It has just moved. Honestly! Have you seen it too? There are houses in North Rhine-Westphalia that seem to dance. Others look like giant construction cranes or have pointed cones on the roof. Here, in the urban jungle, you can leave a museum via a slide and there are blast furnaces to climb. Architectural icons and international design. Shopping and high-calibre art. The charm of industrial culture and nature. Did you think a stroll through the city would be boring? Then let us convince you otherwise and set off together to discover small sensations and big adventures.
Crane and cathedral
The way to the top is long. And not for the faint-hearted. There are exactly 533 steps to the roof of Cologne Cathedral. The Gothic cathedral is one of the most photographed buildings in NRW. Sure, anyone can take a photo from below. But a photo from up here definitely makes more of an impression. But it's not just the view of the Rhine metropolis that is spectacular from the roof of the cathedral. On a guided tour, you can see a filigree iron construction that is older than the Eiffel Tower. So it's best to keep your head down from time to time! You won't run out of breath before you get there, will you?
If you make it to the top, you can already see Cologne's other landmarks in the distance: the Kranhäuser. The three impressive 60-metre-high residential and office buildings tower over the water in the Rheinauhafen, where large container ships used to dominate the scene. Today, you can meet people from the creative scene in the neighbourhood and take a leisurely stroll through galleries and showrooms. One photo spot follows the next. Lunch break on the sun terrace or on the roof terrace? Both are an experience. Always in view: the unbridled Rhine.
Speaking of strolling. Don't rule out the possibility of getting dizzy on a walk through Cologne. Because in just 90 minutes, time travellers can experience 2,000 years of city history in fast motion on a city tour with a difference. While you're still in the hustle and bustle of the shopping street, TimeRide Go! suddenly takes you back to the Middle Ages. This is made possible by special virtual reality glasses. A return to the here and now is guaranteed.
Off to metropolises that have great things to offer. Welcome to the state capital Düsseldorf - where architectural icons are not uncommon. Literally trampling on the head of a world-famous landmark? That's allowed in Cologne. Best views
Modern, more modern, media harbour
The highest point in Düsseldorf goes round and round. It takes 72 minutes for the viewing dome to rotate once around its own axis. Choose for yourself whether the view from a height of 168 metres is enough for you, or whether you want to go four and a half metres higher. You have enough time to get a bird's eye view of what awaits you. Is there enough free memory on your mobile phone? Be sure to check beforehand! Because you definitely shouldn't miss out on a stroll through the Media Harbour right at the foot of the TV tower. The stars here are the buildings. Some seem to move. Others glisten in the sun. Some are listed buildings. Architecture fans will be familiar with names such as Frank Gehry, David Chipperfield and Helmut Jahn, whose buildings can be admired in the Media Harbour. But star architect Daniel Libeskind has also made his mark in Düsseldorf. He designed the curved shapes of the latest urban landmark: the Kö-Bogen is home to the latest trends in fashion, lifestyle and gastronomy. But be careful, a shopping trip with the whole family can easily get out of hand here.
Museum duty
The next stop on our little city tour is Bonn. You absolutely have to visit the museum here. And don't argue! Although the Museum Mile is only three kilometres long, it is lined up with five large and renowned museums. The three blue, pointed cones of light of the Bundeskunsthalle are visible from afar. However, you will only realise that they are located on a green meadow once you have literally climbed onto the roof of the exhibition centre for international art from all eras. Then it's quicker to get back down. If you're really brave, simply take the slide on the outer façade on the way back and land directly at the water feature, which is guaranteed to delight not only the youngest museum visitors. Who dares? And who will get who wet? The Deutsches Museum Bonn is currently developing into a particularly exciting place to learn and experience. In the offshoot of the big museum in Munich, you can already take a look into the future and watch artificial intelligence think. Stroll through the Future City together, put yourself in the hands of robots or become a pixel builder at the AI:nderkram table. For once, learning is fun. You can also choose from the Bonn Art Museum and the König Research Museum. As well as the House of History. This is where everyone meets up again and revels in their own past. Perhaps parents or grandparents will even "confess" one or two childhood sins during the joint tour.
Ruhr area charm
Zeche Zollverein in Essen is probably the best-known symbol of the Ruhr region's mining past. Are you coming "on shift"? Then let's go. On a tour of the site of what was once the largest coal mine in the world, surprises big and small await you at every turn. There are exciting insights into the work of the miners who stood here at the coal furnace in almost unbearable temperatures. Since they finished their last shift, nature has gradually reclaimed its place among the giants of steel, so you might come across a natterjack toad or a kestrel circling overhead on a walk or bike ride. And be sure to pack your swimming trunks or ice skates, depending on the time of year! Because how about a family butt-bombing contest in the factory swimming pool or, in winter, a race on the 150-metre-long ice rink alongside the old coke ovens?
You wouldn't expect a high-gloss design among the rust and steel, would you? But it's there. The Red Dot Design Museum presents around 2,000 exhibits of internationally recognised design art in a spectacular setting. From crockery and furniture to a gyrocopter hanging from the ceiling. Essen is also home to one of Germany's most renowned art museums: the Museum Folkwang has an important collection of classical modern art, including works by Cézanne, van Gogh and Manet. The interior is a small sensation, and the building itself is spectacular. It was designed by star architect David Chipperfield.
The Krupp family of entrepreneurs is just as closely associated with the city in the Ruhr region as the name Folkwang. And they really knew how to enjoy life in the countryside. Can you guess how many rooms their Villa Hügel in the park above Lake Baldeney once had? You'll never guess. There were 269! You can find out more about the family's history in the "Little House". I wonder how big it is?
But back to coal and steel. This time in Duisburg. More precisely, in the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park, which you should definitely not leave before darkness falls. Because that's when the facilities of the former steelworks light up in all colours. Blue. Green. Red. Yellow. The light installation by British artist Jonathan Park impressively stages industrial history here. You'll be amazed! But how about a big GPS treasure hunt on the site beforehand, while it's still light? A dive or a joint climbing session? In blast furnace 5, where coke and iron ore were once temporarily stored, mountaineers and sport climbers practise their skills. Why don't you give them a run for their money? Unless you'd rather go on the rollercoaster. Then head on to Heinrich Hildebrand Höhe in the south of Duisburg. The walk-in sculpture "Tiger & Turtle" is located there and anyone can climb aboard. However, there is one catch: this rollercoaster has no carriages. So you have to walk across the tracks. Will anyone manage the loop anyway?
"Tach auch!" from the charming Ruhr region. Here, a fascinating light spectacle shines in the old ironworks, there, the most beautiful colliery in the world awaits.
Travelling begins in the mind with Merian
Already bitten by the travel bug? Then we'll increase your anticipation a little more - in the MERIAN podcast, the name says it all. In "Travelling begins in the mind", Inka Schmeling and Kathrin Sander take you to the places where you can experience urban adventures together in North Rhine-Westphalia.
