Excursions—Guided Tours—Exhibitions
Wednesday afternoon, August 27
Discover Essen
You will be able to discover the many different faces of the city of Essen during a round trip. The green south of the city with the Lake Baldeney, the Villa Hügel and the 18th century district of Margarethenhöhe will be some of the sights that you will get to know while travelling to the north of the town to visit Zeche Zollverein. The round trip will end here with a guided tour of this site which the UNESCO recently nominated World Heritage.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 20€
Krupp and the city of Essen
The history of the city of Essen has, for a long time, been closely connected to the history of the steel tycoon Krupp—both entities share memories that are not always pleasant and sometimes even cruel. “Discovering the Krupps” is not only a tour letting you in on the history of the family and the company, it is likewise a discovery of Essen's past. As a part of the route you will also visit the Villa Hügel, the former residence of the Krupp family.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 20€
On the road towards industrial culture
This route leads you through the Ruhr area and directly to the highlights and hidden goods of industrial culture alongside the 400 km path. Even though you are travelling just a small stretch of it you will benefit from an exciting treasure hunt through more than 150 years of industrial past and present of the Ruhr metropolis. Stops during your trip will be the Tetraeder, the Gasometer in the city of Oberhausen as well as the domestic port and the Landschaftspark Nord (a park devoted to industrial architecture) in the city of Duisburg.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 20€
A walk through the Centre of Essen
“Essen—The city to shop in”—This slogan from the 1950s and 60s is still applicable to Essen's city centre as is demonstrated by the opening of Europe's biggest inner city shopping mall Limbecker Platz in March 2008. However, there is a lot more to discover than just shops and malls as you will learn during this walk. Your discovery will conclude with a guided tour of Essen's Minster and the Dome Treasure, which give proof of the more than 1150 years of Essen's history.
2:30—6:00 pm
Price per person: 12€
Walking on and discovering Essen's cultural path
The guided tour along the cultural path of Essen, including the visits of many tourist sights and monuments situated along the road will help you discover various stages of Essen's past and its development trough time. The tour will end at the construction site of Essen's most famous museum of arts—the Folkwang Museum. The exhibition will be hosted in a spectacular building designed by the British architect David Chipperfield and will be reopened in 2010 in time for the celebrations of the nomination of Essen and the Ruhr area as European capital of culture.
2:30—6:00 pm
Price per person: 12€
Guided visit to the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum in Duisburg
Well known throughout Europe for its outstanding collection of modern international sculpture, this museum offers an unusual combination of exceptional architecture placed in a sculpture park, as well as sculpture sited within the urban environs. Commencing with the life's work of Wilhelm Lehmbruck and his contemporaries, the world of art encounters sculptures from all over the world in an exhibition space of 5000 square meters.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 20€
Guided tour of Von der Heydt-Museum in Wuppertal
The exceptional collection of arts comprises important oeuvres of Dutch painting from the 16th and 17th century, German and French paintings from Romanticism to Impressionism, art from the 19th century, painting from the expressionist, the fauvistic, cubistic and futuristic period. Arts from the “Roaring 20s”, of the post-war period and the present are yours to discover, as is a collection of sculptures from the 19th and 20th century.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 20€
Guided Visit to the Neanderthal Museum (Mettmann)
In the Neander Valley in the summer of 1856 quarrymen discovered the fossilised remains of a skeleton—which has since achieved world-wide fame. Today the Neanderthal Museum can be found on this legendary site and tells the story of human evolution. The museum, discovery site, stone age workshop, “Human Traces” sculptured path and animal park create a truly extraordinary mix, ensuring that any visit remains a memorable experience.
The visit to the museum includes a trip to the cave.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 23€
German Mining Museum in Bochum
The German Mining Museum in Bochum (DBM) is the most important mining museum in the world and a highly acclaimed research institute for the history of mining and metallurgy. Exhibits above ground, and a fascinating on-site mine underneath the museum grounds, offer the visitor a glimpse into the world of mining. On a path of 2.5 km length the development of coal mining in the Ruhr area is shown from the beginning to today's modern mining standards. Additionally, the viewing platform on top of the headgear offers a fantastic view over Bochum and the Ruhr region.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 23€
Discover the South of Essen by bike (rental bicycles)
The bike tour starts at the Congress Center Essen and via a decommissioned railway track you will travel to the green south of the city. The Lake Baldeney and the historic district of Werden are stops that you will look at before travelling further to the Villa Hügel, the former residence of the Krupp family. Passing the historic and picturesque district Margarethenhöhe, where only Krupp workers were allowed to live for a long time, you will reach your point of departure again. Most of the trip is leading you on bicycle lanes or roads with little traffic and mostly on flat grounds. It is ok to step off your bike for the short and steep trip to the Villa Hügel. Since many breaks are planned on this tour, please feel free to sign up even if you do not consider yourself a professional biker.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 30€
Canoeing on the Ruhr
The South of the Ruhr area is marked by the green valleys of the Ruhr, the river that gave the region its name. Castles from the middle ages, the close proximity of nature, historic districts and landmarks of early industrialization and coal mining provide the visitor with an exciting experience. Paddling at comfortable speed from Hattingen to Bochum-Dahlhausen with the canoes of the “Ruhr-Pirates” this area is all yours to discover from a totally different perspective. The guided tour takes about 2 hours and is marked “easy”.
2:30—6:30 pm
Price per person: 35€
Trip to Cologne
Cologne is one of the oldest cities in Germany with more than 2000 years of history. Everywhere in Cologne you will stumble over traces of the Romans who founded the city in the year 50 B.C. Cologne Cathedral is world famous and also part of the UNESCO world heritage—just as the Zeche Zollverein in Essen. But there is more to discover: innumerable touristic monuments, museums, countless shopping opportunities and last but not least the lively restaurants and bars of Cologne guarantee a most exciting tour. After a guided visit of the city centre there will be enough time for a visit to the Cathedral, for shopping and also for the famous “Kölsch”—the local beer.
2:30—8:00 pm
Price per person: 23€