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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