Mettmann is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany, east of Düsseldorf and west of Wuppertal. It is the capital of the Mettmann district.

Understand

The district contains the Neandertal, a river valley which has named the Neanderthal Man, a species of human that went extinct around 40,000 years ago.

Mettmann is the administrative centre of the namesake county Kreis Mettmann, and has a population of roughly 38,000. The small town centre has some historic buildings in addition to some shopping and dining options.

Get in

Mettmann lies between Düsseldorf and Wuppertal.

By plane

Düsseldorf Airport is about 10 km (6.2 mi) to the west and sees flights both all over Europe and overseas. Cologne/Bonn Airport (CGN) is about 60 km (37 mi) to the south.

By train

Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof (Central Station) is served by domestic and international trains from the Benelux states and France, as well as sleeper trains from Basel and Vienna.
From Düsseldorf, local S-Bahn train S28 connects Düsseldorf and Wuppertal via Mettmann every 20 Minutes on weekdays, less frequent on weekends. S28 takes about 15 minutes for the trip, single tickets from €7.00, VRR tickets valid. Trips to Neanderthal Museum (station: Neanderthal) slightly cheaper and shorter.

By car

Autobahn A3 to Exit "18 Mettmann". From central Düsseldorf, use Bundesstrasse B7.

Get around

Buses are run primarily by Rheinbahn and link to all surrounding cities. Services operate daily and in acceptable frequency. Rail stations are 1 Mettmann Zentrum , 2 Neanderthal and 3 Mettmann Stadtwald .

See

• 1 Neanderthal Museum, Talstraße 300 (S-Bahn S28 Station "Neanderthal" Bus 741,743 Stop ME-Neanderthal/Museum), ☏ +49 02104 97970. Tu-Su 10:00-18:00. A museum dedicated to the Neanderthal Man, Homo Neanderthalensis, which populated much of Europe and the Middle East until it was displaced by Homo Sapiens, and went extinct around 40,000 BC. See paleontology and Prehistoric Europe for perspective. Adults €13.00, 6-16yrs €8.50, 4-5yrs €7.00.  

Eat

• Ristorante GAVI, Talstraße 310 (next to the Neanderthal museum). Tu 11:00-18:00, W 11:00-20:00, Th 11:00-20:30, F Sa 11:00-21:00, Su 11:00-19:00. Italian restaurant. Small, quality menu, vegan options. (updated Apr 2024)

Sleep

• Grand City Hotel, Ortsteil Metzhausen. 
• Hotel Luisenhof, Florastr. 82, Ortsteil Metzkausen, ☏ +49 2104 95920. 
• 1 Hotel Alberga, Schwarzbachstraße 22, ☏ +49 2104 92720. Modern hotel in the town centre. 
• 2 Hotel Alte Fabrik, Bergstraße 16, ☏ +49 2104 91950. Basic hotel on the grounds of an old factory. 
• Hotel Gut Höhne, Düsseldorfer Straße 253, ☏ +49 2104 7780. 
• Hotel Am Röttgen, Elberfelder Str. 180, ☏ +49 2104 92070. 
• 3 Wyndham Garden Düsseldorf Mettmann, Peckhauser Str. 5 (outside of the town), ☏ +49 02104 9860. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Large modern chain hotel. (updated Apr 2024)

Go next

• Düsseldorf
• Solingen
• Wuppertal