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Voykit pocket guide · Germany
Oberhausen
Give Oberhausen one full day: Gasometer plus CentrO and the Slinky bridge. Sleep one night here if the Gasometer is your main reason; otherwise base in Essen or Duisburg and come in by tram 112.
Oberhausen is a Ruhr industrial city of about 209,000 people, rebuilt around one attraction cluster: the Gasometer, the CentrO mall and the Neue Mitte transitway. It is a half-day to one-day stop inside a wider Ruhr trip, not a place most travellers sleep for three nights. Come for the Gasometer exhibition, the model railway and the short film festival in spring.
- Country
- Germany
- Best months
- May–Sep; late Apr–early May for the short film festival
- Avoid
- Nov–Feb (grey, wet, short days)
- Stay
- 1 night
Checked 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change; anything marked (check) is not confirmed.
Essentials
- Currency
- EUR
- Money
- Currency is the euro (EUR). Card acceptance has improved but some bakeries, bars and small restaurants are still cash only.
- Daily spend
- Budget €45–70 excl. bed · Mid €70–120 excl. bed · High €120+ excl. bed (estimate; check)
- SIM and data
- Telekom, Vodafone and O2 are the networks; Aldi Talk, Lidl Connect and congstar resell them cheaply in supermarkets and electronics shops.
- Emergency
- Fire and ambulance 112 · Police 110 · Out-of-hours doctor 116 117
- Plugs
- Types C, F · 230 V · 50 Hz · Round two-pin plugs; UK and US devices need an adapter.
- Tipping
- Restaurant: Round up or add 5–10%; say the total you want to pay as you hand over money or card.; Bar and café: Round up to the nearest euro.; Taxi: Round up by €1–2.; Hotel housekeeping: €1–2 a night, optional.; Free walking tour: €10–15 per person.
- Water
- Tap water is safe everywhere. Restaurants usually sell bottled water; fizzy (mit Kohlensäure) is the default, ask for 'still' or 'ohne'.
- Toilets
- Station toilets cost €0.50–1.50 (Rail&Fresh WC); restaurant toilets are for customers; the 'WC' at motorway rest stops takes coins and gives a voucher.
What things cost
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Coffee | €2.50–4.00 |
| Currywurst or a bakery lunch | €4–8 |
| Beer, 0.5 l in a bar / bottle from a shop | €4–5.50 / €1–1.50 |
| Main course in a mid-range restaurant | €12–20 |
| Single tram or bus fare inside the city | €3.30 (2024 figure) |
| Museum entry | €8–14 |
| eSIM or data SIM, about a week | €10–20 |
Desk estimates, checked 2026-09; check locally.
Get in
By air
- DUS · Düsseldorf
- Closest airport; train to Oberhausen Hbf with a change at Duisburg, about 40–60 min
- DTM · Dortmund
- Second option; regional train connections to Oberhausen Hbf
Typical fares
- Oberhausen Hbf → Neue Mitte, tram 112
- about €3.30 single, about 10 min
- Oberhausen Hbf → Essen Hbf, regional train
- about €4–5, 15–20 min
- Oberhausen Hbf → Duisburg Hbf, regional train
- about €3–4, 6–10 min
Show 7 more sections and the pocket cardHideGet around, See and do, Sleep, Phrase card, Etiquette, safety and scams, One and two days, Sources, Pocket card
Get around
STOAG runs buses and trams on VRR fares. Tram 112 is the backbone: Sterkrade – Neue Mitte – Hauptbahnhof – Mülheim, with a fast bus-and-tram transitway between the station and Sterkrade. Buy tickets before boarding at transitway stops; single adult fare inside the city is €3.30 (2024 figure).
See and do
Known for
- Gasometer Oberhausen
- CentrO shopping mall
- International Short Film Festival
- Industrial heritage of the Ruhr
Day trips
| Where | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Essen | Regional train from Oberhausen Hbf | About 40 min |
| Duisburg | Regional train from Oberhausen Hbf | About 30 min |
| Dortmund | Regional or long-distance train from Oberhausen Hbf | About 1 h |
| Bochum | Regional train from Oberhausen Hbf | About 50 min |
| Hattingen | Train to Essen or Bochum, then regional train | 1–1.25 h |
| Witten | Train to Essen or Bochum, then regional train | 1–1.25 h |
Sleep
- Neue Mitte / CentrO
- Hotels next to the mall and Gasometer; tram 112 to the station in about 10 min. Best if the Gasometer is your reason for coming.
- Oberhausen Hauptbahnhof
- Walkable to the centre and the station; 500 m to the NH hotel. Best for one night with bags and an early train.
- Sterkrade
- Northern district with its own station and the north end of tram 112; quieter, further from the main sights.
Phrase card
| English | Say or show |
|---|---|
| Hello | Guten TagGOO-ten tahk |
| Thank you | DankeDAN-kuh |
| Please | BitteBIT-tuh |
| How much is it? | Wie viel kostet das?vee feel KOS-tet das |
| Can I pay by card? | Kann ich mit Karte zahlen?kan ikh mit KAR-tuh TSAH-len |
| Where is the tram stop? | Wo ist die Haltestelle?voh ist dee HAL-tuh-shtel-uh |
Etiquette, safety and scams
Etiquette
- Greeting: Firm handshake with eye contact; 'Guten Tag' or 'Hallo'; avoid: Hugs with people you have just met
- Names: Herr / Frau plus surname until invited to use first names; avoid: Using 'du' with officials or older strangers
- Punctuality: Arrive on time for tours, dinners and appointments; avoid: Being more than 5–10 minutes late without a message
- Queues and rules: Follow signs, wait at red lights, sort rubbish; avoid: Walking in cycle lanes
- Conversation: Direct and factual; people say what they mean; avoid: Taking directness as rudeness, or joking about the Nazi era
- Home visit: Bring flowers (odd number, not red roses) or wine; shoes off if the hosts do; avoid: Arriving early
- Paying: Say the total including tip as you pay; avoid: Leaving coins on the table and walking off
Scams and watch-outs
- Drivers entering the city need a green emissions sticker on the windscreen.
- Autobahn congestion at rush hour is heavy; allow extra time if driving.
- Some regional trains from the south terminate early at Sterkrade during delays.
- Gasometer and Sea Life ticket prices change with each exhibition: check before you go.
Oberhausen is a normal Ruhr city; take the usual big-city precautions with bags and valuables around the station and the CentrO crowds, especially after dark.
One and two days
No timed day plan for Oberhausen yet. Suggested stay: 1 night. Build a day from the list below, mornings for the big sight.
- Gasometer Oberhausen
- CentrO shopping mall
- International Short Film Festival
- Industrial heritage of the Ruhr
Sources
Written by Voykit; facts cross-checked against these sources, last desk check 2026-09. Prices, hours and rules change: check on the day.
- City of Oberhausen (official): www.oberhausen.de/
- STOAG — local transport: www.stoag.de/en/
- LVR Industrial Museum: industriemuseum.lvr.de/
- International Short Film Festival Oberhausen: www.kurzfilmtage.de/en/
- Wikivoyage: Oberhausen, revision 5237444 (CC BY-SA 4.0): en.wikivoyage.org/w/index.php?oldid=5237444
Pocket card
Cut along the border and keep it in your wallet. Show the local-script lines to a driver.
Oberhausen
Zu dieser Adresse, bitte
To this address, please
My hotel (write the name and address in the local script)
No embassies in Oberhausen; the US and most other consulates-general are in Düsseldorf or Cologne, embassies in Berlin.
Tipping: round up or add 5–10%, said to the server as you pay.
Voykit · checked 2026-09
Printed from Voykit (/oberhausen). Written by Voykit; checked 2026-09. Estimates only: confirm prices, hours and entry rules on the day.