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  North Rhine-Westphalia
    Captial: Düsseldorf
    Area 34,078km2
    Population 18.0 million



NORTH RHINE - WESTPHALIA


Active vacations in beautiful scenic countryside, discovering cities and exploring industrial joying an oases of wellness are all possible in the German State. Most
popular vacation destination finds visitors in the Eiffel mountains where a tremendous nature park encourages participation in sports along with leisure activities. A stop at Lake Rursee, Germany's largest reservoir lake is a must. The Sauerland forests and lakes alert one's senses and build an appreciation of nature in all its beauty. Diversity of this region of medium-sized    For  mountains offers healthy climate encouraging vast possibilities for excursions, hiking, biking and outdoor activities. Mineral springs, moors and health-promoting properties are abundant in this exceptional countryside. It is the land of variety with bountiful vineyards, moated castles and Beethoven's birthplace.

Cologne (Köln) is one of Germany’s most original cities, with its own dialect, its own style of beerbrewing and an inimitably witty and fun-loving character that is particularly boisterous during the city’s famous Carnival. Cologne is world-famous for its twin-spired cathedral, its romantic Rhine panorama and the Eau de Cologne to which it gave its name. Today the city’s character is a rich combination of modern lifestyle with 2,000 years of historical and cultural heritage, from Roman and medieval to the present day. And there is never a shortage of things to do and see, including countless events, live music, theatre, busy shopping streets and modern glass shopping centres and malls. Cologne is distinctive and original, a city with its own dialect, its own mentality and a merry twinkle in its eye - and not just during its famous carnival! Cologne is the twin-spired cathedral, the Rhine and great art. It is 2,000-year-old Roman sites, mighty Romanesque churches, medieval houses, lively shopping streets, super-modern architecture, museums and art galleries. A centre of business and the media and a major trade fair venue. Cologners abroad always feel homesick - something that visitors to the city can easily understand.

Cathedral: Germany's biggest cathedral, took 600 years to complete
Romanesque churches: Unique ensemble of 12 great Romanesque churches in the inner city (5 -13C)
Roman Cologne: Towers and gates, Praetorium (governer's palace), many important excavations
Medieval Town Hall, Gürzenich building & city gates from Cologne's heyday (13-15C)
Kölner Philharmonie: One of Europe's top concert halls, around 400 events every year
Köln Arena: Completed 1998, Germany's biggest indoor stadium
Imhoff-Stollwerck Chocolate Museum: Everything you ever wanted to know about chocolate - history, technology and samples on 3 stories in a stunni

Aachen is the westernmost city in the corner where Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands meet. The city played a prominent role in German history; in the Middle Ages it was an imperial city, the residence of kings and emperors and site of many coronations and Imperial Diets. It is said that Emperor Charlemagne chose Aachen as his favourite residence and site of the Frankish Court because of the hot springs. Parts of Charlemagne’s original palace have survived in the cathedral (UNESCO World Heritage site) and the Town Hall.

Cosmopolitan charm and Rhenish lust for life are the distinguishing characteristics of Düsseldorf. The city is world famous for the flair of the elegant Königsallee (the “Kö”) shopping and strolling boulevard, its vibrant Old Town with 260 pubs, clubs and restaurants, and its many-faceted arts and culture scene with spectacular events and worldclass exhibitions. Europe’s biggest river plays a key role in the life of Düsseldorf’s people, more so perhaps than in any other city. The Rhine Promenade is unchallenged as the most beautiful around and the perfect place for a strolling, relaxing and seeing and being seen.

The Teutenburger Wald, the green backbone of the region, belongs to the most beutiful of the German highlands. A Detmolde poet wrote the following about this region, about the soft up and down of meadows, hedges and fields, where it smells like heather: "My heart is green from all the woods." The Grimm Brothers gathered fairy tales here, Karl the Great founded convents and cathedrals, and merchants and clergymen created cities like Paderborn and Minder, Höxter and Soest, places where the history is still alive.

Münsterland

Region of Castles and Horses - the Münsterland Region!

The moated castles are the "pearls of the Münsterland Region". The ditches, which are called ´Gräften´ here, the front castles and bridges originated in need:

There were no mountains or cliffs in this region on which knights built castles elsewhere in the middle ages. The people who come here today appreciate this drawback, because as a result, they can admire the numerous romantic ensembles of old walls and their ´Gräfter´.

The Münsterland Region - a Region of Horses
There are countless opportunities for taking a holiday on a farm and in addition to that , the possibilities for horse and horseman are unlimited: covered wagon rides, cold-blooded races, cattle market, coach museums, international competitions for horse and cart teams.

Sauerland

It is impossible to objectively answer the question which part of the Sauerland is the most beautiful one. The region is proudly called the "Land of a thousand Mountains" and is too varied in both its landscape and its tourist attractions. It depends on your leisure time activity interests where you fell more comfortable.

While water sports enthusiasts enjoy staying near the many dams of the region, families rather prefer holidays on a farm. Hikers particularly appreciate the peaceful forests. A visit to the Dechenhöhle cave leads you in one of the most beautiful stalactite caves of Germany.

The Sauerland region offers two large leisure time parks, an open-air-stage with the famous Karl May Festivals in Elspe and many sports activities not only in the tourist destinations of Winterberg, Schmallenberg or Willingen. The first-class equipment of ski lifts and cross-country skiing tracks makes the Sauerland region a holiday destination for the whole year.
 

http://www.nrw-tourismus.de/
www.aachen-tourist.de
www.bonn-regio.de
www.eifel.info
www.muensterland-tourismus.de
www.sauerland.com
www.siegen-wittgenstein.de
www.rhein-berg.info
www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de
www.stadt-koeln.de/koelntourismus/index.html
www.niederrhein-tourismus.de
www.ruhrgebiet-touristik.de
www.teutoburgerwald.de


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