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

Essen

Essen is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany.

Plan a trip to Essen→From Dortmund

Its population of 573,618 makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and Dortmund, as well as the tenth-largest city of Germany. Essen lies in the larger Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, second largest by GDP in the EU, and is part of the cultural area of Rhineland. Due to its central location in the Ruhr, Essen is often regarded as the Ruhr's "secret capital".

Get in

Getting to Essen

Nearby commercial airports are: Düsseldorf-International (DUS IATA) (about 30 km, 30 min by train; largest international airport in the area) Dortmund Airport (DTM IATA) (ca. 45 km; used by some no-frills airlines) Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN IATA) (ca. 77 km) Weeze Airport (NRN IATA) (about 80 km away): a base for Ryanair, direct shuttles can be booked ahead of time.

  1. 01
    Essen Central Station

    Book store, drugstore and Lidl grocery store open on Sundays.

  2. 02
    Essen-Altenessen

    Local station for regional trains RE3, RB32, RB35.

  3. 03
    Long

    Most long distance buses arrive on the south side of the railway central station, opposite the Freiheit exit.

See

Worth seeing

Essen has a wide offer of sights to see and do. You can explore its vast industrial heritage, being home to heavy industry in the past, take part in its cultural life, or just enjoy the vast green spaces that are especially prevalent in the south of the city.

  1. 01
    Zeche Zollverein

    181 (tram 107; bus 170, 183.), info@zollverein.de.

  2. 02
    Red Dot Design Museum

    Gelsenkirchener Straße 181 (just beside Zeche Zollverein), museum@red-dot.de.

  3. 03
    Museum Folkwang

    Goethestraße 41 (Metro U11 Tram 107, 108 stop "Philharmonie"), info@museum-folkwang.essen.de.

  4. 04
    Villa Hügel

    Hügel 15, fax: +49 201-6162911, office@villahuegel.de.

  5. 05
    Kettwig Historical District
  6. 06
    Old Synagogue and Jewish Culture Centre

    Edmund-Körner-Platz 1 (Essen Rathaus station).

Do

Things to do

International Christmas Market from late November to early December the streets and historic alleys of the city centre are filled with over 200 arts and crafts stalls. Essen Light Weeks. Enjoy Essen ("Essen genießen", this is a word play since "Essen" translates to "food" as well). Gourmet highlights in autumn. Football: SGS Essen play soccer in Frauen-Bundesliga, the women's top tier.

  1. 01
    Lake Baldeney
  2. 02
    Spiel

    An annual four-day boardgame trade fair which is also open to the public held in October at the Messe Essen exhibition centre.

  3. 03
    Aalto-Theater

    Opernplatz 10,.

  4. 04
    Philharmonie Saalbau

    Huyssenallee 53 (Philharmonie station, U11, 107, 108).

  5. 05
    Grugahalle

    Messeplatz 2 (Stadtbahn U11, Messe Ost / Gruga station, large parking lots and garages nearby).

  6. 06
    Colosseum-Theater

    Altendorfer Straße 1 (Berliner Platz station, use Exit "Ausgang B"),.

Eat

Where to eat

All these are in the city centre:

  1. 01
    Wohnraum im Unperfekthaus

    20, fax: +49 201-8536605, info@unperfekthaus.de.

  2. 02
    Gaststätte Im Briefkasten

    Hachestraße 21.

  3. 03
    Trattoria La Famiglia

    Hindenburgstraße 9.

  4. 04
    Tandori Haus

    Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 84.

  5. 05
    Zagreb Grill

    Rottstraße 2.

How locals move

Getting around Essen the local way

  • Go nextIts lush green setting has long been a popular day trip and short stay destination for the city dwellers of Bonn, Düsseldorf, Cologne and other large cities in the region.

From Wikivoyage: Bochum, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

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