Discover Kleve: Schwanenburg Castle, museums and cycle paths

Kleve combines historic cultural sites with museums, countryside and cycle paths. If you are looking for a hotel in Kleve, you can base your choice on the interests you want to shape your stay: Schwanenburg Castle and art museums offer a different focus from hiking trails or a cycling trip. The following places and routes can help you weigh up the options for your trip.

Schwanenburg Castle and museums

The tower of Schwanenburg Castle offers panoramic views across the Rhine Plain as far as the Netherlands. The Swan Tower can be visited at weekends; check the latest visitor information in advance. The inner courtyard, with its Swan Fountain and Mirror Tower, is also accessible, but only as part of a guided tour. Schwanenburg Castle is also home to a geological museum. This brings the views, historic site and a museum exhibit together in one place, while access to the inner courtyard is only available on a guided tour.

Museum Kurhaus Kleve displays works from the Middle Ages to the present day, with a focus on contemporary art from the 1950s onwards. The museum includes Ewald Mataré’s estate and Joseph Beuys’s restored studio rooms in the former Friedrich-Wilhelm-Bad. The B.C. Koekkoek-Haus offers a more narrowly defined art-historical focus: it is a specialist museum for Dutch Romantic landscape painting. Comparing the two can help you choose between a broad historical range and a specific interest in this style of painting.

Gardens, woodland and trails

Kleve’s historic gardens are part of a cultural landscape with roots in the 17th century. In Tiergarten Forest, the Kupferner Knopf viewpoint offers views across the Rhine Plain in good visibility. Hiking trails around Kleve pass through forests and polder landscapes, along the Kermisdahl and through flowering gardens. The options range from woodland and open countryside to waterside paths and landscaped gardens.

Tiergarten Kleve offers another focus for a visit: the grounds are home to more than 300 animals and include two petting zoos. The number of animals may change over time. Pedal boats are available on the Kermisdahl; check in advance whether they are operating at your chosen time. This gives you different options for planning your trip: visiting the zoo, walking through the countryside or enjoying an activity on the water.

Cycling and excursions

Tiergarten Kleve is located directly on the Europa-RadBahn cycle route and can be reached by bicycle from Kranenburg and Nijmegen. The Oranier-Route is another option, covering a longer overall distance: it runs for around 455 kilometres between Lingen, Apeldoorn, Kleve and Moers. This is an approximate distance; check the current route before setting off. This lets you distinguish a route directly beside the zoo from a longer-distance route, without treating them as having the same distance or planning requirements.

The Grenzland-Draisine runs along disused railway lines between Kleve, Kranenburg and Groesbeek. As services and seasonal availability may vary, check the current operating days before planning your trip. When deciding how to plan your day, consider whether you would prefer to include a cycle route, a draisine ride or hiking trails.

Getting to Kleve and finding your way around

Regional trains connect Düsseldorf to Kleve via Krefeld. As services can change, check the timetable before departure. Regional and local buses connect Kleve station with the city districts and with Emmerich, Goch, Kalkar and Nijmegen; here too, it is advisable to check the latest timetables. These details describe connections, not journey times.

In Kleve, green signs with symbols and distance information direct pedestrians to sights, parks and cultural destinations. They provide additional guidance for getting between these places.

Discover more destinations: Straelen, Wachtendonk, Emmerich on the Rhine, Goch, Kalkar, Kerken, Appeldorn, Geldern

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