APX Archaeological Park — Attraction in Xanten

One of the most fascinating places to see in this area. Even if you’re not too into history, it’s a humbling experience to stand below the pillars of the temple or inside the amphitheater and consider how old they are and what stories they could tell.

The park itself is also real nice to take a walk in and because the different Roman buildings are spread all over it, you don’t just walk and walk and walk but can take breaks to admire everything and learn more about the history of the place from the educational boards.

The museum is especially interesting for kids because it tells about different games Roman kids used to play and they’ve even set up some of them for visitors to give a try.

The only downside is that it gets very exhausting in the summer because there’s almost zero shade. So even though it is fine to bring your own food and drinks, you may want to consider stopping at the restaurant for a bite. Not only does it give you the feel you’re actually having dinner at a Roman home, it’s also good for cooling you down. In relation to that, I suggest you go right from the entrance and then walk the park counter-clockwise, as that will have you visit the amphitheater (possibly the park’s highlight) last and then you can take a break before you leave the park.

The town center also isn’t very far by foot and since you’re already there, you should definitely go and check it out Xanten’s really cosy...

tldr; amazing park, totally worth visiting.

The park spans over a very big parcel of land, which would take around 40-60 minutes to tour around, depending on your pace. Thus, prepare for a long walk with some confortable shoes and some water. The park has various amenities on site, like toilets, tourist information and an enclosed museum that looks like a deposit from outside. Outside there are various Roman structures that were reconstructed to provide the allure of those ages. Taking a walk among the tree alleys or among the multiple guard towers is a real delight. Also, visiting the main gates is a must. In case the museum is closed (due to covid for example), it is a good idea to go around it and near the river side you may find various informational boards telling about the history of the place, how it appeared and developed through time. Hope you get a nice weather for your visit and enjoy it at...

Exciting museum to visit for all ages. The excursion in the main building was also enjoyable for the kids.

The place is not going to be as impressive as visiting historical sites in Italy of course, since everything had been dismantled for building materials long ago. But they've done an amazing job at giving you a glimpse of what the typical houses looked like through reconstruction, including the more important places like the amphitheatre, baths etc. For the rest you use your imagination. And I was impressed with how they enabled that! I really appreciated the thoughtful details like having hedges just as tall as the city walls where they hadn't been reconstructed. Or having trees along the roads to mark where the covered walkways would have started. It really helped with imagining how it might have looked like and give you a visual feeling of how big...