Description

Coal to Culture is a 3.5 day tour of the Western part of the Ruhrgebiet, Germany’s coal-mining and steel-producing heartland and will cover the cities of Krefeld, Duisburg, Essen and Wuppertal. And a few bits in between.

The tour will begin and end at Düsseldorf airport and includes three nights in a character hotel including breakfast.

Highlights include the Herzog & de Meuron designed former grain storage Museum Küppersmühle, UNESCO World heritage site Zeche Zollverein, an abandoned former coal mining complex and a ride on the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn. We will cover architecture, design, art and industrial heritage in this often overlooked but fascinating part of Germany.

Next tour dates:
16 - 19th June 2026
08 - 11th September 2026
15 - 18th September 2026

As some of the places we visit are outside and weather is not always predictable I may possibly make short term changes to the tour.

Collection from Düsseldorf Airport.
Haus Lange/Haus Esters: Designed by Mies van der Rohe (1928-1930). Also a brief visit to the Verseidag Factory by Mies van der Rohe.
Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord: A former ironworks that has been transformed into a public park.
Museum Küppersmühle: A former grain storage turned into art gallery by Herzog de Meuron.
Lehmbruck Museum: Striking museum for sculpture designed in 1958 and extended in the 1980s.
Zeche Zollverein: UNESCO world heritage listed coal mine complex, now home to the mining museum as well as the Sir Norman Foster designed Design Museum.
Villa Hügel: Former home of the super industrialist Krupp Family.
A stroll through Margarethenhöhe, a garden suburb started in the early 20th Century by Margarethe Krupp.
Mariendom Neviges: Brutalist 60’s masterpiece by Gottfried Böhm.
Skulpturenpark Waldfrieden Wuppertal: Sculpture park set up by British Artist Tony Cragg.
A ride on the Wuppertaler Schwebebahn (suspension railways) which opened in 1901.
Drop off at Düsseldorf Airport.

Please Note that I reserve the right to make last minute changes to the itinerary depending on weather and traffic. I also have some other treasures up my sleeve but don’t want to reveal everything.

Included: