Bensersiel combines fine sand at its main beach and bathing beach with a natural beach right next to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wadden Sea. The Wattenhuus National Park House complements these coastal attractions with an interactive exhibition and guided nature experiences. When choosing your accommodation, you can consider whether the beach, the Wadden Sea or culture in the wider destination of Esens should be the focus of your trip.
Experience the Wadden Sea indoors and outdoors
The Wattenhuus Bensersiel National Park House combines an interactive exhibition about the Wadden Sea with guided mudflat, bird, land and children’s tours, talks and other nature experiences. A tidal model is also part of the exhibition. This offers different ways to explore nature: exhibition displays, guided activities and talks.
Behind the National Park House, the Wattenhuus Garden shows how to garden in harmony with nature. The garden is still being redesigned, so its layout may change.
Beaches and activities
At the main beach and bathing beach, fine sand stretches right down to the water; accessible beach chairs are available there. The natural beach lies right next to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Wadden Sea, offers walks along the dike and is a starting point for a mudflat walk. The beach areas therefore differ in the facilities described: sand and beach chairs on the one hand, walks along the dike and mudflat walks on the other.
The spa park has an exercise trail. The six terrain therapy trails vary in difficulty, offering a choice of several route profiles alongside the park’s exercise facilities. There is also an excellent, well-signposted network of cycle paths around Bensersiel.
Cycle routes and connections to Langeoog
Ferries from Bensersiel to Langeoog run several times a day. If you plan to use the connection, check the timetable for your intended day of travel. Along with the cycle network and walking opportunities at the natural beach, this offers a range of themes for planning excursions, without requiring the same activity to be the focus.
The wider destination of Esens has several museums offering insights into cultural history
Esens offers a distinct focus on cultural history. The August-Gottschalk-Haus Jewish Museum is located in the former community center of the Jewish community of Esens, built in 1899. The permanent exhibition explores Jewish life in East Frisia up to the dissolution of the Jewish communities in 1940. Topics include everyday life, religious life and Jewish holidays, as well as persecution and extermination. Visitors can also see the renovated mikveh: the Jewish community of Esens’ original, preserved ritual bath.
The Leben am Meer Museum presents the settlement history of the Harlingerland region and the history of the town of Esens. An old watchmaker’s workshop and a tile room offer insights into the crafts and everyday culture of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Opened in 1982, the Tower Museum is located in the tower of St. Magnus Church. A flight of 113 steps leads to the sound openings, from where the view extends over the rooftops of Esens to the coast. On display is a church clock mechanism dating from 1873; visitors can also look inside the Rohlfs church organ from 1860. St. Magnus Church itself is a 57-meter-long, three-aisled hall church in the shape of a cross, with a choir and eastern apse. Its interior, designed in the Neo-Gothic style, seats 1,500 people.
The small arts festival in Esens’ old town is an annual tradition featuring street theater, performances, acrobatics, clowning and music. If you would like to plan your stay around it, check the dates and the program for that year, as program details may change.
Discover more destinations: Stedesdorf, Thunum.
Back to the overview of the wider destination: Esens.
