Wuppertal

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.

Understand
It is a result of a 1929 merger of the erstwhile independent cities Barmen and Elberfeld. Despite the young age of the city, the history of the settlement along the river "Wupper" goes back to 1161. "Elberfeld" was first mentioned in official documents as an estate of the archbishop of Cologne and received its town charter in 1610. "Barmen" was charted in 1808. Barmen is also notable as the birthplace of Friedrich Engels, best friend, financier and confidante of Karl Marx (who was born in Trier). While some other city mergers in Germany haven't gone over well with the locals, the parts of Wuppertal feel much like a coherent whole these days, in part aided by the suspension railway ("Schwebebahn") that serves both parts and predates the merger.

By plane
The closest airports to Wuppertal are either Düsseldorf airport or Cologne/Bonn airport. Lufthansa's (and by extension Germany's) main hub airport Frankfurt is worth considering when arriving from across an ocean as it is not that far away and well connected through the Frankfurt-Cologne high speed mainline.

By train
Wuppertal is 30 minutes away from Cologne by regional train (RE/RB), with departures several times an hour.

The ICE (Inter City Express, the high-speed train) stops only at the Wuppertal Hauptbahnhof (HBF), the main station in Wuppertal. S-Bahn (Schnell-Bahn) and RE (Regional Express) trains stop at several train stations in Wuppertal, although the main station is probably the most convenient for most tourists.

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. A46 transverses the city along the northern slope of the Wupper Valley and ends near Düsseldorf. In the West, near Vohwinkel district, A535 is a short branch highway that connects to A44 and can be used to reach Essen easily. The entire Ruhr area and Rhineland and their surroundings are criss-crossed by a dense web of highways and major roads, so Wuppertal is easy to reach from any direction.

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 public transport
Wuppertal has a well-developed public transport network. The most important line is the world-famous Besides the Schwebebahn, which runs in the long-stretched valley, the city uses buses on regular city bus routes, express routes and night bus services on Friday and Saturday nights, as well as S-Bahn and Regional train services. Buses and the Schwebebahn are operated by local WSW (German website), mainline rail is run by various operators.

All of them can be used with VRR tickets. Tickets are set in different levels (Preisstufe): Within Wuppertal A, for trips to neighbouring cities except the very edges B, for further trips C or D. Tickets are available to be bought from bus drivers and from ticket machines at all Schwebebahn stops, important interchange stops and train stations. Machines take coins, bills and cards; bus drivers take small cash amounts. If you're unsure you can tell the bus driver where you need to go and they will sell you the correct ticket. Tickets can also be bought via apps like WSW, VRR or DB.

There are no barriers at Schwebebahn stops, but undercover officers will demand a fine if you're caught without valid ticket during a ticket check, so make sure you have a valid ticket before boarding.

By car
As its name implies, Wuppertal is within the Wupper valley, and surrounding hillsides. That means you're dealing with a densely built-up valley, steep narrow streets and winding steep main roads creeping up out of the valley, lots of traffic and a severe lack of parking. Unless you like burning through your clutch, trying to parallel park into a tiny spot on a 20 percent gradient (yes, really) street, you're better off parking in a garage in the valley and getting around on public transport.

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. Walking here requires some seriosu cardio, as you'll be dealing with some interesting and old, but equally steep stairs in addition to the inclined streets. Once you've climbed your way up, you'll be rewarded by pretty neat views.

See
Wuppertal as a whole - as opposed to its constituent parts Barmen and Elberfeld - is probably best known for its pioneering urban transit system, the Schwebebahn which its designer Eugene Langen tried to sell around the world but had few takers outside Wuppertal. A much shorter route exists in Dresden and was also built during Langen's lifetime.

Buy
If you want to go shopping, then the Old Town or now center of Elberfeld will probably be the best place to go, since it offers the widest range of different stores in Wuppertal. Friedrich-Ebert-Straße in the Luisenviertel neighbourhood is a popular street for shopping and dining.

Eat
If you want to go out, then the Luisenviertel is probably a nice place to go. The Luisenviertel is part of the Old Town of Elberfeld and hosts a wide range of nice cafes and some restaurants. The most famous one is Katzengold.

Drink
Like most German cities, Wuppertal brews a local beer exclusive to the city. The Wupper Hell and the Wupper Dunkel can only be enjoyed in the Wuppertaler Brauhaus, a former swimming pool converted into a modern brewery in Barmen, close to the city centre.

Sleep
Most hotel accommodation is found in the main district of Elberfeld, even though smaller non-chain accommodation can be found in the other districts as well. A bunch of hotels have opened up in the 2020s due to increasing demand during trade fairs in close by Düsseldorf, so rates should have gotten more competitive.

Go next

 * Düsseldorf