Discover Gelsenkirchen: Industrial Heritage, Parkland and Experiences

Gelsenkirchen offers a variety of reasons to visit: expansive worlds of adventure, industrial heritage set in a large parkland, Renaissance history, music and football history. When planning your trip, it is worth considering which of these themes interest you most.

Worlds of adventure and unusual experiences

ZOOM Erlebniswelt presents the themed worlds of Alaska, Africa and Asia across more than 30 hectares. There are also various experiences to choose from: on the African lake, ZOOM Erlebniswelt offers a boat safari aboard the African Queen. The Alaska Ice Adventure is a motion-ride simulation through Alaska’s different vegetation zones. This lets you choose between a boat safari and an Alaska-themed simulation. Both experiences give ZOOM Erlebniswelt a distinctive focus for your plans.

Parkland, slag heaps and trails

Nordsternpark is located on the site of the former Nordstern colliery and combines industrial heritage with expansive parkland. The park has walking and cycling trails as well as boat moorings. This connects the site’s history with opportunities to explore the parkland on foot or by bike.

The routes through Gelsenkirchen can also be distinguished by their listed landmarks. The Kray-Wanner-Bahn is a former railway line converted into a cycling and walking trail. It passes the Rheinelbe slag heap and ends at the Erzbahntrasse. This begins at Grimberger Hafen and continues past ZOOM Erlebniswelt towards Herne. The Rungenberg slag heap in Gelsenkirchen-Buer can be explored on foot along numerous winding paths from the Schüngelberg estate or Horster Straße. In the southeast, the light sculpture “Nachtzeichen” by artists Klaus Noculak and Hermann EsRichter crowns the slag heap. So, alongside paths through parkland, you can also visit a slag heap that is home to a specific art installation.

Renaissance, theatre and football history

Schloss Horst is one of the city’s oldest buildings and one of Westphalia’s most significant Renaissance castles. The Schloss Horst experience museum takes visitors on a journey back to the Renaissance. In the historic print workshop in the outer bailey, visitors can operate a historic printing press themselves. Architectural history and the chance to try out printing techniques offer different ways to explore the subject.

The Musiktheater im Revier has been listed as a historic monument since 1997. Its programme focuses on operas, operettas, musicals and symphony concerts. If you are planning a theatre visit, check the current schedule in advance. The Consol cultural district includes the Consol Theater as a cultural venue and the Sammlung Werner Thiel art installation.

Football history takes centre stage at the Schalke Museum: across more than 600 square metres, it presents the eventful history of FC Schalke 04 through more than 500 exhibits, photos and films. VELTINS-Arena tours last around 75 minutes and include access to the Schalke Museum. As the tour duration and included access may change, check the latest tour details before your visit.

Choose accommodation based on your interests

The accommodation that suits your trip also depends on which experiences you want to include. If your main focus is ZOOM Erlebniswelt, you can consider different experiences, from the boat safari to the Alaska Ice Adventure. For culture and history, Schloss Horst, the Musiktheater im Revier, the Consol cultural district and the Schalke Museum each offer a different theme. Walking and cycling lead to other highlights, such as Nordsternpark or the trails and slag heaps described above.

If you are planning a trip with children, you can sort the suggestions by your fellow travellers’ interests: worlds of adventure, a motion-ride simulation, operating a historic printing press or football history each offer a different focus. Decide which visits matter most to you, then look for accommodation in Gelsenkirchen that fits your travel plans.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Beckhausen, Solingen, Dortmund, Essen, Mönchengladbach, Herne, Duisburg, Wuppertal.

Back to the main travel overview: North Rhine-Westphalia.