Where to visit in NRW?

Question

I have 8 days in Germany, I don't have a car :(

which cities should I visit in North Rhein Westfalia?

Answer 1

Well you will probably want to go to Koln as a base. From there you can take a day boat trip to Bonn and  Dusseldorf, Essen, Munster,  Dortman are a short train ride away...

Answer 2

i never been there before  or even heart of that place i learn something new

Answer 3

The two must-sees in NRW are the Cologne Cathedral and the Cathedral of Aachen - and of course the surrounding cities.

Cologne is not a pretty city but the rhine is a nice big river and it's one of the first choices for a shopping city in germany. The nightlife is vibrant, with Zuelpicher Straße maybe the climax. Nice museums are there, too: The chocolate museum is interesting and if you're into some old art, the Wallraff-Richartz Museum is a good choice, as is the pendant for new art, the Museum Ludwig. There is also a really nice castle in nearby Brühl.

Also Bonn is worth a visit, about 20 minutes from cologne by train, it has a nice old town and really good museums along the "museumsmeile" including old and new art and the german house for history and a good natural science museum. If there is good weather, a trip to the Rheinauen and Königswinter (climb up to the mountain, there is a castle and some ruins) may suit you fine. Saturdays there is in the warmer months (starting in april i think) one of the biggest flea markets in europe in the Rheinauen (it's about 15 minutes from the inner city of bonn).

Aachen is much smaller and to visit it for a day might be enough. Pretty old town and the Cathedral is one of the oldest churches in germany and once there were the crowning of the kings there.

One of the nicest bigger cities in NRW is Muenster, as big as Aachen and really good to just hang around and watch the students cycling for example. Very green and nice architecture around including some very pretty churches and a great town hall.

Not as interesting as the other cities, but also ok is Düsseldorf, especially if you're into shopping fashion and luxury or if you're into modern art and architecture.

The cities in Ruhrgebiet like Essen, Bochum, Duisburg and Dortmund are rather ugly but they have a good nightlife and pretty cultural offers, I would choose Essen.

A must is also a trip down from the rhine to the south (starting for example in bonn and ending in Koblenz), it can be really romantic. And the surrounding area is also very nice, you may hop off in Koblenz and explore the area to the west by train (Bad neuenahr Ahrweiler is also a nice city and if you're into wine it's a must to taste one there or in the area)

Really nice smaller cities include Bad Münstereifel with medieval city walls and Monschau with some romantic old houses by a river.