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City in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Photo: JensD, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Wuppertal is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in the northwestern part of Germany. It is famous for having the world's oldest monorail system, and as the birthplace of Friedrich Engels, co-author of the Communist Manifesto.
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A nice wide park on a hill in the heart of Wuppertal. On the park area there is also the Botanischer Garten (botanical garden).
Opened in 1880 and now hosts 470 species in a 24-hectare park-like environment.
the historical city hall
Nowadays the Stadthalle is a concert hall, host to many cultural events.
Friedrich Engels is perhaps one of Barmen's most famous sons. He was not born in this house (the actual birth house some 100 metres away did not survive the war) but he did grow up here and his father was born here. While Trier has learned to make their native son Karl Marx into a tourism attraction, the co-founder of Marxism and Marx's long-time financier and best friend does not have the name recognition (it's not "Engelsism", after all) and Wuppertal has thus far failed to really market its connection to the son of a cotton manufacturer born in 1820.
Museum for Early Industrialisation
Even though it costs money to get in (€4 for adults), it's worth a visit because they let one help operate one of the antique machines. The signs are only in German, so if you don't speak it, you might want to bring a native speaker or see ahead of time whether they have audio tours, or English speakers working at the museum.
Since the late choreographer Pina Bausch (1940-2009) came from Wuppertal, her troupe often stops by in the city to show her work. Performances are held most of the time in the Wuppertaler Theater.
Take a walk around the historical dam.
Sculpture park founded by and with many sculptures by the British sculptor Tony Cragg, who lives and works in Wuppertal. Also has works by other modern and contemporary sculptors, and temporary exhibitions.
The museum provides rides on old tram over its 2.8 km, metre—gauge line that runs through a wooded area, and was originally abandoned in 1969. The only active remains of the once vast urban and rural tramway network that covered this region. Was hit by the severe floods of 2021, and still not running again as of Spring 2024.
the long table
The Lange Tafel is an outdoor event where several Wuppertal cafes and bars offer their beverages and food lined up in a long row under the Schwebebahn.
In a converted underground bunker, this club playing, amongst others, electronic music, is supposedly one of the clubs with the best acoustics (as to the Guardian)
Try the Wuppertaler Brauhaus-Fritten and the spare ribs. Also the Pork Knuckle is superb if you like dark pork meat. Look in the "from the oven" section of the menu. Wash down with the in-house 'Dunkel' or Brauhaus Weisen. The atmosphere here is superb, there's live music most nights. The building is the old 19th-century swimming pool (hall). You'll need hollow legs to eat their mixed grill!
Oriental food, nice old cosy atmosphere. Not wheelchair-accessible.
Youth hostel
Reachable by a 20-minute walk or 15-minute bus ride from station Wuppertal-Barmen. One of the cheapest places to stay. Most of the time a little breakfast is included in the price for staying overnight. Especially during the busy season, reservations should be made in advance.
Chain hotel. In walking distance from the restaurants and bars in Luisenviertel.
Chain hotel.
A bit off the beaten path, in a residential area in the northernmost of Elberfeld. Good option if you come by car or are just passing through. Free parking.
fleamarket
By train
Wuppertal is 30 minutes away from Cologne by regional train (RE/RB), with departures several times an hour.
By car
Wuppertal lies near and is crossed by several Autobahn routes. In the north-east of the city, highways A1, a major North-South Autobahn, A43 and A46 meet at an interchange.
On foot
Walking down the L357 will take approx 6 hours. This is not advisable but if time is your friend then this might be an alternate option.
By car
As its name implies, Wuppertal is within the Wupper valley, and surrounding hillsides.
On foot
As already mentioned, the city consists mostly of a narrow dense valley and neighbourhoods on the surrounding hills. This makes Wuppertal the German city with the most stairs.
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