96 attractions in North Rhine-Westphalia, including Lake Bigge, Bonn Minster and Bruchhausen Rocks. Map, details and practical tips before you go.
Lakes
Attendorn
Lake Bigge looks as if it had always been there: a branching body of water between wooded Sauerland hills, with sailing boats, swimming bays and a protected island. In fact it has only existed since 1965, and whole villages lie beneath its…
Churches & monasteries
Bonn
Bonn Minster is the main church of Bonn, the former West German capital on the Rhine, and one of the city's oldest landmarks. The Romanesque basilica with its 81-meter crossing tower has dominated Münsterplatz for nearly a thousand years.…
Nature
Olsberg
Above the village of Bruchhausen four grey rock towers rise out of the forest on the Istenberg, so striking that you can see them from all over the valley. The Bruchhausen Rocks are among the most striking rock formations in the Sauerland…
Castles
Altena
Altena Castle (Burg Altena) towers on a rocky spur above the Lenne River in Germany's Sauerland region. It is famous as the birthplace of the world's first permanent youth hostel, opened here in 1914, and today combines free museums, prese…
Castles
Lennestadt
Bilstein Castle (Burg Bilstein) in Lennestadt is a striking medieval hilltop castle perched on a steep rock spur above the Veischede valley in the Sauerland, the wooded upland region of southern Westphalia. It has been a youth hostel since…
Castles
Heimbach
Burg Hengebach (Hengebach Castle) in Heimbach is a reddish-brown stone hilltop castle above the Rur valley in the northern Eifel region of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its keep offers a wide view over the small town of Heimbach and the hills of…
Castles
Havixbeck
Red brick walls, tall stepped gables and a moat that reflects it all: Hülshoff Castle is about as typical a Münsterland moated castle as you can find. Above all, though, it is known as the birthplace of the poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff…
Castles
Krefeld
Burg Linn in Krefeld-Linn is a medieval moated castle with a rare hexagonal plan, surrounded by a wide water-filled moat and a park. The Burg Linn Museum covers three buildings: the castle, a Baroque hunting lodge in the outer courtyard an…
Castles
Mechernich
Satzvey Castle (Burg Satzvey) in Mechernich, on the northern edge of the Eifel hills, is regarded as the best-preserved moated castle in the Rhineland in terms of original medieval fabric. With its pointed towers, twin-towered gatehouse, a…
Castles
Lüdinghausen
Vischering Castle (Burg Vischering) in Lüdinghausen is one of the oldest and best-preserved moated castles in the Münsterland, the flat, green region of northwestern Germany famous for its water castles. Set on two islands and surrounded b…
Caves
Iserlohn
The Dechen Cave (Dechenhöhle) in Iserlohn is one of Germany's most beautiful show caves, set in a wooded valley where the Sauerland hills meet the Ruhr area. A guided tour of about 40 minutes leads through winding passages full of stalacti…
Museums
Bochum
The German Mining Museum (Deutsches Bergbau-Museum) in Bochum is one of the largest mining museums in the world and one of the essential things to do in the Ruhr region. Beneath its towering green headframe, it tells the story of coal, ore…
Museums
Dortmund
Step out of Dortmund's main station and you are practically at the door: the German Football Museum is the German Football Association's national museum and tells the story from Bern 1954 to Rio 2014 on two exhibition floors. Here you find…
Museums
Dortmund
Arrive in Dortmund by train and you see it straight away: a dark brick tower topped by a giant glowing golden U, with huge moving video images below it. The Dortmunder U was once the fermenting and storage building of the Union brewery; to…
Viewpoints
Königswinter
The Drachenfels ("Dragon's Rock") near Königswinter is the most famous hill in the Siebengebirge range and one of the classic viewpoints on the Rhine. Its summit, about 321 m (1,053 ft) high, is crowned by the ruins of a medieval castle, w…
Nature parks
Aachen
The Eifelsteig is a 313 km (194 mile) long-distance hiking trail through the Eifel region in western Germany. In 15 stages it runs from Aachen-Kornelimünster to Trier, crossing North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Its motto is…
Historic sites & memorials
Horn-Bad Meinberg
The Externsteine near Horn-Bad Meinberg are a striking group of sandstone pillars rising up to 130 feet (40 meters) from the Teutoburg Forest in northwestern Germany. With a medieval rock relief, carved grottoes and a viewing platform reac…
Gardens & parks
Köln
Flora and the Botanical Garden in Cologne's Riehl district make up one of the city's loveliest free green spaces: a historic park with a grand festival hall, flower parterres and greenhouses, right beside Cologne Zoo. If you want a calm wa…
Viewpoints
Dortmund
You see it long before the stadium when you arrive in Dortmund: the Florianturm, "Florian" to the locals, rises from the Westfalenpark high above the city. When it opened in 1959 it was Germany's tallest TV tower for about a decade, and th…
Industrial heritage
Oberhausen
The Gasometer Oberhausen is a former gas holder turned into Europe's tallest exhibition hall, and one of the top things to do in Germany's Ruhr region. Standing 383 feet (117.5 m) high beside the Rhine-Herne Canal, it hosts large-scale nat…
Museums
Bonn
The Haus der Geschichte (House of History) in Bonn is Germany's national museum of contemporary history, telling the story of the country from the end of World War II to today. Located in the former government quarter of the West German ca…
Mountains & peaks
Winterberg
The Kahler Asten near Winterberg is the best-known mountain in the Sauerland, the hilly, forested region east of Germany's Ruhr cities. At 2,762 feet (841.9 m), it is the second-highest peak in North Rhine-Westphalia, crowned by the stone…
Monuments
Porta Westfalica
Where the River Weser squeezes between the Wiehen Hills and the Weser Hills, a stone canopy topped by an imperial crown stands high on the slope, sheltering a bronze emperor with his hand raised. The Kaiser Wilhelm Monument at Porta Westfa…
Fortresses
Düsseldorf
The Kaiserpfalz Kaiserswerth (Imperial Palace of Kaiserswerth) is the ruin of a mighty medieval stronghold on the banks of the Rhine in northern Düsseldorf. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa turned an older royal palace into a near-impregnable…