Bochum to Duisburg train

Bochum is a city in the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region in western Germany. Like many of the cities in the Ruhr Valley, Bochum grew thanks to its industrious history, particularly via coal mining and steel manufacturing facilities.

To learn more about the industries that made Bochum, visit the German Mining Museum, the largest mining museum in the world. It displays the lasting effects mining had on the community, from its social and cultural impact to its economic and ecological consequences. You can't miss the green winding tower rising above the museum; this industrial structure was once part of a coal mine but now offers visitors panoramic views over the Ruhr.

For those who prefer the outdoors to the underground, visit the Ruhr University Bochum Botanical Garden. Opened in 1968, this garden has numerous greenhouses, each housing an impressive display of plants and shrubs from around the world. The Tierpark und Fossilium Bochum is another great outdoor activity, home to almost 4,000 animals and an impressive fossil collection.

Many ICE trains connect Bochum to the rest of Germany and Europe via the city's main railway station. Regional trains also depart and arrive frequently. Book a bus on Sindbad or FlixBus into Bochum for travel by road from various destinations around the continent.

Duisburg is located at the junction of the Rhine and Ruhr rivers in western Germany. Duisburg's harbor is the largest inland port in the world, with 21 docks in total. The Innenhafen, or Inner Harbor, used to be the center of the city's industry but today is a center for dining and nightlife. Make a point to stroll along the marina to check out the many kinds of boats, relax in one of the green spaces, and of course, stop in one of the many restaurants for a delicious dinner.

In the Meiderich district, make sure to check out the Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord. This industrial steelworks complex had gone disused since 1985 before its reinvention into a public park. The unique complex includes trails along what used to be sewer systems, a viewing tower made from the blast furnace, and even a scuba diving center in what originally was a gasometer. Kaiserberg, on the other hand, is a more traditional park that is home to both a zoo and a botanical garden.

Hundreds of bus and train routes to Duisburg make the city extremely accessible. Train companies, including Deutsche Bahn and FlixTrain, provide rail travel, and FlixBus provides the bulk of Duisburg's bus service. This means Berlin, Hamburg, Paris, and more cities across Europe are within just a short bus or train ride from Duisburg.