--- title: "Is Essen walkable? Walkability score 71/100 · How Walkable" description: "Essen scores 71/100 for walkability (Very Walkable) across its central 5 km. How far walkability reaches, what's near the centre, and its rank in Germany." url: https://howwalkable.com/cities/germany/essen updated: 2026-10-22 license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ --- 1. [Cities](https://howwalkable.com/cities) 2. [Germany](https://howwalkable.com/cities/germany) 3. Essen # How walkable is Essen? By [Oscar Higson-Spence](https://howwalkable.com/about#author). Updated 22 October 2026 Essen has a walkability score of 71 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. It is the joint 10th most walkable of the 22 cities ranked in Germany, with 1 other. 71 out of 100: Very Walkable Most errands can be accomplished on foot. * #10 of 22 tied, in Germany * #267 of 690 tied, worldwide * 92 at the centre [Open on the map](https://howwalkable.com/?lat=51.44879&lon=7.00507&q=Essen%2C%20Germany) ## What's within walking distance of the centre 2,057 shops, restaurants, parks and other everyday places are mapped within a 30 minute walk of central Essen. The nearest grocery is about 10 minutes away on foot. It earns full or nearly full points for restaurants & bars, shopping, coffee, banks, schools, books & libraries and culture & entertainment. ### Groceries 2.2 of 3 points * Kashmir-Store, 10 min * HBB Store, 10 min * ALDI, 11 min ### Restaurants & bars 2.9 of 3 points * Tennis-Gastro Giulietta, 3 min * Pizzeria Mailand, 3 min * Pizza Profi Essen, 4 min ### Shopping 2.0 of 2 points * BeauLo International, 2 min * New Lifeshark Records, 4 min * Asmodee Germany, 4 min ### Coffee 1.9 of 2 points * Feinsinn, 5 min * Ruebys, 7 min * Primus Service, 9 min ### Banks 1.0 of 1 point * Deutsche Bank Geldautomat, 2 min * Sparda-Bank, 2 min * Degussa Bank (nicht öffentlich zugänglich), 3 min ### Parks 0.9 of 1 point * Stadtgarten Essen, 7 min * Park Friedrichshof, 7 min * Glückauf-Park, 10 min ### Schools 0.9 of 1 point * Kita Pfiffikus, 6 min * RuhrFutur gGmbH, 6 min * 123FAHRSCHULE, 8 min ### Books & libraries 1.0 of 1 point * Haus der Essener Geschichte, 3 min * مكتبة بنيان, 8 min * Mayersche Buchhandlung, 9 min ### Culture & entertainment 1.0 of 1 point * FOM Hörsaalzentrum, 4 min * Markt- und Schaustellermuseum, 5 min * Saalbau, 7 min Measured from the centre at 51.4488, 7.0051, the point near Essen's middle with the most places in walking range. Walking times assume 80 m per minute along an estimated street route. ## Street layout Within 800 m of the centre there are about 162 street intersections per km², and blocks average 60 m long. That is a well-connected street grid, so the score is not reduced. ## How far walkability reaches Essen's score of 71 is the average across the 5 km around its centre, the point with the most everyday places within a walk. Walkability averages 95 within 1 km of the centre, 83 from 1 to 3 km out and 61 from 3 to 5 km out. 60% of the sampled area scores 70 or more, where most errands can be done on foot. Walkability falls off steeply away from the centre, so check a specific address on the map. ![Walkability scores across the 5 km around central Essen, one hexagon per square kilometre. 60% of points score 70 or more; the lowest, 9, is 5 km to the west.](https://howwalkable.com/maps/germany/essen.svg?v=100242cf2a78) Each hexagon is the score at a point, 1 km from its neighbours, across the 5 km around central Essen. Rings mark 1, 3 and 5 km from the centre. Gaps are water or land without streets. | Area | Score | Scoring 70+ | Points sampled | | ------------- | ----- | ----------- | -------------- | | Centre | 92 | 100% | 1 | | Within 1 km | 95 | 100% | 7 | | 1 to 3 km out | 83 | 88% | 26 | | 3 to 5 km out | 61 | 40% | 50 | ## Nearby cities | City | Distance | Score | | ------------------------------------------------- | -------- | ----- | | [Bochum](https://howwalkable.com/cities/germany/bochum), Germany | 14 km | 60 | | [Duisburg](https://howwalkable.com/cities/germany/duisburg), Germany | 17 km | 55 | | [Wuppertal](https://howwalkable.com/cities/germany/wuppertal), Germany | 24 km | 52 | | [Düsseldorf](https://howwalkable.com/cities/germany/dusseldorf), Germany | 31 km | 78 | | [Dortmund](https://howwalkable.com/cities/germany/dortmund), Germany | 32 km | 66 | ## Questions about walking in Essen ### Is Essen a walkable city? Around its centre, yes. Essen has a walkability score of 71 out of 100 across the 5 km around its centre, which makes it very walkable: most errands can be done on foot. Its centre scores 92. The score covers about 80 km² around the busiest point rather than the whole city, and suburbs further out are usually less walkable, so check a specific address on the map. It ranks joint 10th of 22 cities in Germany and joint 267th of 690 worldwide on How Walkable. ### What is the most walkable city in Germany? Berlin is the most walkable of the 22 cities ranked in Germany, with a score of 90. Essen ranks joint 10th with 71. ### How does Essen compare with nearby cities? Essen is more walkable than its nearest ranked neighbours: it scores 71, against Bochum (60, 14 km away), Duisburg (55, 17 km away) and Wuppertal (52, 24 km away). ### Which part of Essen is most walkable? The streets just around Essen's centre are its most walkable, averaging 95 within 1 km. The centre itself, the point with the most places in walking range, scores 92. Beyond 2.5 km, it holds up best to the north-west (averaging 79) and falls most to the south-east (58). ### How is Essen's walkability score calculated? For Essen it is the average of 83 points spaced 1 km apart within 5 km of its busiest point, leaving out water and land without streets; 50 of them score 70 or more. Each point counts groceries, restaurants, shops, cafés, banks, parks, schools, libraries and cultural venues within a 30 minute walk, gives nearer places more weight, and loses up to 20% where streets are sparse or blocks are long, using open map data from Overture Maps (release 2026-09-23.1) and OpenStreetMap. It measures what is within a walk, not what the walk is like: pavements, traffic, safety, hills and heat are not part of the score. This page is generated from open map data with a published walkability method, explained in the [methodology](https://howwalkable.com/methodology). Places from Overture Maps release 2026-09-23.1. City position and population from GeoNames. Ask about walking anywhere in ChatGPT with the [How Walkable app](https://chatgpt.com/plugins/plugin_asdk_app_6accc634bcf8819189c1bcaf0e227f0f), for example "How walkable is Essen?" Scores, rankings and text by How Walkable (https://howwalkable.com), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/); credit How Walkable and link to this page when reusing them.