Düsseldorf (pop: ca. 575,000), the capital of the state of North-Rhine Westphalia, has an extraordinary amount of tourist attractions, the most prominent of which is the Altstadt (old city centre), a pedestrian area which the locals - with some justification - describe as the 'longest bar in the world'. Here you can sup the local Düsseldorf Altbier (whatever you do don't ask for a Pils!), a delicious brown brew at one of the many old beer houses on the edge of the mighty River Rhine, before taking a trip on one of the pleasure boats.

But this cosmopolitan city isn't only about eating and drinking. It has a fine artistic tradition going back for centuries, embodied in the Dusseldorf Academy of Art, probably the most prominent School of Art in the whole of Germany. Its teachers have included Gerhard Richter, Jörg Immendorff, the legendary Joseph Beuys and the British sculptor Tony Cragg, who lives in nearby Wuppertal. It's no surprise that the city also boasts a large number of prominent art museums, the most famous of which is the K20 NRW Kunstsammlung (NRW Art Collection). This museum of 20th century art contains examples from throughout the century, with works by such painters as Picasso, Braque, Mondrian, Chagall, Matisse, Salvador Dali and Kandinsky, through to more modern American and German artists.

The centre of Düsseldorf shopping life is the Königsallee, a spacious boulevard known by the locals and others as the Kö. Most newcomers head straight for the Kö-Galerie, a huge, luxuriously furbished indoor mall full of shops and cafés. If you’re a fan of shopping arcades you should also take a look inside the Schadow Arkaden in Schadowstrase. The nearby Stilwerk at Grünstrasse 15 specialises in high-status design goods, and Sevens (Königsalleee 56), a so-called lifestyle mall, boasts a massive range of electronic goods.

Düsseldorf is one of Germany’s leading fashion centres, and many designers have their offices in the trendy new Media Harbour, whose most prominent architectural feature are the Frank Gehry buildings. This is the area to come for a cool glass of wine on a summer evening. From the nearby television tower, also containing a revolving restaurant, you can get an incredible view of the city.

Back in the city centre, the Kö runs north to the Opera House, the theatre and the Hofgarten, Düsseldorf’s equivalent to Hyde Park. Another park can be found in the south of the city, attached to the magnificent Benrath Palace, the old summer haunt of the local Princes. It is well worth taking a guided tour of the building. The Palace also contains a huge exhibition on garden art and a museum of natural history.