Exceptional restaurantsExciting food

On the Rhine Tower, at a height of around 170 metres, you can not only enjoy the finest sushi at Qomo, but also a fantastic view over the old town, the Rhine and the trendy Medienhafen. On a clear day, you can even see the spires of Cologne Cathedral. As the restaurant rotates, the view can sweep in all directions. You can also enjoy a sunset cocktail at lofty heights.

The cable car cabins of the Ettelsberg cable car in Willingen in the Sauerland region are transformed into a floating restaurant on various dates throughout the year: caterers set the table in the panoramic cabins and serve selected dishes as you glide slowly up to the high heath. The gondola menu is part of the Willingen Stroll Days twice a year. Groups can also book it outside the opening hours of the gondola lift.

The casino at the Zollverein UNESCO World Heritage Site in Essen exudes a charm all of its own as it combines industrial culture with elegant chic: candlelit chandeliers hang from the high ceilings of the former compressor hall, which are supported by massive exposed concrete pillars. Wooden floorboards meet machine parts and the exposed ventilation system adds to the industrial flair of the place. The cuisine is young and creative with traditional regional influences. Crime dinners are also organised regularly.

The disused Thyssen steelworks in Duisburg-Meiderich is the spectacular centrepiece of the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park. The blast furnace plant is free to visit and if you want to take a break, the former main switch house is the place to be. Here, under steel beams and old machine parts, bistro-style crossover cuisine with regional influences such as currywurst is served. A visit is particularly recommended in the evening when the disused blast furnace is colourfully illuminated.

At the Ramsbeck visitor mine in Bestwig in the Sauerland region, you can go 300 metres underground for a miner's light dinner. A three-course meal is served in the light of candles and "frogs", the old miners' lamps, accompanied by miners' songs and classical music. The dinner is available in combination with a guided tour of the visitor mine, led by former miners.

Hardly any other restaurant in Germany has such high ceilings: "Glückundseligkeit" in Bielefeld is housed in a former church. When it opened in 2005, the Martini Church was the first church in Germany to be used entirely for catering purposes. The menu is wide-ranging - from tandoori salmon to pizza with bratwurst and chips to duck with napkin dumplings.

Many castles in NRW are also home to restaurants in an impressive setting. One very special place is Türnich Castle in Kerpen near Cologne, the only fully preserved baroque castle in the Rhineland. Its landlord, Count Severin von Hoensbroech, has made it his mission to restore this badly damaged jewel. The café serves organic ingredients from the castle's own farm, including juices from the owner's farm. If you like, you can stroll through the award-winning castle park after a delicious meal.

The Severinstorburg castle on Cologne's Chlodwigplatz used to be part of the city wall, today it is a well-known event location for weddings, for example. What is relatively new is that it also offers a vineyard in front of its old walls. In good weather and temperatures above 20 degrees, you can enjoy delicious wine and Kölsch beer here.

In a cosy half-timbered village in Detmold, friends of very different pleasures will be happy: baked goods, regional delicacies and organic beers from the house brewery are offered in the various half-timbered houses that the Liebhart family has faithfully rebuilt here. A brewhouse that once stood in the Nienhagen district forms the centrepiece of the half-timbered village. Coffee, tea and sweets are served on two levels in the historic "village shop".

Dank der großen japanischen Gemeinde in Düsseldorf gibt es dort das größte und authentischste kulinarische Angebot aus Fernost in Deutschland. Die meisten Restaurants, Japan-Supermärkte und Sake-Bars liegen dabei in unmittelbarer Nähe des Hauptbahnhofs, rund um die Immermannstraße. Einmal im Jahr wird in der Altstadt zudem der Japantag gefeiert, bei dem es ebenfalls leckeres asiatisches Essen gibt.