Books
Thalia
Limbecker Platz 1 a, Essen
For favourite people. For favourite neighbourhoods. For Essen.
Gift card & store credit for Essen
Gift Essen.For the favourite places of a city on the move.
The Essen gift card for 2,435 owner-run places across the city. From the cafe on Rüttenscheider Straße to the sauna in Werden, from the bookshop in Kettwig to the barber down the road.
PDF by email once payment arrives
Discover favourite places in Essen
PDF by email once payment arrives
Your choice of amount from €15 to €150
Valid for 3 years from the end of the purchase year
With your own personal message
A gift with Essen at heart
So much Essen. In one gift card.
AI-generatedEvenings in the neighbourhood
Stay a little longer.
Good food, a table by the window and an evening that is allowed to run late.
AI-generatedEssen, unhurried
A coffee. And then we will see.
Head out, settle into the neighbourhood and make time for the small things.
AI-generatedEyes open
Discover the next favourite.
A special shop or a little break: the current selection holds more possibilities.
From a favourite neighbourhood to a new corner: the current selection shows where it can lead.
Discover favourite places in EssenA gift for the people you love
You give the joy.Your loved ones choose the moment.
For someone who loves Essen. Or is just discovering it. You give an amount and your own words. The recipient turns it into their own Essen moment.
Your words make it personal.
Add a message when you buy. A thoughtful note that goes along with your gift.
For today. Or something to look forward to.
The PDF arrives by email once payment is received. Choose a postcard for delivery in 3 to 5 working days.
Time to find the right moment.
The gift card is valid for three years from the end of the purchase year. Plenty of room for anticipation.
Convenient, secure payment
Klarna
Worth knowing: the Atento card is swapped online for a merchant voucher before the visit. It takes two minutes, then you simply show the merchant voucher at the till.
From a kind thought to a lovely experience
Three steps to the right gift
Buy the gift card
Pick an amount, then personalize it with a message, a photo and a design. Free of charge.
The recipient picks a favorite
They browse the places in Essen and swap the card online for the place they pick. It takes two minutes, and the balance can be split across several places.
Pay and enjoy
Most places issue a digital Visa card, valid for that one shop. Add it to Apple Pay or Google Pay and pay at the till like with any other card. Where that is not live yet, you show a voucher instead.
AI-generated
AI-generatedClose to home. Right in a favourite neighbourhood.
Every gift card is a vote for the high street.
When a card is redeemed in Essen, the money does not land in a distribution centre off the A40. It lands at the cafe on the Rü, the bookshop in Werden, the corner kiosk, the beauty studio in Holsterhausen.
Discover favourite places in EssenThe whole neighborhood
Food first. Then everything else.
Food and drink carries the card today: 2,128 restaurants, cafes, bars and kiosks in Essen. Beauty, wellness, shopping and experiences are on it too, and growing district by district.
Browse
Find your local favorite in Essen.
Filter by category, rating or district. One click is enough.
Note: The businesses listed below are not our partners, but the listing is based on publicly available information and serves solely as an indication of possible redemption locations. It does not constitute an endorsement or partnership.
1 to 30 of 82 places
Clothing
Vogeler Gartengeräte GmbH
Wolfsbankring 17, Essen
Clothing
Tchibo Filiale
Brückstraße 55, Essen
Books
deutscher arabischer Buchladen
Lindenallee 57, Essen
Books
Binyan-Bücher
Hindenburgstraße 28-30, Essen
Books
Manga-Mafia Store
Theaterplatz 2, Essen
Clothing
Restaurant in der Möbelstadt
Pistorstraße 2, Stadt Oberhausen
Books
Bücher Schirrmeister KG
Nockwinkel 101, Essen
Clothing
Baby Träume - ökologisch natürlich schön
Frohnhauser Straße 432, Essen
Florist
Strack's Kaffee-Stube
Wattenscheider Hellweg 314, Bochum
Clothing
Krayer Fashionlounge
Krayer Straße 263, Essen
Books
Comic Zentrum Essen
Kreuzeskirchstraße 31, Essen
Clothing
POLO Motorrad Store Essen
Weigelwerkstraße 1, Essen
Books
Schmit-z
Grafenstraße 44, Essen
Books
Comic Campus
Segerothstraße 81, Essen
Fashion and shopping
Oebel
Kampstraße 45A, Gelsenkirchen
Clothing
Dampf Company Essen-Altenessen
Winkhausstraße 1, Essen
Books
Buchhandlung Goll
Bochumer Straße 7, Essen
Clothing
Trash Store
Brunnenstraße 42, Essen
Books
Thalia Mayersche Essen-Rüttenscheid
Rüttenscheider Straße 84, Essen
Clothing
Blue Tomato Essen
Limbecker Str. 76, Essen
Books
Schmitz Junior. Die Buchhandlung für Kinder
Werdener Markt 6, Essen
Books
Das Buch in Borbeck
Rudolf-Heinrich-Straße 8, Essen
Fashion and shopping
Kindermoebel Kormann
Gemarkenstr. 11, Essen
Books
LeseLust-Stadtwald
Frankenstraße 248, Essen
Books
Proust Woerter & Toene
Akazienalle/Am Handelshof 1, Essen
Books
Buchhandlung Bast
Kupferdreher Straße 160, Essen
Clothing
Modehaus Peter von Drathen Essen
Rüttenscheider Straße 159, Essen
Clothing
Miederkönigin Anne Penteker
Gemarkenstraße 41, Essen
Books
Thalia Essen - Allee-Center
Altenessener Straße 411, Essen
Occasions
Right for any occasion in Essen.
Birthday gift
Same-day PDF with a personal message. The recipient chooses between dinner, a massage or the bookshop.
Christmas gift
No parcel, no shipping deadline, no carton from a warehouse. Digital on the 24th or printed by post.
Wedding gift
Larger amounts split across several places: dinner in Werden, a spa appointment, an experience.
Mother's Day
A massage, breakfast or flowers from the florist in the district, instead of an order that spends two days in transit.
Saying thank you
For the neighbor who takes in your parcels. In Essen 25 € covers lunch and a catch-up.
New in Essen
The most useful housewarming gift in the city: the budget to explore a new district, across all five categories.
All the details
Essen gift card: support local, give something personal
Essen lives on the shops that exist only once. The cafe on the Rü with six tables, the kiosk the same family has run for forty years, the bookshop in Kettwig, the sauna in a Rüttenscheid courtyard. The Essen gift card from Atento is the key to exactly those places: one card, 2,435 options, all owner-run.
Discover the best of your neighborhood
The card covers five categories, not just food:
- Restaurants, cafes, bars and kiosks across every district
- Barbers, hairdressers and beauty studios in the district
- Massage, sauna and yoga for the end of a shift
- Bookshops, concept stores, record shops and florists
- Classes, workshops, cinemas and small stages
Why this matters in Essen
Essen has been through structural change twice, and both times the small businesses carried it. Where the colliery closed, the bakery stayed. Where the department store left, the one-of-a-kind shop stayed.
A gift card that only works at independent businesses reverses that flow. The money stays on the street where it is spent, and goes to people who actually work there.
Then there is the plain practicality: Essen is spread out, running from the Ruhr to the edge of Gelsenkirchen. Nobody living in Steele drives to Kettwig for a gift card. With 2,435 places across the city, everyone finds something within walking distance.
And the choice stays with the recipient. You are not gifting a decision, you are gifting the freedom to pick between dinner, a massage and a bookshop.
A gift that gives back
With the Essen gift card you give more than a present. You back local business owners, you keep money in the city, and you help small operators stay open. A gift that feels good to give and better to get.
Also near you
Local favorites in more cities.
Atento is in over 160 German cities.
Good to know
Your questions, answered
Where can I redeem the Essen gift card?
At 2,435 participating places in Essen right now, across food, beauty, wellness, shopping and experiences. The full list is in the browse section on this page.
Is the online swap required?
Yes. The Atento card is first swapped online for a merchant-specific voucher, which you then show in store. The swap takes about two minutes. Most merchant vouchers arrive instantly, a few take up to a week.
How long is the card valid?
Three full years from the end of the year it was bought in. Plenty of time to choose without rushing.
Can the card be used at more than one business?
Yes. The balance can be split across several places, for example dinner in Rüttenscheid and a massage in Werden.
Does the card work outside Essen?
The Essen gift card is built around places inside Essen itself. If you want the recipient to choose anywhere in Germany, take the Lokale Lieblinge gift card instead. Lokale Lieblinge gift card
Can I personalize the card?
Yes, free of charge. A personal message, your own photo, a design to match the occasion and the delivery date are all yours to choose.
How fast is delivery?
Digitally by email straight away, or on a date you pick. The optional printed card arrives in 3 to 5 working days.
What if the business I picked closes?
As long as nothing has been swapped yet, the full selection is still open. Contact support if a merchant voucher you already swapped for is affected. Contact support
Can I buy several cards at once?
Yes. Every card in an order can be personalized separately, with its own message, design, recipient and delivery date. There are corporate options for larger volumes. Corporate options
How do I check my balance?
Enter the card code on the balance page, where you will find the remaining amount and the history. balance check
All the gift card details at a glance
At a glance
The Essen gift card, in short
- Redeemable at
- 2,435 owner-run places in Essen, across 5 categories
- Categories
- Food & Drink, Shopping, Beauty, Wellness, Experiences
- Amount
- Freely chosen from 15 € to 150 €
- Validity
- 3 years from the end of the year of purchase
- Splittable
- This card is redeemed in one go
- Delivery
- Instant PDF by email, on a date you choose, or optionally as a printed card in 3 to 5 working days
- Redemption
- An online swap for a merchant voucher is required, then show it at the till
- Personalization
- Message, photo, design and delivery date, free of charge
- Payment
- Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Klarna via Stripe
- Check your balance
- balance check
Ready?
Gift your city.
Not another carton from a warehouse. The favorite places in your city instead.
Give a little EssenAdd your message · Choose an amount · Give your loved ones something to look forward to