Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [484]
Rail destinations from Kassel Hauptbahnhof and/or Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe (Fernbahnhof) include Fulda (RE/ICE €19.20/29, 84/30 minutes), Marburg (€17.60, 1¼ hours) and Frankfurt am Main (RE/ICE €30.70/48, 125/80 minutes).
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Getting Around
Tram 1 runs the length of Wilhelmshöher Allee, linking the city centre with Wilhelmshöhe. Trams 1, 3 and 4 go from Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe train station to the centre. Almost all the city’s tram lines stop at Königsplatz.
You can rent city and trekking bikes and buy bike maps from Fahrradhof ( 313 083; www.fahrradhof.de, in German; per 24hr/week €10/40; 9am-1pm & 2-6.30pm Mon-Fri year-round, 9am-3pm Sat Apr-Oct, 9am-1pm Sat Nov-Mar), on the east side of Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe train station just past track 11.
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North Rhine–Westphalia
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Getting Around
THE RHINELAND
DÜSSELDORF
Orientation
Information
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking
Entertainment
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
AROUND DÜSSELDORF
LOWER RHINE
Xanten
Kalkar & Around
COLOGNE
Orientation
Information
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking
Entertainment
Shopping
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
BRÜHL
BONN
Orientation
Information
Sights
Tours
Sleeping
Eating & Drinking
Entertainment
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
AROUND BONN
AACHEN
Orientation
Information
Sights
Sleeping
Eating & Drinking
Entertainment
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
EIFEL NATIONAL PARK
THE RUHRGEBIET
Information
Getting Around
ESSEN
Orientation
Information
Sights
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking & Entertainment
Getting There & Around
DORTMUND
Orientation
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Sights
Sleeping
Eating & Drinking
Entertainment
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Getting Around
ELSEWHERE IN THE RUHRGEBIET
Bochum
Oberhausen
Duisburg
Bottrop
Gelsenkirchen
WESTPHALIA
MÜNSTER
Orientation
Information
Sights
Sleeping
Eating
Drinking
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
AROUND MÜNSTER
Burg Hülshoff
Haus Rüschhaus
Burg Vischering
Schloss Nordkirchen
SOEST
Orientation
Information
Sights
Sleeping
Eating
Getting There & Away
PADERBORN
Orientation
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Sights
Sleeping
Eating
Getting There & Away
Getting Around
SAUERLAND
ALTENA
ATTENDORN
WINTERBERG
SIEGERLAND
SIEGEN
Orientation
Information
Sights
Sleeping & Eating
Getting There & Away
AROUND SIEGEN
Freudenberg
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With a population greater than that of Austria and Switzerland combined, North Rhine–Westphalia feels almost like a country unto itself. Cobbled together in 1946 by the Allies from two Prussian provinces and a little fiefdom called Lippe-Detmold, it harbours within its boundaries flat, windswept expanses and forested hills high enough to hold onto snow during winter. Villages sweetly lost in time contrast with frenzied metropolises habitually on fast forward. There are places whose looks have remained largely unchanged since the Middle Ages and others fashioned completely from scratch in the wake of WWII. And through it all carves the muscular Rhine, fed by tributaries such as the Ruhr that gave an entire region its name.
The industrial age shaped North Rhine–Westphalia more than any other German region. For a hundred years, coal and steel fuelled the growth of Germany into one of Europe’s most powerful nations. But starting in the mid-1960s, lower demand forced the region to focus its energies elsewhere. And so it did, banking instead on high-tech, media, retail and culture.
Must-sees include Cologne with its lofty Dom (cathedral), Bonn with its Beethoven legacy and fabulous museums, the Unesco-listed baroque palaces in Brühl, and Charlemagne’s imperial capital of Aachen. The lively Ruhrgebiet and placid Lower Rhine are best for off-beat experiences. There are historical cities such as Münster, where the treaty that ended the Thirty Years’ War was signed, and elegant ones such as Düsseldorf, the state capital. Paderborn and Soest are treasured for their churches and the Sauerland is the place to get your nature fix.
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