Johannes Höhn
Wuppertal may not always be dressed to the nines and polished to shine at its brightest, but it is always full of ideas, creative, and perfectly charming. Green corners, inspiring trendy districts, innovative gastronomy, and ever new ideas turn the city in the Bergisches Land into a place full of opportunities for discovery. The river Wupper crosses the city from East to West, with the suspension railway above it taking passengers from the Vohwinkel district to Oberbarmen past magnificent old buildings, a neo-Renaissance town hall and an opera house, from which Pina Bausch and her ensemble revolutionised the world of dance, all the way to the zoo.
Malte Reiter
Creative trendy neighbourhoods
Colourful Wuppertal
The Ölberg district was named back in the 1920s, when its residents depended on oil lamps for lighting before that part of town was connected to the power mains. Today, the quarter has become a centre for creative people, with galleries, small shops, and unusual gastronomy inviting visitors to take a stroll and discover all the little gems. The annual literary festival “Der Berg liest” (The Mountain Reads) involves people inviting visitors into their homes to read them their favourite texts.
The “Tippen-Tappen-Tönchen” stairs connect the Ölberg to the Luisenviertel in the Elberfeld district. Its name refers to the sound that the clogs made when the Ölberg residents used to walk down the stairs to work. The Luisenviertel quarter with its small side streets, stylish old buildings, cosy cafés, and pubs with live music is the trendy Wuppertal quarter with a cosmopolitan flair.
A city laboratory for utopias fits right into Wuppertal. The Mirker Bahnhof, formerly the railway station building, is not only historical, but serves as a hub for creative urban development as the “Utopian City” today. This cultural and creative quarter is the cradle of developments of visionary ideas such as urban gardening. Located on the Nordbahntrasse, Mirker Bahnhof comes with a dedicated bicycle repair shop, urban gardening, and Café Hutmacher with its concerts and exhibitions, offering an attractive contact hub used not only by Nordstadt residents.
Johannes Höhn, artist Martin Heuwold
A place of art and a street-art-hotspot
Inspiration at every corner
Street Art can be found on every corner in Wuppertal. From the 112 brightly coloured steps of the globally renowned Holstein Staircase to the Lego bricks on the Schwarzbahntrasse, also known as the “Regenbogenbrücke“ (Rainbow Bridge), colourful creations serve as ideal photo spots.
A visit to the Waldfrieden sculpture park is just as inspiring as the brightly coloured works of art throughout town. Starting at an old factory owner's villa, one of the country’s most extraordinary art locations stretches far into the natural park with sculptures by world-famous sculptor Tony Cragg. Those preferring their art more classically indoors can admire works by artists from Monet to Picasso in the Von der Heydt Museum.
In October 2023, the Schwebodrom will open its doors to the public. The attraction of the exhibition about the Wuppertal suspension railway is an original carriage that is well over 100 years old. In it, visitors take a virtual reality ride through Wuppertal in 1929.
BSW / Patrick Gawandtka
Former railway lines
Through the city on foot or by bike
Since Wuppertal is built on very hilly ground, former railway lines are helpful routes through the city and into the natural idyll of the surrounding mountainous country for cyclists or walkers. The Nordbahntrasse, for example, runs right past Mirker Bahnhof and the Bouldercafé Blo, a café with attached boulder hall in the industrial monument of a former textile factory.
The Samba terrace with its Tigertalbrücke bridge is another highlight. Passing through the Grüner Zoo Wuppertal and past the big cat enclosure, cyclists and walkers will find themselves nearly face to face with a tiger here.
