The Grugapark is a 70-hectare public park on the western side of the city, originally created for a 1929 horticultural exhibition and developed further for the 1965 Federal Garden Show. It contains a botanical garden, a rose garden, themed areas including a Japanese garden, children's playgrounds, a small railway, and extensive lawns where Essen residents congregate on warm weekends.
The park is not extraordinary by international standards but it provides essential breathing space in an otherwise dense urban fabric, and the botanical garden (Botanischer Garten Grugapark) is a genuinely good collection of plants from around the world. The Grugahalle at the park's edge is one of the Ruhr's main concert and event venues. Entry to the park is free outside special exhibition periods.