Oberhausen travel guide
A gas holder turned gallery, a Slinky-shaped canal bridge and the oldest short film festival
A Ruhr industrial city between Duisburg and Essen whose converted Gasometer hosts large exhibitions with a rooftop view. Come between May and September, when the Kaisergarten and canal paths are pleasant, or in late April for the short film festival. One day is enough for most visitors. Prices are above average, and many passports need no visa.
Oberhausen sits on the Emscher and the Rhine-Herne Canal in the western Ruhr, wedged between Duisburg and Essen. Most people come for one structure: the Gasometer, a 117-metre steel drum built to store blast-furnace gas and now one of the most dramatic exhibition halls in Germany, with a glass lift that rises through the hollow interior and stairs to a roof terrace over the whole Ruhr skyline.
Around it grew the Neue Mitte, a 1990s redevelopment of former steelworks land that bundled the CentrO shopping mall, the Sea Life aquarium, a model-railway hall, arenas and a small marina on the canal. The older town centre around the Hauptbahnhof is a different, plainer place, with the Ludwiggalerie art museum in Schloss Oberhausen and the LVR Industriemuseum's zinc factory close by. Cinema people know the city for its short film festival, held every spring since 1954. It was there that young German directors issued the Oberhausen Manifesto in 1962. A full day covers the Gasometer plus the Kaisergarten with its Slinky bridge; add a second if you want the St. Antony ironworks or a gig at the Turbinenhalle.
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Top things to do in Oberhausen
Industrial heritage sets the agenda here: the Gasometer first, then the Kaisergarten, the canal bridge, the LVR museum sites and the shopping and attractions of Neue Mitte.
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Best time to visit Oberhausen
Month by month, so you can pick the weather and the crowds you want.
Long evenings on the Gasometer roof, picnics in the Kaisergarten and towpath rides toward Gelsenkirchen; Sterkrade's big Corpus Christi fair lands in late May or June.
The International Short Film Festival fills the Lichtburg and other screens for six days; book rooms early that week.
Grey, damp weather that pushes everyone into CentrO, Sea Life and the model-railway hall; the Christmas market at CentrO is one of the region's biggest.
The Gasometer usually closes for a few weeks between exhibitions while the next show is installed; check the dates before planning a trip around it.
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Getting there
From Düsseldorf Airport station to the 112 transitway
Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is the one to fly into. Its long-distance station sits on the line north to Duisburg, and regional trains reach Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof in roughly 20 to 30 minutes, either directly on services heading toward Wesel and Arnhem or with a quick change in Duisburg. A taxi takes about the same time when the A3 is clear and much longer in rush hour. Dortmund (DTM) and Weeze (NRN) handle budget flights but are awkward by public transport. Oberhausen Hbf is served every two hours by the ICE between Amsterdam and Frankfurt and by InterCity trains toward Cologne, Münster and Norddeich, but most other ICEs stop only in Duisburg, six minutes away, where you continue on a regional train or S-Bahn; the S3 runs on to Essen. From the station, tram 112 and the buses on the dedicated transitway run every few minutes to Neue Mitte for the Gasometer and CentrO. Intercity coaches also stop in the city, and drivers come in on the A2, A3, A42 or A516; the Neue Mitte exit on the A42 is signposted.
- Düsseldorf Airport (DUS)
- About 20 to 30 minutes by regional train, sometimes changing at Duisburg
- Duisburg Hbf
- About 6 minutes by train; the usual change from ICE services
- Oberhausen Hbf to Neue Mitte
- Tram 112 or transitway buses from platform 1, a few minutes
- Cars need a green emissions sticker inside the low-emission zone; rental cars normally have one.
- The Hauptbahnhof has lifts to every platform, toilets and a staffed information point.
Where to stay
Neue Mitte by the Gasometer or the Hauptbahnhof quarter
The city is small enough that any base works, but the choice changes the feel of the evening. Neue Mitte puts you beside the sights and the canal, though it empties once the mall shuts. The streets around the Hauptbahnhof and the Altmarkt are livelier on weekdays and closer to the trains. Sterkrade, to the north, suits anyone visiting family or the summer fair.
- Neue Mitte
- Walk to the Gasometer, Sea Life and the marina; large chain hotels, very quiet after the shops close
- Hauptbahnhof and Altmarkt
- A short walk from the station, the Ludwiggalerie and the zinc factory museum; plainer streets, easy rail links to Duisburg and Essen
- Sterkrade
- Residential district at the north end of tram 112, with its own station and the Corpus Christi fair; little else for visitors
- When the Turbinenhalle or the arena at Neue Mitte has a big show, rooms nearby sell out; check the event calendar before booking.
Getting around
Tram 112 and the STOAG transitway
The local operator STOAG runs buses and the single tram line on VRR fares, so one ticket also covers trains and trams into Duisburg, Mülheim and Essen. The backbone is the transitway, a dedicated road for buses and tram 112 built in 1996 on an old industrial railway between the Hauptbahnhof, Neue Mitte and Sterkrade. Services follow each other every few minutes, so timetables hardly matter. Buy and stamp tickets at the machines on the platforms before boarding; the VRR and STOAG apps sell mobile tickets as well. South of the station, tram 112 continues through Mülheim's centre. On foot, Neue Mitte, the Gasometer, the Kaisergarten and Schloss Oberhausen are all within about 20 minutes of each other. Cyclists have the towpaths of the Rhine-Herne Canal and the Emscher, flat and largely car-free, which link into the Route der Industriekultur network across the Ruhr.
- Transitway
- Tram 112 and buses between Hbf, Neue Mitte and Sterkrade every few minutes
- Ticket offices
- Hauptbahnhof, Neue Mitte stop and Sterkrade station
- Canal towpath
- Flat cycling east toward Gelsenkirchen's Nordsternpark
- The Neue Mitte stop is the one for the Gasometer, CentrO and Sea Life; the aquarium is about 900 metres' walk from it.
Know before you go
Oberhausen's gas holder has become an exhibition hall.
Why travelers love it
- The Gasometer roof terrace, reached by a glass lift inside the drum and a final flight of outdoor stairs, with the Ruhr's slag heaps and chimneys laid out below.
- Slinky Springs to Fame, Tobias Rehberger's coiled, candy-coloured footbridge over the Rhine-Herne Canal, best after dark when its LED panels light up.
- A screening at the short film festival, where you can watch a dozen films from different continents in a single programme.
Good to know
- The Gasometer has stairs at the top; visitors who cannot climb should ask staff for the separate outside lift to one of the roof platforms.
Trip fit
BookingMentor editorial ratings out of 5, based on a first-time visitor's experience.
Weather in Oberhausen, month by month
Month-by-month climate figures for Oberhausen are being researched.
Gasometer roof, Kaisergarten and the Slinky bridge in one loop
Oberhausen fits into a single day. Take tram 112 to Neue Mitte for the Gasometer exhibition and its roof platforms, walk through the Kaisergarten and over the Slinky Springs to Fame bridge to the Ludwiggalerie in Schloss Oberhausen, then visit the LVR Industriemuseum in the old zinc factory behind the Hauptbahnhof.
Morning. Take tram 112 from the Hauptbahnhof to Neue Mitte and go straight to the Gasometer before the groups arrive. Exhibitions inside the old gas holder change every year or two and tend to use the full height of the drum, often with a giant projection or suspended installation. Ride the glass lift up through the dark interior, then climb the outdoor stairs to the roof platforms; on a clear day you can follow the line of slag heaps and chimneys across the northern Ruhr.
Midday. Walk across the canal to the Kaisergarten, a 19th-century park with a small, free animal enclosure that children like. Cross the Slinky Springs to Fame bridge for the spiral views, then look into Schloss Oberhausen, a classical palace that houses the Ludwiggalerie with exhibitions of photography, comics and pop art.
Afternoon. Spend an hour at the LVR Industriemuseum in the former Altenberg zinc factory on Hansastraße, behind the Hauptbahnhof, which explains the heavy industry that built the city. If you have a car or time for a bus, the museum's second site, the St. Antony ironworks in Osterfeld, is where Ruhr iron-making began in the 1750s.
Evening. Families head back to Neue Mitte for Sea Life or the Modellbahnwelt, a huge H0 layout of the Ruhr around 1965-70. Music fans check what is on at the Turbinenhalle, a former power plant hall that books rock and metal bands.
Currywurst, Pommes Schranke and the Ruhr Bude at CentrO's doorstep
Oberhausen eats Ruhr food. Order Currywurst with Pommes Schranke at a district Imbiss, buy a Pils at a Bude corner kiosk, and look for Pfefferpotthast stew and Reibekuchen at markets. The Altmarkt and Marktstraße have family-run Turkish, Greek and Italian places, and CentrO's Promenade has chain restaurants facing the marina.
Oberhausen eats like the rest of the Ruhr: cheaply, quickly and with a lot of ketchup. The essential order is Currywurst, sliced and doused in curry-spiced tomato sauce, with a portion of Pommes Schranke, fries under parallel stripes of mayonnaise and ketchup that are said to look like a level-crossing barrier. Every district has an Imbiss that serves both, and they are better than anything in the mall food courts.
The other institution is the Bude or Trinkhalle, a corner kiosk selling cold beer, sweets and newspapers, where locals stop for a bottle of Pils on the way home. Order a local Pils, sit on the bench outside and you will learn more about the city than in the Gasometer.
For a sit-down meal the old centre around the Altmarkt and Marktstraße has Turkish grills, Greek tavernas and Italian places run by families who arrived to work in the mines and mills. Home-style Ruhr dishes worth asking for are Pfefferpotthast, a peppery beef and onion stew, and Reibekuchen, fried potato pancakes eaten with apple sauce, often sold at markets and fairs. In Sterkrade, the Corpus Christi fair turns the streets into one long run of grill stands and sweet stalls.
At Neue Mitte, CentrO's Promenade along the edge of the mall has a long row of chain restaurants with terraces facing the marina, handy before an arena concert. Eat early on match or concert nights; tables go fast.
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How we research our Oberhausen travel guide
Gasometer exhibitions change every year or two, so oberhausen.de is our first check. Tram 112 and the Duisburg and Düsseldorf links are verified on Deutsche Bahn, plus short film festival dates and Ruhr context from the German National Tourist Board.
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Checked against trusted sources:
Official website of OberhausenGerman National Tourist BoardDeutsche Bahn
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Oberhausen basics: the Gasometer, Centro and transport.
General
It is about 117 metres high. A glass lift runs up inside the drum and outdoor stairs lead to three roof platforms; an outside lift reaches one platform for visitors who cannot manage stairs.
It stored blast-furnace gas for the Gutehoffnungshütte steelworks from 1929. After the plants closed it was converted in the 1990s into an exhibition hall, and it is now an anchor point of the European Route of Industrial Heritage.
A 1962 declaration signed at the festival by 26 young West German filmmakers who rejected the commercial cinema of the time. It is seen as the starting point of New German Cinema.
Tram 112, plus the buses on the same transitway, from platform 1 at the Hauptbahnhof stop. Get off at Neue Mitte; the ride takes a few minutes.
It crosses the Rhine-Herne Canal behind Schloss Oberhausen, linking the Kaisergarten with the far bank. It is more than 400 metres long and lit with coloured LEDs at night.
Yes. Paul, who picked the winners of Germany's matches at the 2010 World Cup, lived at the aquarium near Neue Mitte. It is about 900 metres from the Neue Mitte tram stop.
The Altenberg zinc factory near the Hauptbahnhof covers heavy industry in the Ruhr, and the St. Antony ironworks in Osterfeld preserves the place where the region's iron industry began in the 18th century.
Mostly rock and metal, with some other genres and club nights. It is a converted industrial hall close to the city centre, with further clubs nearby.
Easily. Duisburg is about 6 minutes by train and Essen about 15, all on one VRR ticket, so many visitors stay in one city and day-trip to the others.
The local operator STOAG runs buses and the single tram line on VRR fares, so one ticket also covers trains and trams into Duisburg, Mülheim and Essen. The backbone is the transitway, a dedicated road for buses and tram 112 built in 1996 on an old industrial railway between the Hauptbahnhof, Neue Mitte and Sterkrade. Services follow each other every few minutes, so timetables hardly matter.
Timing & weather
Over six days in late April and early May each year. It was founded in 1954, making it one of the oldest short film festivals in the world.
The best time to visit Oberhausen is May to Sep. Warmest months for the Gasometer roof, the Kaisergarten and cycling along the Rhine-Herne Canal.
- Canal season: May - September (Long evenings on the Gasometer roof, picnics in the Kaisergarten and towpath rides toward Gelsenkirchen; Sterkrade's big Corpus Christi fair lands in late May or June)
- Festival spring: Late April - early May (The International Short Film Festival fills the Lichtburg and other screens for six days; book rooms early that week)
- Mall months: November - March (Grey, damp weather that pushes everyone into CentrO, Sea Life and the model-railway hall; the Christmas market at CentrO is one of the region's biggest)
Getting there
Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) is the one to fly into. Its long-distance station sits on the line north to Duisburg, and regional trains reach Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof in roughly 20 to 30 minutes, either directly on services heading toward Wesel and Arnhem or with a quick change in Duisburg. A taxi takes about the same time when the A3 is clear and much longer in rush hour.
Visa & documents
As a Schengen member, Germany shares one set of entry rules with most of the EU. Citizens of the EU and of many other countries, including the US, UK, Canada and Australia, can visit visa-free for up to 90 days in any 180-day period; other nationalities need a Schengen visa. The EU's Entry/Exit System (EES) records non-EU travelers' fingerprints and a photo at the border.
Health & safety
Pickpocketing at large stations, Christmas markets and on big-city public transport is the main risk in a very safe country. Carry ID and validate paper tickets where required. Call 110 for police and 112 for fire or ambulance.
