and theatre.
What's on
- Internationale Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen late April to early May
One of the world's oldest short film festivals, running since 1954 in Alt Oberhausen.
- Sterkrader Fronleichnamskirmes six days around Corpus Christi, late May or June
A huge street fair through Sterkrade drawing about a million visitors, closing with fireworks.
- Extraschicht a Saturday in June
The Ruhr night of industrial culture, when sites across the region open late on one ticket.
- Ruhr-in-Love early July
A one day open air electronic festival in the OLGA Park in Osterfeld, drawing tens of thousands.
- CentrO Christmas markets mid November to 23 December
Three themed markets and about 150 huts around Centro, among the Ruhr's biggest Advent offers.
Best things to do in Oberhausen
Gasometer Oberhausen
A former gas holder turned vast exhibition hall, with immersive shows and a rooftop panorama over the Ruhr.
Ludwiggalerie Schloss Oberhausen
A Schloss gallery known for strong popular art, illustration and photography shows, in parkland by the canal.
Tiergehege Kaisergarten
A free animal enclosure behind the Schloss, with native species, feeding and petting, loved by local families.
Slinky Springs to Fame
A spiralling ribbon bridge over the canal linking the Schloss to Neue Mitte, and the best free photo in the city.
LVR-Industriemuseum Zinkfabrik Altenberg
Industrial heritage as evidence, heavy industry and everyday Ruhr life told inside a former zinc factory.
Ebertbad
Cabaret, comedy and music on a stage built inside a former municipal swimming bath, Oberhausen's best night out.
Metronom Theater
The Ruhr home of big German language musicals, with premium weekend seats the splurge of an Oberhausen trip.
House of Magic
An interactive magic exhibition created with the Ehrlich Brothers, built around tricks you operate yourself.
Where to stay in Oberhausen
Neue Mitte
first, short, ticket led stays
A walk from the Gasometer, musical theatre, arena and Centro, with plentiful parking and the best motorway access.
Alt-Oberhausen
local feel, eating and longer stays
The real city around the Altmarkt, with Gdanska, the Ebertbad and museums, and the Schloss a short ride north.
Osterfeld
drivers, calm and park edge stays
Quiet and green around the Revierpark Vonderort, with easy parking and a short drive to the rest of the city.
Think twice about
- Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof forecourt
Residents rated the station and its surroundings the least safe feeling place after dark in the city 2024 survey. Arrive and leave here, sleep elsewhere.
- Osterfeld high street centre
The city survey put Osterfeld inner centre among the lowest rated for feeling safe after dark. It is not the quiet park edge stay the district name suggests.
- Motorway and business park hotels
Safe and cheap, but dead at night and a ride from everything you came for. A false economy for a leisure stay in an affordable city.
Best restaurants in Oberhausen
Hackbarth's Restaurant
Oberhausen's serious restaurant, an acclaimed selection with a five course surprise menu and fine service.
Supperclub paulsstern
A supper club splurge in Alt Oberhausen, set chef led evenings of international fusion cooking and wine.
Restaurant Gdanska
Beloved Polish cooking on the Altmarkt, pierogi and bigos in a warm room with a big beer garden.
Pegasos
Greek family cooking lifted above the grill house standard, generous hospitality and ouzo warmth.
Taverne Marino's Meze Bar
A Greek meze bar for sharing, many small colourful plates ordered in waves with wine and ouzo.
Il Carpaccio in der Baumeister Mühle
Italian cooking inside a historic mill on the Sterkrade side, a setting no promenade restaurant can copy.
Das Klubhaus am Gasometer
A German kitchen and bar by the Gasometer, the proper place to eat around an exhibition visit.
60 seconds to napoli
Proper Neapolitan pizza at volume inside Centro, the one promenade meal we'd recommend without hesitation.
Outdoor things to do in Oberhausen
Tetraeder
A steel pyramid on a slag heap in Bottrop, climbed for the definitive panorama across the whole Ruhr.
tree2tree Oberhausen
High ropes and zip lines in the trees beside the Gasometer, bookable in blocks for groups and families.
Topgolf Oberhausen
Climate controlled golf game bays with a sports bar, Oberhausen's best group activity and a prime time splurge.
Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord
A free blast furnace park you can climb and cycle, with climbing, high ropes and diving as paid extras.
Haus Ripshorst
A woodland arboretum and Emscher park visitor centre, the gateway to Oberhausen's canal and cycle paths.
AQUApark Oberhausen
A mining themed water park beside Centro, with sport pools, slides and a large outdoor area in summer.
alpincenter Bottrop
The longest indoor ski slope in the world on a Bottrop heap, plus a summer toboggan run and ropes course.
Movie Park Germany
The Ruhr theme park, a full day of coasters and film themed shows about twenty minutes from Oberhausen.
Best hotels in Oberhausen
Hotel Oberhausen Neue Mitte Affiliated by Meliá
The flagship full service hotel of Neue Mitte, steps from Centro and best for a musical or arena weekend.
NH Oberhausen
A reliable four star chain hotel walkable to the Gasometer and Centro, the concert and business workhorse.
B&B Hotel Oberhausen am Centro
Clean, modern budget rooms in the Centro orbit that do not punish you, with family rooms and parking.
elaya hotel oberhausen
An Alt side mid range hotel with design intent, good breakfast and an easy run to the Altmarkt and Ebertbad.
Limehome Oberhausen Paul-Reusch-Str.
Serviced apartments with kitchenettes and self check in, more space for the money on longer stays.
Parkhotel Oberhausen
A four star park edge hotel with a praised conservatory breakfast, restaurants, sauna and free parking.
Is Oberhausen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €110 a person |
| Splurge | €220 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Gasometer Oberhausen: a few days ahead
- Ebertbad: a few days ahead
- Metronom Theater: weeks ahead
- House of Magic: a few days ahead
- SEA LIFE Oberhausen: a few days ahead
- LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Oberhausen: a few days ahead
- tree2tree Oberhausen: a few days ahead
- Topgolf Oberhausen: weeks ahead
- Book Gasometer timed tickets in season and the musical's weekend premium seats first.
- Book Hackbarth's, paulsstern, Ebertbad acts and Friday and Saturday Topgolf bays ahead.
- Book family attraction time slots in school holidays and Raffelberg tee times for weekday guest play.
Is Oberhausen safe?
- The Hauptbahnhof forecourt after dark is the city's least comfortable spot, by its own residents' survey.
- Use lit main routes and trams between quarters late at night rather than canal towpaths.
- Emergency number is 112.
Oberhausen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Eating on the Centro promenade, a managed row of chains priced for a captive audience.
- Treating SEA LIFE and LEGOLAND as full day parks when they are compact half days.
- Spending a morning only in Westfield Centro and missing the Schloss, Kaisergarten and Gasometer roof.
- Visiting the Gasometer on a public holiday bridge day, when crowding spoils the atmosphere.
Getting around Oberhausen: public transport and more
- Trains from the Hauptbahnhof reach Duisburg and Essen in about ten minutes and Düsseldorf in under thirty.
- Tram 112 and STOAG buses link the Hauptbahnhof, Alt Oberhausen, Sterkrade and Neue Mitte on the VRR tariff.
- Schloss to Centro over the Slinky bridge is a pleasant 15 to 20 minute walk in daylight.
- Centro parking is plentiful and free, but plan the tram home after drinking.
Who Oberhausen suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Good |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | Good |
Make Oberhausen your trip
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