By bus
Essen is part of the Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr (http://efa.vrr.de/vrr/XSL...) bus and train system. In addition, Hespertalbahn (http://www.hespertalbahn.de) operates historic trains between Haus Scheppen and Kupferdreh.
By plane
The largest international airport nearby is located in Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf-International IATA:DUS (http://www.duesseldorf-ai...) 30 km, ca. 30 mins by train.Smaller airports in the vicinity are Dortmund Airport IATA:DTM (http://www.flughafen-dort...) 45 km and Flughafen Münster-Osnabrück IATA:FMO (http://www.flughafen-fmo.de) ca. 100 km. Of these two, the airport in Dortmund is faster to reach by public transport and is used by some no-frills airlines.
By ship
The Rhine river transportation system can be reached via the Herne Kanal. WeiÃe Flotte Baldeney (http://www.flotte-essen.de) and Mülheimer Verkehrsgesellschaft (http://www.muelheimer-ver...) operate ships on the Ruhr river.
By car
Essen is located on Autobahn A40.
From Hanover take Autobahn A2 to A40.
Autobahn A45 from Frankfurt.
Autobahn A52 from Düsseldorf.