Excursion destinations with an upward trendLifts to marvel at

There is supposed to be a staircase to the upper floor of the Gasometer, but to be honest, we didn't even look for it - and definitely recommend the panorama lift. Not only is it more comfortable, it's also a real experience: the journey up to the dome of Europe's highest exhibition space alone triggers excitement and tingling in the stomach. Once at the top, you get a great view from 117 metres up for free. From up there, you can enjoy a unique panoramic view that stretches up to 35 kilometres on a clear day - from the steelworks on the Rhine and Ruhr to the arena at Schalke.

There is a classic route to the castle, of course. However, the adventure lift not only saves the 20-minute ascent, but also makes a few interesting encounters possible. But first it's a horizontal journey into the mountain: the path to the lift leads through an adventure tunnel in which knights, dwarves and craftsmen tell legends and stories from the past. In the adventure lift itself, the castle lord Count Dietrich himself accompanies the guests, accompanied by his cheeky friend Burghard, a tunnel bat.

Prussian King Wilhelm II had this very special lift for inland shipping built to overcome a 14 metre difference in height in the terrain during the construction of the Dortmund-Ems Canal. The LWL Museum, which is now housed there, tells the story of the extraordinary technology behind this structure as well as general information about inland shipping in the past. Visitors who would like to enjoy the impressive view of the wide canal landscape near Waltrop are recommended to take the stairs up to the bridge between the two main towers.

This special lift at the German Mining Museum in Bochum takes you underground: for miners, a trip down the mine like this was part of their working day for a long time; for visitors to the museum today, the rope ride simulator is a piece of exciting history. The noisy and shaky ride ends in the demonstration mine, which provides further impressions of everyday working life underground over a good 1.2 kilometres, including many original machines. In addition, real miners tell about their time as hewers, miners, electricians and machine operators on tours. No wonder the museum is considered the most important mining museum in the world.