Skip to content
Mixroutes
Dortmund
City in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Dortmund

Dortmund is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the ninth-largest city in Germany.

Plan a trip to Dortmund→From Düsseldorf

With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city of the Ruhr as well as the largest city of Westphalia. It lies on the Emscher and Ruhr rivers in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, the second biggest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union, and is the administrative, commercial, and cultural centre of the eastern Ruhr. Dortmund is the second-largest city in the Low German dialect area, after Hamburg.

Get in

Getting to Dortmund

  1. 01
    Dortmund

    Home of several low-cost airlines (easyJet, Eurowings, Ryanair, Wizzair), it serves mainly national and European destinations, with a noticeably heavy focus on Eastern Europe.

  2. 02
    Dortmund
  3. 03
    Dortmund Hörde
  4. 04
    Dortmund Bus Station
See

Worth seeing

  1. 01
    Alter Markt

    Dortmund’s marketplace for almost 900 years may have a modern aspect today, but it is still the sociable centre of the city.

  2. 02
    Altes Stadthaus

    The Old Civic Hall, or Altes Stadthaus, a fine Neo-Renaissance structure built in 1899.

  3. 03
    Dortmunder U

    The same way one associates the city Paris with the Eiffel Tower, London with the Big Ben or Cologne with the Dom, the city of Dortmund is associated with the U-Tower.

  4. 04
    Hohensyburg and Casino

    A popular destination in the south of Dortmund is the Ruins of the Syburg (year 1100) Vincke-Tower.

  5. 05
    Kokerei Hansa

    An awesome industrial monument in Huckarde district, this is a noteworthy stop on the Ruhr’s Industrial Heritage Trail.

  6. 06
    Marienkirche
Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Bergmann Kiosk

    Hoher Wall 36, 44137 (at Phoenix-West next to the Skywalk),.

  2. 02
    Borussia Dortmund

    Die Borussen (The Prussians) play soccer in Bundesliga, Germany's top tier.

  3. 03
    Deusenberg

    The Deusenberg (120 m ü.NN) is an old slag heap in the north of Downtown - Huckarde District.

  4. 04
    Lake Phoenix

    Lake Phoenix is one of the largest urban development projects in Germany.

  5. 05
    Salsa Open Airs at Dortmund Westpark

    In the Westpark there’s a remarkable community that gathers every Friday to partake in them.

  6. 06
    Dortmund Concert Hall
Eat

Where to eat

Traditional meals in the region are Pfefferpotthast (kind of Goulash with a lot of beef), Balkenbrij, Heaven and Earth (Himmel und Äd; black pudding with stewed apples mixed with mashed potatoes), Currywurst and Pumpernickel with Griebenschmalz (German lard with crispy pieces of pork skin). In summer the people like to eat a Dortmunder Salzkuchen (Bread buns with caraway fruits, salt, meat and onions).

  1. 01
    Böckels Beste

    Ostenhellweg 5.

  2. 02
    Crepe-Moni

    Westenhellweg 73.

  3. 03
    Kartoffel Pott Marienkirche

    A different kind of fast food featuring potatoe pots with variations.

  4. 04
    Müllinger´s

    Serving savoury, fruity and sweet crepes.

  5. 05
    Wochenmarkt Dortmund

    Wed, Fri and Sat in the morning until early afternoon.

How locals move

Getting around Dortmund the local way

  • Get inAirports that serve this area, both within and outside it include the following: Dortmund Airport () is the region's international airport, with scheduled service to several European cities and sizeable holiday charter traffic.

From Wikivoyage: Ruhr, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2025-11.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.