Düsseldorf sits at the centre of one of the most densely connected regions in Europe, which means an extraordinary number of places are reachable within an hour. Duisburg, home to the world's largest inland port, is just 15 minutes away by public transport. Cologne is 30 minutes by train and offers the cathedral, the Romano-Germanic Museum, and boat trips up the romantic Middle Rhine.
Essen rewards a visit with the Villa Hügel, the palatial former residence of the Krupp industrial dynasty. Wuppertal is worth the trip for its suspended monorail alone — the Schwebebahn has been gliding over the Wupper river since 1901 — plus the Von der Heydt Museum. Aachen has Charlemagne's cathedral, still intact after more than a thousand years. Bonn, the former West German capital, has Beethoven's birthplace and a fine mile of museums along the Rhine.
