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Are you visiting Germany and going to be exploring Essen without a car? In this blogpost, I will share with you all of my tips for visiting Essen Germany.
Where to Stay in Essen Without a Car:
I highly recommend staying at the NH Hotel in Essen, Germany. This hotel is conveniently located in an area where you will be able to explore Essen without a vehicle. The tram is close-by and there is free parking if you do have a car. The hotel is exceptionally clean, reasonably priced, and has a nice bar and lounge area.
Don’t forget your travel insurance! We recommend World Nomads. Make sure to have coverage that includes medical expenses, trip cancellations, and coverage for your belongings from theft or damage. If needed, you may also want to include car rental insurance as well.
Transportation in Essen
There are plenty of taxis around at the larger tram stations if you aren’t comfortable with being underground. I completely understand this as an American who always drove prior to living in Europe. I must confess that I still get a little nervous while traveling solo in other countries while using the metros, trams, etc.. During this adventure, I was solo touring most of the time so I had to rise up to the challenge while in Essen. Essen’s public transportation system was easy to navigate and much cheaper to use than the cabs.
Things To See and Do in Essen:
You can take the metro from the Rathaus Station, which is a five minute walk from the recommended hotel. This station is located under the Rathaus Galerie Shopping Center. You will want to take the metro to the Zollverein Station. The old coal mining facility is located directly across from the train stop.
The heart of Essen Germany is the Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex. It is a UNESCO World Hertitage Site that has been converted to museums and cafes. This is the number one thing to see if you are ever in Essen, Germany.
Red Dot Design Museum
The entry fee to The Red Dot Museum was €9.00. If you visit more than one of the museums, you will get a discount at the second museum.
There is also a really nice biergarten next to the Red Dot Museum. I visited too early in the day to experience it but it looked quite cozy.
The Red Dot Museum has a variety of items displayed from bikes, garden tools, apple devices, kitchen appliances, and much much more! It’s a museum dedicated to award winning designs. If you are an engineer or tech guru, then you would love this place.
Would you go for a ride in this? I absolutely would! I have actually been skydiving so staying in the plane doesn’t sound so scary to me.
Ruhr Museum
You will be greeted by an enormous escalator! I think it’s the largest one that I’ve ever taken. I probably should have taken a photo from the bottom.
At this museum, you can watch a little film about the area, see old artifacts from the colliery, and learn a lot about the heritage and history of Essen. There is also a viewing area where you can see the whole property. It’s a really large museum so you will want to have more time for this one.
Essen Germany Street Art
If you find you are ever visiting, then I recommend grabbing your camera and walking around looking for street-art. Here is one of my fun street art finds. You can view more of them on my instagram account.
Visit Munsterkirche (The Munster Church)
We have lived in Europe for a few years now and sometimes I think it’s just another cathedral. I’ve seen so many already, but every time I am amazed at these structures. Each one has its own special details. This one had a crypt. The crypt was actually locked but the security man let me in to film because I was trying to take pictures through the bars. He didn’t speak English but I think he saw how grateful I was when he let me in to tour it more in depth. At that moment, I felt like Indiana Jones.
This Church is located in Essen’s city center and the highlight of it for me was seeing the crypt! Free to visit as well.
Visit the Alte Synagogue
The Alte (Old) Synagogue is an easy 5 minute walk from the recommended hotel. It’s the largest free-standing synagogue north of the Alps. The Synagogue is free to visit and was a surprise to see in Germany. In 1938, the Synagogue was set on fire by the Nazis, but the concrete structure was able to resist the flames. By the 1980’s, the interior was reconstructed and it opened in 2008. It opened as an exhibition committed to Jewish culture and traditions.
Grugapark Botanical Gardens
I took the metro to Grugapark. It’s about a 15-20 minute ride. It was 4.00 euros for my entry ticket to the park. Grugapark is a really large park that also is a petting zoo. It would be ideal to visit with children. It would also be a nice place to go for a run or walk or just to relax in the sun with a book. If you are traveling solo, I would skip this park unless you just really want to see the petting zoos or want to be somewhere green for the day.
The petting zoo had goats and even pink flamingos. There is also a little touring train and a cafe in the park.
Try a German Beer
When in Germany, you may want to try a German beer! There is a German pub called Der Lowe which is walking distance from the recommended hotel. They also have those big yummy German pretzels and other traditional German foods. There are also street vendors in cute German huts that sale traditional German food and beer.
Vegetarian and Vegan Options
Essen is full of restaurants. It’s a very diverse area and it’s easy to find both vegan and vegetarian options. Almost everywhere that I walked by and viewed the menu offered some type of vegetarian burger so if you are vegetarian you will be fine anywhere. A few that we recommend that are close to the hotel are Capobianco or Taste it India.
If you are vegan, you may want to try Sattgrun. It’s a vegan buffet concept similar to Loving Hut. Another option would be Bananaleaf, which is a quaint Thai restaurant.
Visit Kettwig Germany
There is an area called Kettwig that is about a 15-20 minute drive to Essen and known for it’s old timbered homes. So if you are close by and want to see some older German houses, check it out!
If you are looking for another place to visit that is only a few hours away, then you may want to check out my Belgium blogpost about Antwerp.
I hope that our tips in this post; Exploring Essen Germany Without a Car will help you with your travel planning. Have you been to Germany? I would love to know in the comments below. As always, thanks for stopping by.
A bientot!
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