Essen: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Essen is a city of 593,085 people in Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia), 83 m (272 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), 25 km (16 mi) from the centre. Our booking partner lists 568 places to stay.
Key facts
Daylight in Essen runs from about 7 h 54 min a day in late December to 16 h 42 min in late June (computed for 51.46° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Essen is served by 5 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), 25 km (16 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 9,842 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft. The alternatives are Dortmund Airport (DTM, 42 km), Weeze (Niederrhein) Airport (NRN, 62 km), Cologne Bonn Airport (CGN, 66 km), Münster Osnabrück Airport (FMO, 89 km).
Flights to Essen: every airport, routes and times
Buses to Essen · Driving and car hire
Where to stay
Our booking partner lists 568 places to stay in Essen. Of the 326 with a star rating, the largest group is 3-star (226), and 3 are five-star. Across 103 properties with at least 50 reviews, the average guest score is 8.1 out of 10. Guests have left 118,257 reviews in total.
Hotels in Essen: the full picture, and book
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Hamburg, 308 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Köln, 58 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Brussels, 198 km (Belgium) — flights · tours
- Rotterdam, 182 km (The Netherlands) — trains · tours
- Amsterdam, 178 km (The Netherlands) — trains · tours
- Frankfurt am Main, 190 km — tours
- Düsseldorf, 31 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Stuttgart, 335 km
- Dortmund, 32 km — buses · car rental · tours
- Bremen, 218 km — trains · tours
Common questions
Which airport serves Essen?
Düsseldorf Airport (DUS), 25 km (16 mi) from the centre, plus 4 other airports with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Essen?
About 593,085 people live in Essen (GeoNames).
What time zone is Essen in?
Europe/Berlin, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Essen?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
How many hotels are there in Essen?
Our booking partner lists 568 places to stay in Essen, bookable on this site.
Which cities are near Essen?
Hamburg (308 km), Köln (58 km), Brussels (198 km), Rotterdam (182 km), Amsterdam (178 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.