

Schalke 04 is a club that many should visit once in their lifetime. The club is mostly famous for the Revierderby against Borussia Dortmund, but with the Veltins-Arena it’s got one of the most modern European stadiums whilst keeping the great old football atmosphere intact.
Gelsenkirchen Nein, Schalke Ja!
To be honest, the city of Gelsenkirchen is definitely not worth a visit. But tracing back to the city’s football club and visiting a match is more than worth your time. Drinking a Veltins-pint before a game in the greenery that surrounds the stadium is a great experience in itself.
Veltins-Arena
When the stadium was opened in 2001, it was still called the Arena AufSchalke. The name was inspired by the greeting of the old mineworkers ‘’Glück Auf’’. The Veltins-Arena has a retractable roof and pitch, which makes the stadium a great host for other events. But there’s nothing better than watching a match of Schalke 04 with its extremely loyal fanbase. In terms of technology, the stadium also stands out with the biggest video screen hanging above the pitch in Europe on which they show replays and advertisements.

Park Stadium
This half-demolished stadium is within a ten-minute walk from the Veltins-Arena. It’s a place of much importance to the Dutch, as Wim Kieft headed The Netherlands to the semi-finals of the European Championships in 1988. At the end of the 2000/01 season, Schalke 04 waved its last goodbye to the stadium in a magnificent way. Schalke won 5-3 against SpVgg Unterhaching, whilst the fans got the message that Bayern were down 1-0. This would mean that Schalke would have been crowned champions of Germany, which led to an eruption of joy in the Park Stadium. However, the celebrations started too soon. Bayern equalised in the 94th minute and was thus crowned champions, but Schalke 04 still remained the champions in the heart of the people.
Mitten Im Pott
On a twenty-minute drive from Gelsenkirchen, you will find the restaurant Mitten im Pott, founded by Willi Lippens, a former German-Dutch footballer who made one appearance for the Dutch national team. Nowadays, it’s run been inherited by his family, but Willi still spends many days here. It’s the place to be when you want to enjoy German cuisine with a wonderful beer garden in front of the door and typical German dishes. The text ‘’Ich danke Sie’’ shines above the entrance, which refers to one of Lippens’ most famous reactions to getting a yellow card: ‘’Herr Schiedsrichter, ich danke Sie!’’ (Mr. Referee, I thank you!), which resulted in a red card.
Vereinslokal Bosch
If you want to surround yourself with the Schalke fans, then you need to make a stop at Vereinslokal Bosch: A café just outside of the city centre on the way to the stadium. At first sight, it looks like an abandoned football canteen, but on match days it’s booming business as the place is filled with Schalke supporters. However, there will always be one seat empty. This one is reserved for Ernst Kuzorra, the first player from Schalke who was selected for the German national football team and who became champions with the club from Gelsenkirchen six times.
Schalke Museum
Inside the Veltins-Arena you will find a museum of Schalke where the club’s history will be explained to you in detail. You will also find an imposing trophy cabinet with all the trophies the club has collected in its 110 years of existence. But the quotes and original pieces are the stars of the show.
Tickets
Home matches of Schalke are almost always sold out, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to get tickets. Keep track of when ticket sales go live, and you’ll be able to get one quite easily, especially for your average games.
How to get there
Even though there is plenty of parking space surrounding the Veltins-Arena, our experience has taught us that you will always end up in an hour-long traffic jam after the final whistle. Tip: Park your car on Parkplatz Offene Tür on the Emil-Zimmermann-Allee. It’s a fifteen-minute walk from the stadium, but on your way, you will also pass by the old Park Stadion.
If you’re travelling by public transport from Gelsenkirchen, you can take tram 302 to the Veltins-Arena.
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