Things to do in Siegen
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Siegen
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, vivid forest in May and June and clear tower views in September.
Summer brings Schlosspark open air events, Siegufer evenings and the Freudenberg open air season, with rain still possible.
Autumn walking season, with beech colour and the Freudenberg autumn market in October.
Worst months, short, grey and wet in the city, with late November the hardest.
Christmas markets in the lower town and Oberstadt lift early winter.
What's on
- KulturPur Pentecost, late May to early June
Tent festival on the Giller near Hilchenbach with music, theatre and circus, drawing tens of thousands.
- Siegener Stadtfest 28 to 30 August
City festival filling the whole centre with stages and food over three days in late August.
- Siegener Weihnachtsmarkt Late November to 23 December
Christmas markets along Kölner Straße, at the Unteres Schloss and in the Oberstadt village.
- Freudenberger Herbstmarkt Third weekend in October
Autumn market in the half timbered Alter Flecken in Freudenberg.
Best things to do in Siegen
Oberes Schloss
Hilltop castle and park on the Siegberg with the panorama that explains the whole green, steep city below.
Siegerlandmuseum
Rubens, Nassau portraits and Siegerland mining history inside the Oberes Schloss, with a show mine in the cellar.
Museum für Gegenwartskunst Siegen
Rubens Prize winners from Bacon to Riley plus Bernd and Hilla Becher, in a calm conversion by the Unteres Schloss.
Nikolaikirche
The hexagonal hall church whose tower carries the golden Kronchen, the symbol of Siegen, above the Oberstadt.
Apollo-Theater Siegen
Siegen fought decades for this 500 seat theatre by the Sieg, for drama, concerts, dance and comedy.
Aktives Museum Südwestfalen
A sober documentation site for the Nazi period in Siegen, housed in a former air raid bunker from 1941.
Unteres Schloss
Baroque palace with the Dicker Turm, now a university campus whose Schlossplatz is the lower town living room.
Siegufer
Broad steps down to the uncovered Sieg river, where the lower town sits out on warm evenings.
Where to stay in Siegen
Oberstadt / Siegberg
short leisure stay, couples and first visit
Lanes, cafes and the castle climb, with the lower town venues a short downhill walk away.
Unterstadt / Bahnhof / Siegufer
trains, one night stops and flat walking
Level ground, station and buses at the door, and the Siegufer steps for an evening.
Wellersberg / eastern park edge
families, drivers and longer stays
Quiet, green and spacious with parking, a bus or walk down into the centre.
Bürbach
food led and quiet stays
A residential south eastern district whose hotel restaurant is a destination in itself.
Think twice about
- Hauptbahnhof forecourt and Koblenzer Straße corridor
Traffic, underpasses, evening loitering and shuttered frontages. Bleak and noisy, not dangerous by big city standards.
- Geisweid and the far Hüttentalstraße north
Industrial district along the elevated highway by the slag heap, with buses needed for everything.
- Eiserfeld and the southern industrial valley
Car dependent mining and industrial valley that leaves a leisure visitor driving to every dinner and walk.
Best restaurants in Siegen
Restaurant Pfeffermühle
Seasonal German cooking in a light winter garden, with careful service and a serious wine list.
Sebastian's Steakhouse & Bar
The premium steak address in town, where the spend goes on the cut, the grill and the bar.
Dunkelrestaurant
Dinner served in complete darkness by blind and visually impaired staff, a distinctive experience booking.
Steakhaus El Rancho
Argentinian steakhouse with the largest review sample in town, generous and reliably kind service.
Zum Häutebacher
German and Croatian Gaststätte cooking, schnitzel and grilled plates where Siegeners eat on a normal Friday.
YUMINI Siegen
Tablet ordered sushi and grill on Koblenzer Straße, the only serious sushi address in the centre.
Opa Adam
Oberstadt neighbourhood kitchen and bar with strong burgers and late hours, the old town living room.
ESPEROS
Greek fast food counter with generous portions, the cheap eats champion that outscores pricier rooms.
Outdoor things to do in Siegen
Rothaarsteig
Premium ridge trail through Rothaar forest, best sampled on the high Giller and Ginsburg section from Siegen.
Obernautalsperre
A flat 10 km circuit around a quiet drinking water reservoir, for walking, running and cycling in forest.
Kindelsbergturm
Stone tower on the 618 metre Kindelsberg, with a summit restaurant and views across the Rothaar ridge.
Ginsburg
Castle ruin on the Rothaarsteig at about 610 metres, with the finest viewpoint on this trail section.
Alter Flecken
A whole half timbered town centre rebuilt after fire, walked from the viewpoint then on the Fachwerkweg.
Golfclub Siegerland
Hilly 18 hole course above Kreuztal with varied fairways and views over Sieger and Sauerland hills.
DAV Kletterzentrum Siegerland
Alpine club climbing centre on the Sieg with lead, top rope and bouldering, the rainy day active pick.
Schlüsselstelle Jungs Boulderhalle & Café
Boulder hall with a cafe at its heart and late hours, lively with students and easy for mixed abilities.
Best hotels in Siegen
Dorint Parkhotel Siegen
Quiet park hotel with wellness area and a restaurant guests praise, the closest Siegen comes to luxury.
Hotel Pfeffermühle
Family run house whose winter garden restaurant makes eating in the reason to stay, in quiet Bürbach.
Holiday Inn Express Siegen by IHG
Reliable lower town hotel with breakfast included and family rooms, a flat walk to the Unteres Schloss.
Concorde Hotel Siegen
Central full service hotel with a generous breakfast, sauna and a rooftop pool over the city.
Hotel Bürger
Small family run central hotel with personal character, pet friendly and walkable to both town levels.
ADAPT Apartments Siegen
Modern serviced apartments with full kitchens near centre and station, the strong value self catering base.
Is Siegen expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €55 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €110 a person |
| Splurge | €210 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Apollo-Theater Siegen: weeks ahead
- Kulturhaus Lÿz: a few days ahead
- Bruchwerk Theater: a few days ahead
- Golfclub Siegerland: a few days ahead
- DAV Kletterzentrum Siegerland: a few days ahead
- Kletterwald Freudenberg: a few days ahead
- Dorint Parkhotel Siegen: a few days ahead
- Hotel Pfeffermühle: a few days ahead
- Book Apollo guest performances and Lÿz cabaret nights as soon as dates are fixed.
- Reserve the Dunkelrestaurant well ahead and reconfirm, as sittings are fixed and limited.
- Reserve Pfeffermühle, Sebastians and El Rancho for Friday and Saturday.
- Book rooms early for KulturPur at Pentecost and Stadtfest weekend in late August.
Is Siegen safe?
- Siegen is safe by German standards, with emergency 112 and police 110.
- Pass the station forecourt with purpose at night and use lit main streets to the Siegufer.
- Respect forestry closures for storm damaged trees and never swim in the drinking water reservoir.
- Hill roads ice before valley roads in winter, and steep streets are slippery when wet.
Siegen travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Judging Siegen from the highway and station and leaving, the good parts are uphill and in the hills.
- Treating the chain shopping streets as sightseeing instead of walking the Oberstadt and Freudenberg.
- Inflating Monte Schlacko into a must see at the cost of Kindelsberg, Ginsburg or Freudenberg.
- Expecting a surviving medieval old town, most of Siegen was destroyed in December 1944.
- Planning with no indoor options in one of Germanys rainy hill regions.
Getting around Siegen: public transport and more
- Walk the centre, the Oberstadt climb takes ten to fifteen minutes back up from the lower town.
- Use Hauptbahnhof trains and buses for Kreuztal, Freudenberg, Netphen and Hilchenbach, and check the return first.
- Drive the A45 for day trips and use central car parks, then walk up to the Oberstadt.
- Evening and Sunday buses thin out sharply, so keep a local taxi number saved.
Who Siegen suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Siegen your trip
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