The most romantic towns in North Rhine-Westphalia

1. Münster

For a city trip full of history, travel to Münster. Stroll along cobblestone alleys and old squares with cozy terraces. Visit St. Paul's Cathedral or choose one of the historical highlights of Münster; the Peace Hall (Friedenssaal) located in the town hall. Take a tour of the building, with an ornate facade that reaches above the roof and visit the Peace Hall decorated with wood carvings. This important building is located among other photogenic buildings on the Prinzipalmarkt, one of Germany's most beautiful shopping streets. Here you can enjoy shopping in the buildings of the formerly successful Hanseatic city in the north of North Rhine-Westphalia. 

^{Foto: Münster © Münsterland e.V., Phillip Fölting}

2. Werden and Kettwig

Outside the city centre of Essen, in the heart of North Rhine-Westphalia, lie the districts of Werden and Kettwig . Here you can admire old half-timbered houses, with their white facades with patterns of wooden beams. In Werden you travel back in time 1200 years as you stroll through the old alleys. During your visit, enter the 12th-century St. Ludgerus Basilica and admire the gleaming gold in the treasury. In Kettwig you can wander around the small square with the fountain and walk along the water. Here you will also find authentic cafés and wine bars where culinary delights have often been enjoyed for many decades.

^{Foto: Werden © Rosalyn Heiß}

^{Foto: Essen-Kettwig © Johannes Höhn, Tourismus NRW e.V.}

3. Wermelskirchen

Wermelskirchen , a medium-sized town about 30 km northeast of Cologne, also has a beautiful old town. Here, there are no half-timbered houses with white facades lining the streets, but the facades are covered with slate, with dark roofs and shutters around the windows. The houses in the old town were rebuilt around 1758, after they were destroyed by a major fire. The old buildings now house shops and cozy restaurants and cafés. For example, treat yourself to a cake and good coffee at Café Wild. Are you by any chance planning to get married? Here, 11 shops with wedding dresses, suits, rings and other essentials for a wedding are located right next to each other. Wermelskirchen is also a cozy base for hiking and cycling tours in the wooded area of ​​the Bergisches Land.

^{Foto: Wermelskirchen © Stadt Wermelskirchen
Foto: Café Wild © WILD!}

4. Blankenheim

In the hills of the Northern Eifel lies the half-timbered town of Blankenheim . Whichever street you walk down, you will see white facades with an angular pattern of wooden beams. The pointed church tower of the equally white church rises high above the center. On a hill above the village lies the impressive castle Het Gravensteen. The sturdy castle has had a number of makeovers since it was built in 1115 and now has a baroque appearance. Have you always wanted to spend the night in a castle but do you often find the price tag too high? Within the walls of this castle you can stay in a modern and affordable youth hostel. Another iconic sight in Blankenheim is the source of the Ahr river. If you don't know where it is, you won't find it, because you have to go into the cellar of an old half-timbered house to find it. Fancy a walk through the green surroundings? Blankenheim is a stage on the long-distance hiking trail Eifelsteig. Follow the route from here through the Eifel to Trier.

^{Foto: Blankenheim © Eifel Tourismus GmbH, Dominik Ketz}

5. Xanten

Near the Rhine lies the two-thousand-year-old city of Xanten. The Romans already found this a pleasant place to live. Their houses have long since been replaced by more modern buildings, but in the LVR-Archeologische Park Xanten and the LVR-RömerMuseum you can travel back in time. Here you can admire replicas of an amphitheatre, a harbour temple, estates, thermal baths and city walls from Roman times. The oldest buildings in the city date from the Middle Ages. Around the central square are buildings with yellow, pink, white and orange facades. The literal highlight of the colourful old town is the St. Victor's Cathedral. Construction began in the 13th century, but took decades. In Xanten, also visit the StiftsMuseum and learn about the myth of Siegfried in the Siegfried Museum.

^{Foto: Stad Xanten © gymi media}

^{Foto: Archäologischer Park Xanten, Hafentempel © Tourismus NRW e.V., Johannes Höhn}

6. Solingen-Gräfrath

In Solingen, a larger city in the region Die Bergischen Drei (these are the cities of Remscheid, Solingen and Wuppertal), lies the district of Gräfrath . The historic centre is one of the most beautiful in the area. The facades of the houses are covered with overlapping slices of slate. The grey houses often have cute green shutters and white window frames with flower boxes hanging from them. It is as if you are walking through an open-air museum here. Not so strange, with 120 monumental buildings in such a small district. It is striking that no two houses seem to be the same. The monastery church of St. Maria Himmelfahrt is the oldest and largest building. You can see its white tower protruding above the dark roofs in most places. The old market square is the pleasant centre of the village. Enjoy a refreshing drink in the sun on a terrace, while listening to the buzz of locals and tourists.

^{Foto: Solingen-Gräfrath © Dominik Ketz}

More beautiful cities in North Rhine-Westphalia

Can’t get enough of the half-timbered houses and cozy streets? This page has a whole list of the most beautiful villages and cities in North Rhine-Westphalia. You could even plan a road trip through the entire region, with each stop offering unique sights. Tip: give your road trip a culinary theme with inspiration from our blog about gastronomy in North Rhine-Westphalia . Don’t feel like planning a route yourself? We also shared a ready-made road trip route through North Rhine-Westphalia .

This article was written in collaboration with DeinNRW. Want more travel inspiration for your stay in North Rhine-Westphalia? Visit the website for more information >