Kleve combines cultural history and art with historic gardens and opportunities to explore the surrounding area on foot or by bike. This gives you a range of options for your stay: Swan Castle and museums, routes through the countryside, or cycling trips. The places and activities below can help you plan your stay according to your interests.
Swan Castle, museums and city history
From the top of the tower at Swan Castle, the panorama stretches across the Rhine Plain as far as the Netherlands. Swan Castle is also home to a Geological Museum. The Swan Tower is open to visitors on weekends; the inner courtyard, with its Swan Fountain and Mirror Tower, can be visited as part of guided tours. For planning, it is worth checking the latest visitor and tour information.
The Museum Kurhaus Kleve displays works from the Middle Ages to the present day, with a focus on contemporary art from the 1950s onward. The museum also houses the estate of Ewald Mataré and Joseph Beuys’s restored studio rooms in the former Friedrich-Wilhelm-Bad. The B.C. Koekkoek House has a narrower focus: it is a specialist museum of Dutch Romantic landscape painting. Kleve therefore offers both a collection spanning a broad period and a museum devoted to a particular painting tradition.
A specific historical date to note is 1646, when Johann Moritz von Nassau-Siegen was appointed Brandenburg’s governor in Kleve. The historic gardens are part of a cultural landscape whose roots reach back to the 17th century. This makes it possible to explore art and history beyond the museum walls.
Gardens, viewpoints and trails
If you enjoy spending time outdoors, you will find hiking routes around Kleve through forests and polder landscapes, along the Kermisdahl and through gardens in bloom. The Kupferner Knopf viewpoint is in Tiergarten Forest; on a clear day, it offers views toward the Rhine Plain. Green signposts with symbols and distance markers guide walkers to sights, parks and cultural destinations in Kleve, helping you find your way between these points of interest.
There are also different ways to enjoy the surrounding area on the Kermisdahl: hiking routes follow the water, and pedal boats are available too. Rental services may change, so check the latest information before making plans.
Kleve Zoo is home to more than 300 animals and has two petting zoos. The animal count and facilities may change; check the latest information before your visit. This makes it easy to plan this outing as a separate focus, whether you are mainly interested in museums, gardens or outdoor activities during your stay.
Cycling and getting here
Kleve Zoo is right on the Europa-RadBahn cycle route and can also be reached by bike from Kranenburg and Nijmegen. The Orange Cycle Route offers a longer-distance option for cycling trips: it runs for approximately 455 kilometres between Lingen, Apeldoorn, Kleve and Moers. This approximate length gives you an idea of the route’s overall scale, rather than the distance of a single day trip.
Another option is the Grenzland Draisine, which runs along disused railway lines between Kleve, Kranenburg and Groesbeek. Operating times and seasonal availability may change; check the latest information if you plan to take the draisine. The two activities differ in scale: the cycle route is a longer connection, while the draisine offers a ride along the cross-border route described above.
Regional trains connect DĂĽsseldorf and Krefeld with Kleve. Regional and local bus services connect the station with the city districts and with Emmerich, Goch, Kalkar and Nijmegen. Timetables and bus connections may change, so check them before travelling. This will help you include cultural destinations in Kleve and outings along the routes mentioned in your travel plans, without assuming a particular route or length of stay.
Discover more destinations: Bedburg-Hau, Appeldorn, Kalkar, Geldern, Straelen, Goch, Emmerich Am Rhein, Kranenburg.
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