Rheinischer Hof

Touristikzentrale Essen (tourist office)

by BillNJ

The Touristikzentrale Essen (tourist office) is across the street from the Essen Hauptbahnhof (central train station). This office can provide you with information and guidance about the different sights and attractions in the city of Essen and the surrounding area.

Korn's Hotel That's a hotel,...

by evilboomer

Korn's Hotel That's a hotel, but also a great Restaurant. I was there last year in the Christmastime, cause my boss invite me to the Christmas dinner with the whole staff. The dinner was great, cause the atmosphere is very mediterranean and the food was very good, very delicios. Here is the address: Hoffnungstr.19, 451127 Essen, tel: 0201 221414.
It's very hidden in the city. It's in a backyard.

See Equestrian Statue of Kaiser Wilhelm I

by BillNJ

In the Essen pedestrian zone, there is a statue of Wilhelm I (aka William the Great) of the House of Hohenzollern on horseback. In 1861, Wilhelm I ascended to the throne as King of Prussia. Under the leadership of Wilhelm I and his prime minister, Otto von Bismarck, Prussia achieved the unification of Germany and the establishment of the German Empire. In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War, Wilhelm was proclaimed German Kaiser (Emperor) on January 18, 1871 in Versailles Palace.

From 1867 to 1918, more than 1,000 memorials to Wilhelm I were constructed. One of them is the equestrian statue located in the Essen city center.

Zollverein: Visitor Centre, Movie and Viewpoint

by Kathrin_E

The former Kohlenwäsche contains the visitors centre, the information portal with the movie theatre, and the Ruhrmuseum (see separate tip about the latter). The huge building behind the head frame served for cleaning the coal that came out of the shaft from rock and soil, thus the name. In recent years the block underwent refurbishing measures and was turned into the present museum and exhibition building which has only been opened in spring 2010.

The escalator: Access to the visitor centre on the 4th floor, where you buy tickets and then continue to all other attractions, is via a long escalator. It has been coloured and lit in orange to recall glowing coal and hot steel. Impressive.

Information Portal: has some interactive information boards about places and topics connected with the Ruhr district and mining (sorry to admit I didn't really figure out how they work), and a small 360° movie theatre. The movie they show is about the Ruhrgebiet and its recent changes. It lasts about 20 minutes. The first part consists of just pictures without comment and a boring music - nice to look at but little to no information content. In the second part local people appear and give short statements about their personal view of the Ruhrgebiet (in German resp. local dialect, of course). The movie theatre has only 31 seats. In the morning it was half empty but later in the day, especially on weekends, lines can be expected. If you have to wait, skip it.

The (only) interesting bit of the information portal, which is worth the 1 € they charge as entrance fee, is the viewpoint on the roof at a height of 45 metres. The platform provides a bird's eye view of the entire mine and its surroundings and over to the skylines of downtown Essen and industrial complexes in the neighbouring cities. The landscape is amazingly green. The former grounds of mine, cokery, mining dumps and railway tracks is covered in trees, shrubs and wildflowers.

Industrial town in the Ruhr area

by pakistanibrain

"Interesting town with a couple of beautiful places"

Although Essen is right in the middle of the Ruhr area, which is a mainly Industrial area in Germany, it does have it's beautiful spots as well. The Baldeney lake is one example. They have very good dinner cruises on that lake. The Zeche Zollverein is also a very interesting place to visit.