Guided tours through the Ruhr Valley

Where do people from Dorsten get their mineral water from? How does it get from the source to the consumer and what even is organic mineral water? This is just the kind of interesting information that will bubble up on a guided tour. Take the opportunity and try out the production plant.
More information can be found on the Stiftsquelle website .

Travel across the Ruhr Valley using the Revier Sprinter. The Sprinter is a rail bus from the 1950s and 1960s and now makes special trips right across the Ruhr Valley. Not just available for guided tours, the Revier Sprinter can also be hired for special events and private functions.
More information can be found on the Revier Sprinter website .

The northern part of Dortmund is one of the most underrated districts in the Ruhr Metropolis. It has a vast amount of exciting and extraordinary tales to tell and is therefore a great insider tip for the Ruhr Valley. The VerFührungen guides want to tell these stories, bringing you closer as they take you on a special guided tour of the northern part of Dortmund.<br/> More information can be found on the tour website .

Relax and explore the city on a SEGWAY and simultaneously learn a lot about Dortmund and the surrounding area. Visitors can experience the highlights of Dortmund on a SEGWAY tour by sanfte-touren. From the beginner’s tour with tips on using a SEGWAY for the first time to the classic sightseeing tour, sanfte-touren.de has all bases covered.
More information can be found on the Sanfte Touren website .

Discover zoo life in a whole new light in Duisburg with the state-of-the-art Delfinarium Deutschlands (German Dolphinarium); Experience the day-to-day co-existence of animal and man right up close in the company of a zoo keeper. The tours begin at the main entrance and end with a nice glass of bubbly. More information can be found on the Duisburg Zoo website.

The light installation by artist Jonathan Park transforms the gigantic industrial backdrop into a breathtaking light and cultural experience. Blast furnaces and chimney stacks shine resplendently in a fascinating sea of colours and transform the industrial backdrop into a cultural experience. A former steelworker guides you through the illuminated work of art and explains first-hand how everyone really “slaved away” back then.
More information can be found here.

Fancy going on an exciting walk through old Essen at night? The night watchman takes you on an impressive journey through the history of Essen. How did Kettwiger Straße get its name? How many city gates protect old Essen? Which trade and business people met in the market place and what did the abbesses do in their convent? Night wanderers of all ages can eavesdrop on the only ‘true’ stories and anecdotes from the former cultural capital.
More information can be found on the Kulturvergnügen (Enjoy culture) website .

It is a unique adventure to experience the former most beautiful, largest and most modern mine of its time in the world led by a jogging tour guide, and to get to know the area surrounding it. During the run (30 or 60 minutes), the tour guide will tell you about the exciting history of the area. If there is a lot to tell in one particular place, the group will run on the spot - no one is allowed to stop.
More information can be found on the simply out tours website .

Join a former miner on his night shift! Explore the pitheads in Zollverein shaft XII. Learn interesting facts about the manufacturing procedures and working life in the mine. Afterwards, the Zollverein worker tells "tales" while sitting together in a relaxed atmosphere and explains why "Mutterklötzchen” (a block of wood that was particularly useful for lighting fires) was so sought-after, for example.
More information can be found on the Stiftung Zollverein website .

A qualified tour guide takes you around the 1160-year old history of the city of Essen. It starts from the tourist centre and heads straight into the inner city. Kennedy Platz, Limbecker Platz, Unperfekthaus, synagogues & cathedrals are just some of the points of interest that are brought to the attention of participants over approximately 90 minutes in an entertaining way. Appointments by arrangement.
More information can be found on the Visit.Ruhr website .

Get to know the coal path on the Denkmalpfad ZOLLVEREIN® (Zollverein Heritage Trail): From the mineshaft hall through the screening plant to the coal preparation plant, where the coal was prepared and finally consigned. Learn about the manufacturing processes of the former largest and most efficient coal mine in the world! Also get an exciting insight into the working and living conditions of the Zollverein miners.
More information can be found here.

For 150 years, sparks would fly when the Henrichshütte blast furnaces spat out molten iron. Today, we bring the history of iron and steel to life at night at this unique original location. Despite fierce opposition, the last blast furnace was shut in 1987. Today it is the oldest blast furnace in the region. Discover nocturnal animals and plants at the museum and learn exciting things about the Heinrichshütte.
More information can be found on the website for the LWL-Industriemuseum (LWL Industrial Museum).

“Spätschicht" (“Night shift”) is an experience tour about the history of the Henrichshütte. The history of iron and steel is brought to life at night at this unique, original location. For 150 years, sparks would fly when the Henrichshütte blast furnaces spat out molten iron. Today, the history of iron and steel is brought to life at night at this unique, original location.
More information can be found on the website for the LWL-Industriemuseum (LWL Industrial Museum).

At the Zeche Nachtigall (Nachtigall Colliery) in the Witten region of the Ruhr Valley, we take you back in time to when horizontal tunnels were made in hillsides and later, the first shafts were dug, for the purposes of coal mining. Equipped with a helmet and miner’s lamp, explore the exhibition mine along small pathways to an actual coal seam and experience the unique atmosphere of a historical underground mine. In the exhibition around the "Hercules” shaft from 1839 - one of the first underground mine shafts in the region - you will learn about the techniques employed and heavy working conditions endured by miners in the 19th century.
More information can be found on the website for the LWL-Industriemuseum (LWL Industrial Museum).

Today, these journeys are a significant testimony to the 150-year industrial history of the region, but also to the structural change taking place in the Ruhr Metropolis. The “Route der Industriekultur” bus tour goes via Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bottrop, Oberhausen and Duisburg. An open-top double-decker bus belonging to the Essener Stadtrundfahrten (Essen city tours) is used. Total duration of journey: approx. 5 hours.
More information can be found on the operator’s website .

Whether Bochum, Dortmund, Duisburg, Mülheim an der Ruhr or Essen – explore the cities away from the busy tourist attractions and get to know small, authentic districts! Each city tour includes tasty samples from unique restaurants, delicatessens and snack bars.
More information can be found here.

You will be presented with various tricky cases, which need to be solved. You will be put into one or more detective teams and sent off to question witnesses, check alibis or gather other information. During the final appraisal, you will discover if you have investigated thoroughly enough and if the guilty party can be convicted. Each mystery tour lasts around three hours. Between 5 and 30 people can take part in the manhunt in small groups. You can sign up as an individual or as part of a group. Tickets costs €39 per person and can be booked online. The mystery tours are of course suitable for company or team outings. Individual appointments can be arranged at any time under particular conditions.
More information can be found on the operator’s website .

Dirk Slawetzki and Sven Hilling have been showing visitors the beautiful side of the previously vastly underrated Ruhr Valley for more than 10 years. From the key topic of football to city walking tours to bike tours through the region, the pair of them have built up a comprehensive programme of tours to offer. More information can be found on their website .

Choose from two-hour city tours in Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Recklinghausen and Witten or from five-hour themed routes, which cover the Route der Industriekultur (Industrial Heritage Trail), castles on the Ruhr or the Ruhr Valley from above and below. There is lots on offer - but some things are the same on every trip: The modern open-top double-decker buses and the enthusiastic tour guides will win you over!
More information can be found on the operator’s website .

Explore the highlights of the Ruhr Valley on the most innovative and thrilling means of transport of our time - the Segway!
More information can be found on the Segway Point Ruhr website .

Whether it’s cycling, wearing your walking boots or running shoes or on your mountain bike, whether you are sporty or not, as part of a rally, bus tour, on guided or unguided tour, no matter how old you are or what you enjoy, simply out tours has something just for you. You can decide just how intense the “active” and “informative/educational” parts of the tour are.
More information can be found on the simply out tours website .

Tours across the Ruhr Metropolis on Eddi the old-fashioned bus are a unique experience. The Setra S6, built in 1958, can accommodate 21 passengers. It initially operated as a coach for the first tourists travelling to the south, which had recently been discovered. Prominent in its appearance in the film “The Miracle of Bern”, it now travels on tours through the Ruhr Valley as a special event, among other things.
More information can be found on the operator’s website .