Football route
Covering a distance of around 300 kilometres and with direct rail connections, this suggested route links the six cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Mönchengladbach, Gelsenkirchen, Dortmund and Bielefeld with footballing strongholds and their highlights outside the stadiums - including world culture and art, city beaches and chocolate. Short distances and direct rail connections bring the stations and stadiums close together, making city hopping a breeze.
Let's go in the cathedral city
The people of Cologne are not only in an animalistic mood during carnival, but also when it comes to football. Hennes, a live billy goat, has been the mascot of 1. FC Köln since 1950. Only Cologne Cathedral, which attracts six million visitors to the city every year and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is probably even better known than him. Also at the top of the list is the Chocolate Museum right on the Rhine. Milk and dark chocolate are available here, also with almonds or marshmallows. If you don't want to eat chocolate but would rather drink beer, stop off at one of the rustic breweries: There, hearty, gruff waiters called Köbes serve freshly tapped Kölsch. One of them is Köbes Timo, who tells us more about beer and his special profession.
Another passion takes centre stage at Motorworld Köln: highly polished racing cars and trophies from the collection of a former Formula 1 world champion can be seen there. In addition to the Michael Schumacher Private Collection, there are even hotel rooms with a garage.
From Cologne to Mönchengladbach
Mönchengladbach is not only a source of surprises in the Bundesliga: The city on the green Lower Rhine is a centre for art and culture. The Museum Abteiberg, for example, built by star architect Hans Hollein, shows major exhibitions of contemporary art and a collection of works by Man Ray, Joseph Beuys, Andy Warhol and Sigmar Polke. The fact that Mönchengladbach and Manchester are not only linked by football is demonstrated by the Textile Technology Centre in the historic Monsfort Quarter industrial area. There, looms, spinning machines and other historical machines remind visitors of the past of the "Rhenish Manchester", which extends right up to the present day.
From Cologne to Düsseldorf
In the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, the journey is the destination. Because it always leads along the Rhine to the arena where Fortuna Düsseldorf plays its home games. The modern architectural icons in the Media Harbour as well as the NRW-Forum and the Kunstpalast in the expressionist Ehrenhof building ensemble are definitely Champions League. Of course, the victory on the pitch will be celebrated in the evening with Altbier, one of the beer specialities in North Rhine-Westphalia. Either in a brewery in the historic city centre, on the city beach or on the terrace of the Tonhalle, whose dome dates back to the time when the concert hall was actually a planetarium.
From Düsseldorf to Gelsenkirchen
No less than 130 football pitches fit into the Nordsternpark in Gelsenkirchen. Decades ago, miners were turned into football world champions on just one pitch, the Glückaufkampfbahn in the Schalke district. Follow in their footsteps on a very special guided tour of the neighbourhood . The Rheinelbe spoil tip on the city boundary with Bochum is also part of the mining history. It spirals up the mountain to the stairway to heaven. Meanwhile, day trippers in Nordsternpark can watch Hercules. The 18 metre high sculpture by artist Markus Lüpertz stands on the Nordstern Tower and sometimes likes classical music and sometimes hard rock at concerts.
From Gelsenkirchen to Dortmund
In Germany's largest stadium, the Signal Iduna-Park with 80,000 seats, a Borussia football match usually lasts 90 minutes. A visit to the German Football Museum right next to Dortmund Central Station can also take longer. At the end of the exhibition, visitors can take a look at the coveted European Championship trophy. From the roof of the Dortmunder U, a historic brewery building, or the skywalk of the former Phoenix West blast furnace plant, the view extends over almost the entire city, which even has a "Castle of Labour". The brick facades and the art nouveau portal of the Zollern colliery are among the most beautiful buildings that are still a reminder of Dortmund's mining history.
From Dortmund to Bielefeld
Grass grows in the Bielefeld stadium, of course, and with the ridges of the Teutoburg Forest there are also some hills that offer beautiful views - but nobody knows exactly why Arminia Bielefeld's stadium is called the "Alm". The fact is: the Bielefeld Alm is not far out, but right in the middle of it. To be more precise: in the trendy west of the city. Here you can take a neighbourhood tour that focuses on the cult of the pub, street art and, of course, football. Another must-see is the Sparrenburg, a medieval fortress and landmark of the city.
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