A Weekend Getaway in the Industrial City Duisburg where Events are all around

Nestled in the Ruhr area, is a city called Duisburg where steel blends perfectly together with historical charm. It’s the perfect city for a short getaway and to discover something totally different, like the Landschapspark or Tiger & Turtle. Discover all this in my blog post!

For your information, all these pictures were taken in June 2024.

Some information about Duisburg

Duisburg is an industrial city in the Ruhr area of North Rhine-Westphalia. It’s not the biggest city as it’s only the fifth largest of the Ruhr area, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have any charm! This city became a very important part for iron, steel, and chemicals industries. And you can still see this in the city and nearby like at the inner harbour.

How to get to Duisburg?

Germany is located in western central Europe and borders Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland, Czechia, Austria, Switzerland, France and Luxembourg. The United Kingdom is a sea border. As it’s pretty central in Europe and has a heavily visited capital, the country is quite easy to visit.

1 | With the plane

Duisburg doesn’t have its own airport, but there is one closeby in Düsseldorf. So, there is always a way to get to Germany by plane.

The airport of Düsseldorf is only 20 minutes by public transportation away from the city center of Duisburg. This makes it ideal for a citytrip or if you want to make it your startpoint of your city trip to Duisburg.

2 | With public transportation

The train system is good equipped and is the most enjoyable way to travel around Germany! No matter the destination in the country, you will be there in no time!

Other public transportations you can take around Germany are buses and metros, but these are more used in the city center. In Duisburg, every few minutes there is a metro you can take. It’s such a pleasant way of traveling!

3 | By car

You can also come Germany by car. It’s a perfect way for traveling around the country and seeing a lot of things, but it can also be a hassle when it comes to finding parking spots in bigger cities.

Best time to visit Duisburg

Germany is an all-year travel destination, but the peak season would be between June and August in the summer months. July is the busiest month in summer, because of the start of the summer vacation around Europe. The summer is so popular, because of the pleasant temperatures, and longer days. I visited Duisburg in June and was quite lucky with the weather as it hasn’t been the best year.

Where to stay in Duisburg?

The perfect place to stay in Duisburg is the Mercure hotel! It was so close to the city center, the inner harbour, the main station and many more! The hotel also had a restaurant and a small welness, where you can relax after a long day of exploring!

Duisburg itinerary

Duisburg itinerary: Day 1

1 | Wander around the Innenhafen

After arriving at Duisburg, the first thing we did was wander around the city center and the Innenhafen. Here, you can see clearly how historical and modern architecture combine together perfectly.

When we were there, it was the annual dragon boat race, called ‘Drachenboot Fun Regatta‘. This race is one of the biggest in the world with around 140 teams and 3.000 participants. The colourful costumes and the thrilling drums of the dragon boat made it even more special. So, definitely worth to check it out the next time!

2 | Take a look inside Forum Duisburg for a shopping session

A city trip isn’t complete with a bit of shopping, right? So, make your way over to Forum Duisburg, which is a big shopping center in the middle of the center. With around 60 shops, it’s the perfect place to wander around and take a look inside the shops.

The shopping center is open from Monday to Saturday, 9.30 AM to 8 PM.

3 | Eat a delicious lunch at the harbour with L'Osteria

We decided to eat at the harbour so we wouldn’t miss a thing of the dragon boat race! It’s such a fun event, which I didn’t want to miss a thing off! L’Osteria has very delicious pizzas and pastas, which is never a bad thing to eat.

4 | Go back in time at Landschaftspark

In the afternoon, we decided to visit the Landschaftspark in Duisburg-Nord. This park is a disused ironworks that attracts more than one million visitors a year. And that makes perfect sense, as it’s an attraction that’s one in a kind! You can go up with hiking to enjoy the view from Blast Furnace 5.

The Landschaftspark is open daily throughout the year without a time limitation. The entry to the park is free as well. And starting from dawn until 1 AM, there is a light installation show!

You can visit Landschaftspark with public transportation with taking the tram 903 from ‘Duisburg Main Station’ to ‘Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord’, which is a 10 minute walk from the tram station. Another option is going with the car as there is a big car park near to the park.

5 | End your day at Hauptschalthaus

Lastly, to end the day, we ate at Hauptschalthaus, which was directly at the entrance of Landschaftspark. As the sunset was really late in June, we could visit the furnace again after our dinner with sunset and dawn!

The food at the restaurant was really good and there was a wide range to choose from. The restaurant is open from Wednesday to Thursday from 12 AM to 8 PM, Friday to Saturday from 12 AM to 10 PM and Sunday from 12 AM to 7 PM. The other days, you will need to make an appointment.

Duisburg itinerary: Day 2

6 | Take the tram to Tiger & Turtle

Tiger & Turtle has been on my photographers bucketlist forever and I’m glad that I finally made the time to visit the location. This very special sculpture is in the form of a rollercoaster, but on this one, you can walk on. There even is a looping, which is only half walkable, as it wouldn’t be safe otherwise.

You can easily reach this sculpture by taking tram 903 from ‘Duisburg Main Station’ to ‘Tiger & Turtle’, which takes around 25 minutes. With the car will be a bit more complicated as there isn’t a designated car parking, but you can always park in the neighbouring residential areas.

7 | Eat a vegetarian lunch at Lolu

Going back to the city center of Duisburg, it’s time to eat some lunch. We decided to take a look at Lolu, which is a vegetarian and vegan restaurant. It’s very close to the main pedestrian street, so it’s the perfect place to have lunch.

8 | Go back to the city center and enjoy the Marina-Markt

Since 2002 is the Marina-Market unthinkable in Duisburg. This market takes place every second Sunday between April and October and brings local handicrafts and gastronomy together. It’s the perfect start of your day to walk next to the harbour promenade and try and buy the fresh products of the market. And mostly, this market is combined with another event, like the Drachenboot race in my case, but there are many other things to do in Duisburg!

9 | Take a look inside MKM

Duisburg is an industrial city and you can notice this in Museum Küppersmühle, where historical and modern architecture blend together perfectly. There are more than 300 works to spectate in the museum and they are all very different from each other. The museum is located at the Innenhafen and is perfect to visit after the market.

The museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday. It’s open on Wednesday from 2 PM to 6 PM and from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 AM to 6 PM. The entrance to the museum is €8 per person for only the lower floor, and €14 for the whole museum. I would definitely recommend to visit everything as there is so much more to see. And as a bonus, you get to visit the photogenic staircase.

10 | Finish your trip with dinner at Mein Stübchen

While going back to the city center of Duisburg to get to the train station or your car, it’s time to have one more dinner before going home. And we did that at Mein Stübchen where you can have all kind of different meals. So, there is definitely something for everyone!

Hopefully, I got to inspire you to visit this city in Germany. I atleast had a very great time exploring a part of my neighbouring country!

With lots of love,
Ellen

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Hello, I’m Ellen and welcome to this blog! I’m in love with exploring the world and hopefully I get to inspire you with these blog posts and pictures to feel the same. You will find detailed itineraries, hidden gems, tips and so much more!

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A Weekend Getaway in the Industrial City Duisburg where Events are all around

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