Kleve combines the history of art and gardens with trails and experiences on the Lower Rhine. In the city, the artists’ house, museum collections, shoemaking and historic towers offer a range of cultural themes; outside, gardens and trails add to the choice. In the Kleve district, there are also cycling routes, farm cafés and local traditions. When choosing a hotel, you can consider whether you want to focus mainly on art and gardens, encounters with animals or cycling. The destinations below offer practical ideas without requiring you to follow a set daily itinerary.
Art and History in Kleve
The B. C. Koekkoek House is dedicated to the work of Dutch landscape painter Barend Cornelis Koekkoek and the Kleve School of Painting. Koekkoek had the house built in 1848 as a Romantic city palace; it also has a historic garden. The architecture, paintings and garden offer different starting points for a cultural stay.
The Museum Kurhaus Kleve houses an Ewald Mataré collection and is located in the bath buildings near the Baroque gardens. The collection and gardens each provide a distinct cultural focus. The Kleve Shoe Museum offers a different perspective on history: Housed in the former Gustav Hoffmann shoe factory, it tells the story of shoemaking as well as the region’s industrial history.
The historic Swan Tower houses a museum featuring fossils, rocks and finds from the region. They tell the story of life during the Ice Age and the geological development of the Lower Rhine. Access is currently restricted due to fire safety work; check the conditions before visiting.
Gardens, Views and Trails
The Forstgarten was established in 1782 under Julius Ernst von Bugenhagen. Around 150 exotic tree species were planted there on the model of botanical gardens, many of which are still standing today. The garden thus combines a specific history of its origins with a selection of trees that can still be seen today.
From the 15-metre-high Kleve Observation Tower on the 106-metre-high Klever Berg, the view on a clear day stretches across the Rhine plain to the Netherlands and over the entire Kleve region. Access to the tower depends on the opening hours of the on-site restaurant. The Prince Maurice Trail offers another destination: it runs along the Kermisdahl from the gardens at Schwanenburg Castle and the Wetering to the tomb of Prince Maurice of Nassau-Siegen. The tomb is reached after a total of about 3.5 kilometres.
At Tiergarten Kleve, visitors can get up close to more than 300 animals. Most of the animals can be fed with food available in the park. As feeding rules may change, check the current guidelines before your visit.
Cycling in the Kleve District
The Kleve district has more than 1,500 kilometres of cycling routes and numerous themed trails. A pocket guide, unfolded, shows all the junctions in the district and includes useful information on how the district-wide system works. This offers one way to find your bearings, while individual routes with specific itineraries address other planning needs.
The signposted Niers Cycle Route, 128 kilometres long, runs from the source of the Niers in Mönchengladbach through the Viersen and Kleve districts to the municipality of Gennep in the Netherlands. Another activity is the Grenzland rail bike, which runs along disused railway lines between Groesbeek, Kranenburg and Kleve. Choose between a bicycle rail bike for 2 to 4 people or a club rail bike for 9 to 14 people; the operating season may vary.
Regional Experiences and Food
Local traditions in the Kleve district include marksmen’s festivals, Carnival and funfairs; dates for individual events vary. Farm cafés invite you to experience the freshness of products right at the producer’s premises. The district’s landscape is also diverse, with picturesque riverbanks, green meadows and extensive forests. These regional themes complement Kleve’s museums and trails without conflating them with attractions in other places.
Discover more destinations: Geldern, Kleve, Rees, Kevelaer, Haldern, Goch, Kerken, Weeze, Appeldorn, Kranenburg, Uedem, Bedburg-Hau, Kalkar, Emmerich Am Rhein, Rheurdt, Issum, Wachtendonk, Straelen.
See the main travel overview: North Rhine-Westphalia.
