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Large metal walkable sculpture resembling a roller coaster with loop in Ruhr area. Industrial buildings and smokestacks visible in background.

Essen based in one hotel

The essentials at a glance

Explore the Ruhr region's industrial heritage on this star tour from Essen. Cycle through transformed coal and steel landscapes including Nordsternpark Gelsenkirchen, the Gasometer Oberhausen, Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park, and UNESCO World Heritage Zollverein colliery. Daily routes of 48-67 km follow disused railway lines and canals. Stay at the centrally located Sheraton Hotel with wellness facilities. Easy to medium difficulty on predominantly car-free cycle paths.

Cycling through the green Ruhr Valley

Coal used to be mined and steel boiled here in the mining district. Former production sites - some of which are protected monuments - have become industrial heritage sites worth seeing. Slag heaps became green recreational areas, disused railway lines became cycle paths, dirty colliery housing estates were transformed into sought-after residential areas. Grey became green. Let Europe's Capital of Culture (2010) surprise you. 

Easy
Bike tours
6 Days / 5 Nights
Self-guided tour
Download information

Itinerary

Individual arrival to Essen. Use the time for a visit to the Folkwang Museum, or a visit to the cathedral with its cathedral treasury, or the synagogue right next door.

In Gelsenkirchen's Nordsternpark, there are many reminders of the former colliery that once stood here. Numerous colliery buildings have been integrated into the park (the Federal Garden Show was held here in 1997). The park is dominated by the 18 metre high ‘Hercules of Gelsenkirchen’. The circular tour also leads over two slag heaps, which are also home to modern sculptures. From here you have a wonderful view of the area.

The first stop is probably one of the world's most unusual exhibition halls, the gasometer in Oberhausen. The tour continues along the Rhine-Herne Canal to the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park around a disused ironworks site. See how nature is reclaiming the site.

You cycle to Mülheim via the cycle highway. Up the Ruhrauf you pass through some small, cosy districts: Saarn (monastery and beautiful old town), Kettwig, Werden (former abbey). The Villa Hügel (former home of the Krupp family) rises above Lake Baldeney. Round off the day's cycling in one of the many beer gardens along the Ruhr.

This tour is all about mining. In Bochum, you can go underground and experience what it was like in the coal mines back then. The tour continues along the ore railway line to the Zollverein colliery, probably the most beautiful colliery in the world and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After breakfast, individual return journey or start of your extension.

Tour character

Easy

Easy to medium difficulty. Predominantly very good cycle paths without car traffic on disused railway lines or along rivers or canals. Short stages also on moderately busy roads. If the day becomes too long due to the many worthwhile stops, the next railway station is usually not far away. 

Green topographic map showing cycling routes connecting Essen with surrounding cities including Duisburg, Bochum, Gelsenkirchen, Mülheim an der Ruhr, and Kettwig. White lines indicate cycle paths with red dots marking city locations.

Prices & dates

Printed route book – sustainability with Rückenwind

Your travel package includes a digital route book as standard. If you would like a printed version, please let us know when you book. The surcharge is € 20 per route book and you will receive your copy on site. Join us in contributing to even greater sustainability!

Prices per person in EUR

Services & extras

Services

Included

  • 5 nights in the booked category
  • breakfast
  • A multi-course dinner in the hotel's restaurant during your stay
  • Welcome drink on the day of arrival
  • Free use of the wellness and fitness area, 1 welcome gift, 1 bottle of water per day in your room
  • Free WLAN
  • Carefully prepared itinerary
  • Digital travel documents
  • Navigation app and GPS data
  • Rental bike insurance
  • 7-day service hotline

Excluded

  • Arrival and departure
  • parking fees
  • Spa and local taxes where applicable
  • transfers
  • Optional sightseeing
  • travel insurance
  • Expenses for personal use
Extras

Arrival / parking

  • Limited parking spaces in the hotel's own garage, approx. € 16,00 per day.
  • Good train connections to/from Essen.
Hotels

Sheraton Hotel – Close to the city and surrounded by greenery

Centrally located in Essen and right next to the city park, the Sheraton Hotel offers the ideal location for a relaxing holiday. Guests can expect 206 modern rooms, a large fitness and wellness area, and culinary highlights featuring regional and international cuisine. A lockable bicycle storage room is also available. The large rooms (approx. 32 m²) offer everything you need for a relaxing stay: a comfortable queen-size bed, a walk-in shower, air conditioning, a cosy sitting area and a coffee and tea maker for refreshments between meals. Category A rooms impress with their particularly stylish ambience.

Website

 

Further information

Further important information in accordance with the "Pauschalreisegesetz" (Package Travel Act) can be found here!

Professional portrait of Olga Prieb, a woman with long brown hair wearing a dark jacket, smiling slightly at the camera.

"We look forward to making your holiday dreams come true"

Olga Prieb
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+49 441 48597 41
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