There is one fantastic thing to see in Gelsenkirchen: the inside of the music theatre, painted by the French artist Yves Klein in the late 1950s. His "monochromes bleus" cover the walls, intense blue plaster and sponge reliefs. It was an amazing coup for Gelsenkirchen, and a brave one at that. Coincidentally, the local club Schalke 04, who play in "koenigsblau" blue last won the league around the time that Klein was at work in Gelsenkirchen.

In the post-war years, such quantities of paint were hard to come by and much material was "lifted" from building sites in the area. The builders told Klein he should drink milk to avoid poisoning himself with paint fumes but he would always say, "I am a Frenchman, I only drink red wine", which undoubtedly contributed to his deteriorating health. Possibly anticipating Warhol's sense of art and commerce, he actually patented the blue colour he used, IKB - International Klein Blue.

Kennedyplatz, Gelsenkirchen;
tel: 209 4097 243;
www.musiktheater-im-revier.de

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Everybody has been to Kathmandu, Bali and Prague these days so perhaps visiting Gelsenkirchen will give you some kind of status in travellers' circles. It is not exactly the cultural capital of the world, but Essen, which is about two miles away, will be in 2010. The Folkwang museum there has an excellent collection of expressionist paintings, and the Villa Hügel, ex-residence of the Krupp family, regularly has world-class exhibitions. Also next door in Bochum, is an interesting mining museum, well worth a visit.

Folkwang Museum: Goethestrasse 41, Essen;
www.museum-folkwang.de/

Villa Hugel: Essen;
Tel: 0201 61 6290;
www.villahuegel.de/english

Deutsches Bergbaumuseum: Am Bergbaumuseum 28, Bochum;
tel: 0180 5877 234;
www.bergbaumuseum.de

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