Essen Stadt
A great city of contrasts: hiking in nature, partying in the city or a sea of lights in the dark season!
The city of Essen in the heart of the Ruhr region is worth a visit 365 days a year - especially since the trip from the Netherlands is so short. Essen offers exciting contrasts of beautiful nature with great cycling and especially hiking trails and urban experiences. At 120 km you will discover the big city from its green side. Essen is that great city of Germany, with the most professional city hiking area. You have to experience this. Whether walking in forests, across fields, on the hills around the great Baldeneysee or in the more urban north of the city. You can also combine the hike with a visit to the coal mine, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By the way: the only UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Ruhr! Or you can come to Essen to experience the many open-air events.
Just like the Essen Original city festival, which offers top live music from national and international artists and bands from May 9 to 11. In addition to the three stages spread throughout the city, there is also a festival market and a great mile to get to know the city of Essen with its many facilities and institutions better. The whole thing is, of course, free for visitors. From July 16 to 27, Essen will host a major highlight - the FISU World University Games. These are the Olympic Games for university athletes. Many exciting competitions can be watched in Essen during that period, such as archery, basketball, taekwondo and tennis. Also in autumn, at the Essen Light Festival, people make it a breathtaking event. Not only is it one of the most important light art festivals in Europe, it is also celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. A fascinating evening walk with spectacular light art in the center of Essen awaits you every day from October 2 to 12. It is best to combine your visit directly with an overnight stay and experience the great diversity of the city of 600,000 inhabitants during the day.
The last big highlight awaits all visitors from November 14 to December 23. The International Christmas Market inspires not only with its many beautiful stalls, but also with its lights. Walking under the twinkling network of lights on Kennedyplatz is unique. It is not
for nothing that the Essen Christmas market has been named Germany's most beautiful Christmas market for three years in a row. Last year it was even awarded the title of the most sustainable Christmas market in Europe.
