
Today, palaces and castles are centres of art and cultural encounters or pilgrimage sites for hikers and cyclists. For example, visitors can attend concerts, murder mystery dinners or culinary walks at the various experience destinations. Large open spaces are designed as leisure parks and some of the buildings have been converted into imaginative galleries and even a youth hostel. The experience elevator goes all the way up to a hilltop castle. The double cableway brings guests from one part of the city to another. Festivals, craft markets and jousting tournaments are the jewels in the colourful calendar of events, promising exciting entertainment all year round.

Moyland Castle in Bedburg-Hau
Since its restoration in the 1990s the neo-gothic water castle is a significant museum for modern and contemporary art. Besides others the foundation museum Schloss Moyland possesses the world’s largest collection of art works from Joseph Beuys and is a research centre of international degree. Moreover historical gardens stretch around the castle at the Lower Rhine.

Schloss Drachenburg in Königswinter
Steeply up the rack railway goes. The Drachenfels near Königswinter, Germany’s most frequently “conquered” mountain, affords a vast view of the Rhine. It’s well worth stopping half-way up at Schloss Drachenburg, too.

Schloss Dyck Jüchen
The park, with its old trees, still looks just as it did in the 19th century. At the same time, as an international centre for garden art, Schloss Dyck’s latest developments have a lot to offer.

Sparrenburg Bielefeld
Experience medieval adventure and enjoy the magnificent views: Sparrenburg Castle sits enthroned high above Bielefeld and offers a wonderful view of the Teutoburg Forest. Parts of the building, such as the stone walls and dungeons, tell stories from another time. Visitors can learn more about the lives of its former residents on guided tours.