Zollverein
Undoubtedly the most beautiful colliery in the world.
Ruhr region Highlights
Ruhr Museum
Regional history museum.
German Mining Museum
Museum dedicated to hard coal, mining, mineral resources & art, with an über-cool 2½-km-long visitor mine.
Wuppertal Suspension Railway
The world’s oldest operational monorail.
Villa Hügel
Steel magnate Alfred Krupp’s home, featuring the Krupp Historical Exhibition.
Museum Folkwang
Art museum by architect David Chipperfield.
DASA Working World Exhibition
Museum dedicated to the past, present & future of work & working conditions, especially safety.
Henrichenburg Ship Lift
Museum dedicated to the history of the Dortmund-Ems Canal & the Waltrop ship lift.
Hansa Coking Plant
Once one of the largest coking plants in the Ruhr region.
Landscape Park Duisburg-Nord
Urban park at the site of the former Meiderich ironworks, with a viewing platform at the top of one of the blast furnaces.
Further Recommendations
Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum
Zoo, aquarium & natural history museum.
Benrath Palace
18th-century palace by architect Nicolas de Pigage.
Berger Memorial
20-m-high tower providing a wonderful view of the Ruhr Valley.
Bochum Railway Museum
Railway museum operating a Wismar railbus.
Botanical Garden
The Chinese garden is quite nice.
Brewery Museum
Museum dedicated to the Dortmund beer industry.
Burg Castle
Refurbished medieval castle.
Café Die Kokerei
Consolidation Mine
Home to artist Werner Thiel’s collection of mining artefacts.
Deutsches Klingenmuseum
Museum dedicated to blade weapons, knives & cutlery.
D’Haus
Theatre.
Drop Forge Hendrichs
Industrial heritage museum.
Duisburg Theatre
Opera house.
Düsseldorf Opera House
Opera house.
Engels House
Museum dedicated to philosopher Friedrich Engels.
Essen Cathedral
Home to the Golden Madonna of Essen.
Gasometer Oberhausen
Exhibition centre.
German Cookery Book Museum
Closed until further notice.
German Football Museum
Boring.
German Inland Waterways Museum
Museum dedicated to the history of inland navigation.
German Röntgen Museum
Museum dedicated to the history of the development of X-rays.
German Textile Museum
Goethe Museum
Museum dedicated to writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.
Hannover Colliery
Industrial heritage museum dedicated to the Hannover Colliery, miner’s lives, and immigrant workers.
Haus Lange and Haus Esters Museums
Two villas by architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
H-Bahn Dortmund
Driverless suspended monorail system.
Henrichshütte Ironworks
Industrial heritage museum.
Hoesch Museum
Museum dedicated to the Dortmund iron & steel industry.
Hoheward Landscape Park
Former slag heap, now an urban park.
House of Silk Culture
Kaiser Wilhelm Museum
Art museum.
Kunsthalle Düsseldorf
Art gallery.
Kunst im Tunnel
Contemporary art gallery.
Kunstmuseum Gelsenkirchen
Contemporary art museum.
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen K20
Contemporary art museum by Dissing+Weitling architects.
Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen K21
Contemporary art museum by architect Julius Raschdorff.
Lehmbruck Museum
Museum dedicated to sculptor Wilhelm Lehmbruck.
LWL Open-Air Museum Hagen
Living history museum.
Manufactum
Upmarket shop for stuff that isn’t crap.
Margarethenhöhe
Margarethe Krupp’s garden city.
Mariendom Neviges
Brutalist church by architect Gottfried Bühm.
Marl Chemical Park
Industrial culture tours on Tuesdays & Saturdays.
Memorial Steinwache
Former Gestapo prison.
Museum DKM
Contemporary art museum.
Museum Kunstpalast
Art museum.
Museum Küppersmühle
Contemporary art museum.
Museum of Art and Cultural History
Museum featuring a bit of everything.
Museum of Early Industrialization
Industrial history museum.
Museum of Natural History
Museum Ostwall
Contemporary art museum.
Nahverkehrsmuseum Dortmund
Public transport museum.
Neuer Zollhof
Office buildings by architect Frank Gehry.
Nightingale Mine
Industrial heritage museum.
Nordstern Tower
Museum dedicated to the former Nordstern colliery.
Old Synagogue
House of Jewish culture.
Philara Collection
Contemporary art museum.
Prosper II Mine
Industrial history tours on selected Sundays.
Radbod Mine
Industrial history tours on selected Sundays.
Recklinghausen Substation
Electricity museum.
Red Dot Design Museum
With more than 2,000 exhibits, the museum presents the world’s largest exhibition of contemporary design.
St Antony Ironworks
Industrial heritage museum.
Sterkrade Mine
Industrial history tours on selected Sundays.
Tetrahedron
Walkable triangular-pyramid-shaped installation by architect Wolfgang Christ.
Textile Factory Cromford
Industrial heritage museum.
Tiger & Turtle
Walkable rollercoaster-shaped installation (‘magic mountain’) by artists Heike Mutter & Ulrich Genth.
Tonhalle Düsseldorf
Concert hall.
Westphalian School Museum
Museum dedicated to the history of education in Westphalia.
Wuppertal Zoo
Zinc Factory Altenberg
Closed for renovation until 2026.
Zollern Colliery
Industrial heritage museum dedicated to the Zollern Colliery & miner’s working conditions.
Zollverein Swimming Pool
Swimming-pool-shaped installation by artists Dirk Paschke & Daniel Milohnić.
Zoo Dortmund
Zoo Duisburg
Zoom Erlebniswelt
It’s a zoo.
Zweckel Mine
Industrial history tours on selected Sundays.