On Our Radar: The cultural hub of Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia

With 900 museums, five Unesco sites, 12 tourism regions and 8,700 miles of cycling paths, I discovered the destination offers a range of cultural and adventure activities at a quiz with Tourismus NRW in London earlier this month.

Julia Bauer, project manager for international marketing at Tourismus NRW, explained the importance of attracting UK visitors: “The UK is our fourth most important international market after the Netherlands, Belgium and US. Unfortunately

there has been a slight decrease in visitor numbers this year compared with the last 10 years of steady growth. We are addressing this by connecting with the UK travel trade whenever we can.”

Examples include an industry news column on the tourism board’s B2B website, and plans for a similar newsletter in its online training tool. Bauer stressed the ease of access from the UK to the region, citing that NRW has more flight connections to the UK than any other area in Germany.

“There are six airports in total, four of which are served by direct flights. They are Dusseldorf, Cologne, Dortmund and Weeze, an airport near Dusseldorf that is served by Ryanair.”

Despite the connectivity, Bauer said that misconceptions among UK clients are still rife.

“People expect to come to Germany and eat sauerkraut and bratwurst and drink wheat beer, but actually that’s not typical for our region. A lot of people see Germany and have Bavaria in mind and we are so different from that area. NRW is not that traditional; we are modern with an industrial heritage which has transformed into a cultural heritage.”

NRW is indeed culturally rich; the state has cathedrals in Aachen and Cologne (top), and the Augustusburg and Falkenlust Palaces in Bruhl. It also hosts the World Equestrian Festival, CHIO Aachen; and in winter has festive Christmas markets.

A more quirky option, Wunderland Kalkar, offers an all-inclusive concept that appeals to families and thrill seekers alike. The theme park, built on a nuclear power plant that never went into operation, has a hotel, restaurants, bars, plus a park with 40 rides. One night packages start from €69pp with breakfast and dinner, drinks, and access to the attractions included.

In addition, river cruises and hiking trails add to NRW’s outdoorsy appeal – perhaps UK clients should be taking a fresh look at this attraction-packed slice of Germany.