Having visited this site in June 2025, we wanted to share some insights from our visit that might help improve the experience for other visitors. Generally speaking, I am not the biggest fan of industrial sites, but my wife loves them for their unique charm and saw the Ironworks nearly on the same level as Zeche Zollverein (which I personally preferred). If you are interested in this period of history, Völklingen Ironworks is definitely a great experience, as it is in excellent condition, and a lot of work has been done to educate visitors about its active days.

Getting to Völklingen

We combined our stay in Trier with a day trip to Völklingen, but other bigger cities nearby include Saarbrücken and Kaiserslautern. If you have the "Deutschlandticket" (a monthly subscription ticket that allows you to use all regional transportation in Germany), travel on all regional express trains is included, making it easy to reach this site from major transportation hubs. Depending on your travel plans, it may actually be cheaper to purchase this ticket. Just remember to cancel the subscription before it auto-renews. The Ironworks are directly visible from Völklingen train station and can be easily reached on foot.

If you arrive by car, the Ironworks has a spacious parking lot free of charge.

Tips for the visit

• The entrance price is quite high at 17 EUR at the time of writing. If you plan to spend more than one day, you can also buy a 2-day ticket for a slightly discounted combined price. For an additional 5 EUR, you can borrow an audio guide that will automatically provide you with information during your tour. Keep the receipt for the audio guides, as you will receive your 5 EUR back as soon as you return the audio guide.
• You can find storage lockers for your backpacks or suitcases near the ticket counter. To use a locker, you will need a 1 or 2 EUR coin, which you will get back after using the locker.
• For an additional price of 3–5 EUR (depending on the day), you can also participate in the public tours. Tickets for these can be purchased in advance on the website. While the website states that languages other than German are available, the majority of the tours seem to be offered only in German.
• Personally, I am a bit torn about whether a guided tour is better compared to a self-guided visit. We spent about 4 hours in the area and actually rushed a bit at the end. The guided tour takes only about 90 minutes, but as I heard from other visitors, it helped them better connect the individual areas and functions of the site.
• Expect lots of walking and climbing stairs, although the site aims to include people with limited mobility via a multitude of ramps and elevators.
• The area is also frequently used for exhibitions or other cultural events. Depending on your interests, it might be worth checking in advance if any event you are interested in will be hosted. At the time of our visit, we were able to witness the exhibition "The True Size of Africa," which delved deeply into African culture, history, and the impact of colonialism.