Ruhr area: Essen radial tour with charme, 6 days

Look forward to food and take advantage of the first afternoon to visit the Folkwang Museum, the cathedral with its treasury or the adjacent synagogue.

Today you cycle to the Gelsenkirchen Nordsternpark. Much of this is reminiscent of the former mine that used to be here. Numerous mine buildings were integrated into the park, where the Federal Garden Show took place in 1997. This park is dominated by the 18 m high 'Hercules von Gelsenkirchen'. The Hercules of Gelsenkirchen is a monumental statue that stands on a former mining tower of the former Nordstern mine. It is regarded as a symbol of industrial and regional structural change in the Ruhr Area. The tour takes you through two other heaps, which are also home to modern sculptures. Enjoy the exciting and beautiful view of the surroundings from the Haldenhöhen.

One of the most extraordinary exhibition halls in the world is waiting for your visit today and is the first stop on your tour. Look forward to the Gasometer in Oberhausen. The Gasometer Oberhausen is an industrial monument and at the same time the highest exhibition and event hall in Europe! The gasometer is located directly on the Rhine-Herne Canal. With a storage volume of 347,000 m³, a height of 117 metres and a diameter of almost 68 metres, it was Europe's largest operating disk gas container until 1988. After the renovation, the first exhibition in the Gasometer will show the beauty of nature and the influence of man on its environment. After a worthwhile visit, cycle along the Rhine-Herne Canal to the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park, where another industrial cultural highlight awaits you. Since 1994, a disused metallurgical plant has been gradually transformed into a metropolitan oasis with an average of one million visitors per year. Former factory halls have been prepared for corporate and cultural events, Europe's largest artificial diving centre was built in an old gasometer, former ore storage bunkers have been transformed into an alpine climbing garden, a high-rope course has been set up in a casting hall and an extinct blast furnace has been expanded into an observation tower. Leisure, recreation and sports are important on the 180-hectare area. You can stroll through the landscape park on foot, explore by bike or join an interesting public tour. With certainly great impressions you cycle back to the hotel afterwards.

You cycle quickly to Mülheim via the fast cycle path. Now follow the well-signposted Ruhr cycle path past the Saarn monastery with its herb garden and pleasant café. You then cycle to the much-used Baldeneysee lake, which is a wonderful local recreation destination. The castle-like Villa Hügel, the former home of the Krupp family of entrepreneurs (1873 - 1945), stands imposingly on its shores. With its 269 rooms in the middle of a 28-hectare park, it is far more than just the former residence of a well-known business family. It is a symbol of the age of industrialization in Germany. Numerous historical rooms and the Krupp Historical Exhibition can be visited. Afterwards, you can take a break in one of the numerous beer gardens on Lake Baldeney or along the Ruhr before cycling back to the hotel in Essen.

This tour is all about mining. You cycle to Bochum, where you can go underground in a coal mine. Afterwards, you cycle along the Erzbahntrasse to the Zollverein mine, probably the most beautiful mine in the world and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site! Discover industrial history in a place that is synonymous with superlatives like no other: get to know the once largest and most powerful coal mine in the world and the largest central coking plant in Europe. Every day, the 100-hectare grounds invite you to experience the world of coal, coke, art and culture in the heart of the Ruhr area.

After breakfast your surely beautiful and also instructive star bike tour ends in Essen. We are happy to book additional nights for you to get to know the interesting region even better.

For the guests of the Schlosshotel Hugenpoet, the bike tour begins on day 2 at Essen Central Station, on days 3 and 5 at the Hotel the niu Cobbles Essen. The journey there is at your own expense. Essen-Kettwig Train Station is just 2 km from the Schlosshotel.