The 5 top highlights in the Ruhr area with children

The 5 Top Highlights and Activities in the Ruhr Area with Children

Ruhr area with children: Children usually only want one thing: jumping, playing, romping, climbing. Is that even possible in such a densely populated area as the Ruhr area in NRW? What does the Ruhr area have to offer for children? We had a look around and in this article I introduce you to our 5 top highlights in the Ruhr area with children.

But first of all: What and where is the Ruhr area at all and which cities belong to it?

The Ruhr area, also known as Ruhrpott or Kohle(Pott), is the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia. With 5.1 million inhabitants, the Ruhrpott is the largest conurbation in Germany.

The Ruhr area includes cities such as Duisburg, Oberhausen, Mülheim, Dortmund, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum, Herne and Hamm and a few more.

The reputation of the Ruhr district as a haze bell is still valid. As a holiday region the Ruhr area is little known, which is a pity, because the Ruhr area offers many exciting attractions for families with children and a lot of history.

Once dominated by steel and coal, the Ruhr region is now a cultural region worth living in. Mining and industry have disappeared from the Ruhr area, but the halls, mines, sewage treatment plants and water towers have remained.

The railway lines have become cycle paths, goldfish swim in the sewage treatment plants, water towers are now museums and you can dive in the gasometer.

Nature has returned to the Ruhr area, for it is not for nothing that Essen was named the green capital of Europe in 2017. The city has achieved high environmental standards and is pursuing ambitious goals for the further improvement of environmental protection. And indeed. The city of Essen and actually the whole Ruhr area is quite green!

On our expedition through the Ruhr area with children we found many exciting attractions. Here are our 5 highlights.

The Ruhr area with children – our highlights when the weather is good

Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park – Ruhr area with children

The Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park should be on every to-do list for a visit to the Ruhr area with children. The Landschaftspark in Duisburg is a huge adventure playground for children and teenagers. There is a giant slide in the park which leads through two ore bunkers, a high ropes course, climbing walls, an open trend sports hall, playgrounds but also small green oases for a break in between and of course a lot of industry.

Those who want to see the Ruhr area from above can climb to blast furnace 5 and enjoy the view from a height of 70 metres.

Seaside Beach in Essen at Lake Baldeney – Activities in the Ruhr area with children

There’s nothing like a jump in the cool water on a hot summer’s day. If you travel to the Ruhr area with children, don’t forget your swimsuits. After years of discussions and tests of the water quality, the Baldeneysee was finally opened for bathing on 23.05.17 – for the first time in 40 years.

With the help of the “Green Capital Essen”, a 50 metre long bathing area was built in Seaside Beach. On a fine sandy beach, children build sand castles, while their parents relax on the deck chairs and dig their toes into the sand. With the open bathing area, Seaside Beach now offers a real holiday feeling.

Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain in Duisburg – Ruhr area with children

There are many viewpoints and landmarks in the Ruhr area. The Tiger & Turtle installation was created as part of an art competition in 2009 and is one of the most beautiful landmarks for an excursion in the Ruhr area with children.

Tiger & Turtle – Magic Mountain in Duisburg is a roller coaster with coils, loops and loops, as known from amusement parks, with one difference: The roller coaster is walkable. You can walk over many steps on the roller coaster from two sides. But the loops are locked.

From up here we have a magnificent view over the landscape and the Rhine. A great place for a trip to the Ruhr area with children. It is a lot of fun for the little ones to walk over the installation and explore the albyrinth-like construction.

Bad weather alternatives in the Ruhr area with children

Even in bad weather, the Ruhr area has a lot to offer families with children. Here come two attractions that my son remembers especially.

Gasometer Oberhausen – activities in the Ruhr area with children

The Gasometer in Oberhausen is probably the most beautiful excursion destination in the Ruhr area with children. The exhibition “Wonders of Nature” is currently running.

In the lower areas of the Gasometer, unique images and film clips of various animal and plant species can be viewed.

The highlight of the exhibition can be found on the upper floor. Our earth! At a height of 100 meters, satellite images are projected onto the 20 meter wide globe.

You can lie totally relaxed on the large cushions on the floor and watch the changing seasons, day and night. The room is completely darkened so that you can only see the earth. I felt like an astronaut in space.

With the glass elevator you come very close to the earth on your way to the roof of the Gasometer. From the roof there is also a very good view of the Ruhr area.

Lego Discovery Center in Oberhausen – Activities in the Ruhr area with children

The Lego Discovery Center in Oberhausen is similar to Legoland, but small. There are two small rides, a 4D cinema, a Lego miniature world, a Lego factory, a building and test centre and much more. A perfect place to keep the kids happy for a few hours in rainy weather.

If you don’t feel like the colourful plastic stones any more, you can observe over 5000 sea creatures in Germany’s largest Sea Life right next door. These two activities can be wonderfully combined.

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Christina Cherry
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