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Photo: Mbdortmund, GFDL 1.2 via Wikimedia Commons
Under the constant gaze of the Florianturm on the south side of Dortmund, the Westfalenpark is a paid-entry 70-hectare green space with a multitude of little attractions to keep you engaged a whole afternoon. The horticultural areas deserve a detour: The Deutsches Rosarium has 3,000 different rose varieties, but also stages annual events like the electronic Juicy Beats festival in summer and the Lichterfest (Festival of Lights) in winter. Another summer attraction is the chair lift, which opened in 1959 and runs on Sundays between a “Mountain” and “Valley” station 500 m apart. There’s also a miniature railway, a bird enclosure with flamingos and a pond where you can hire a rowboat.
The Westfalenpark is a large public park in Dortmund, Germany. With an area of 70 ha, the park is one of the largest inner-city parks in Europe and is a popular destination for excursions and recreation in North Rhine-Westphalia. The park is situated between the Westfalenstadion, Westfalenhallen, Bundesautobahn 40 and includes the Florianturm. The Emscher valley forms the southern border of the park.
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Florian
The entrance to Dortmund’s television tower called Florian is on the north side of the Westfalenpark. It costs €2.50 to catch the lift to the observation deck, in addition to the €1.50 to enter the park. At just under 220 metres, the Florianturm is the 14th highest structure in Germany and for a brief time after it was completed in 1959 it was the tallest television tower. The elevator whizzes you to the two observation decks at 140 metres in no time at all. There’s no orientation board to point out the landmarks far below, but you can use a map on your phone as a substitute. Below the lower deck is a revolving restaurant if you’d like to pause over the view for a while longer.
Nicolaikirche
The imposing St. Nicolai Church is the first and largest Church of the new Objectivity.
Old Civic Hall
The Old Civic Hall, or Altes Stadthaus, a fine Neo-Renaissance structure built in 1899. A notable feature of the building’s façade is the large eagle representing the city of Dortmund. Another nearby old building worth seeing is Berswordt Hall, the Town Hall.