Discover Wuppertal: suspension railway, trails and industrial heritage

Wuppertal reveals itself in a special way from the suspension railway, along long trail routes and at places that tell the story of the city’s industrial past. There is also a landscaped park with a zoo and a panoramic trail with viewpoints. These different experiences offer several ways to plan your trip: you can combine rides, outdoor activities and culture, or focus on one in particular.

Experience Wuppertal from the suspension railway

The Wuppertal Suspension Railway runs for 13.3 kilometres between Oberbarmen and Vohwinkel and has 20 stations. A full journey between the two terminal stations takes around 30 minutes. This makes the route an experience in its own right to include in your stay. It connects the eastern and western parts of Wuppertal and officially began operating in March 1901.

Those who want to learn more about its history can find another perspective at the Schwebodrom, where three stations invite visitors to experience the history of the suspension railway. The Schwebodrom opened on 21 October 2023. A ride and a visit to this place offer different highlights: one follows the route, while the other focuses on its history.

Trail routes for different ways to enjoy the outdoors

The approximately ten-kilometre Sambatrasse runs from Elberfeld to Cronenberg and is now used as a walking and cycling path. It is suitable for pedestrians, Nordic walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users. If you would like to cover a longer distance outdoors, you can consider including it in your plans for your stay. Its stated length is a useful guide for planning your day, without implying any particular walking or cycling time.

The Nordbahntrasse also offers various ways to get active: it is paved and can be used with mountain bikes, skateboards, inline skates and scooters. Its features include sweeping curves and ravines, as well as tunnels, bridges and viaducts. The gentle gradients shape the route. Blue information boards along the trail also provide information about Wuppertal’s industrial history. This makes it possible to combine outdoor activity with insights into the city’s past.

Landscapes, the zoo and views

The Green Zoo Wuppertal is both a landscaped park and a zoological garden. It opened in 1881, making it one of Germany’s oldest established zoos. Visitors interested in a trip will find two aspects in one place: the character of a park and a zoological garden. This is a different way to spend your time than covering a route by bike or on foot.

For another view of Wuppertal’s landscape, the Nordpark panoramic trail passes various highlights and viewpoints. These are arranged along the trail between Ehrenhain and the Skywalk in the east and Kakaoplatz in the west. The trail therefore offers its own reason to include scenic views in your travel plans.

Discover industrial history and culture

The Wuppertal Museum of Industrial Culture presents the city’s industrial history at several historically authentic locations. Its offerings include guided city tours, industrial heritage routes and maps, as well as events, lectures and workshops. This variety provides different ways to explore the subject: outdoors on a route, as part of a guided tour or through one of the other offerings.

At the Engels House, visitors learn about the life and work of Friedrich Engels, probably Wuppertal’s most famous son. The Visiodrom in the Wuppertal gasometer offers a different experience: its five floors house Europe’s largest 360-degree screen. The two places appeal to different interests—biographical history at one, and a large-scale screen experience at the other.

When choosing a holiday apartment, you can first consider which experiences you want to shape your stay: a ride between the suspension railway’s terminal stations, time on the trails, or visits focused on industrial and local history. This allows you to search for accommodation that suits your travel interests without having to combine every destination into a single outing.

Discover more cities: Essen, Bonn, Dortmund, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Bottrop, Solingen, Gelsenkirchen, Remscheid.

For the overview of the wider region: North Rhine-Westphalia.