A teaching bakery, a woodland area and a moated-castle route show how many different ways there are to discover the Rhein-Erft District. At the teaching bakery at Gymnicher MĂĽhle Nature Park Centre, course participants can use professional baking equipment and create their own small baking masterpieces. This offers a hands-on introduction to regional leisure activities; the Friesheimer Busch Environmental and Nature Park Centre focuses on a different area. It is located in the Friesheimer Busch woodland area in Erftstadt and offers practical and theoretical conservation work as well as education for sustainable development. The Erftaue Landscape Park at Gymnicher MĂĽhle Nature Park Centre can also be explored on a walk. Hands-on craft activities, learning about conservation and a stroll through a park landscape thus offer different ways to discover the district.
Between Outdoor Activities and Moated Castles
In the Rhein-Erft District, leisure activities include hiking, cycling and water sports. The specially created Moated Castle Route is dedicated to cycling and adds a specific theme to this selection. For clear orientation: Kasterer See is located right next to the place it is named after, Bedburg-Kaster. The district’s attractions include palaces, castles, museums and historic mills. As part of the Cologne Lowland, the Rhein-Erft District is one of the regions in Germany with the most moated castles. The moated-castle theme is therefore reflected both in the district’s attractions and in a dedicated cycling route, while hiking and water sports offer further leisure options.
Museums with Different Areas of Focus
The BERGHEIMAT Museum focuses on the history of Bergheim. Listening and interactive stations, as well as a small museum cinema, bring it to life in a vivid and multifaceted way. The museum features a combination of permanent and temporary exhibitions. Its different ways of presenting the subject offer several ways to explore local history: you can approach it through listening, the interactive stations and the museum cinema. The focus on Bergheim’s history is therefore quite different from the collection at KERAMION in Frechen.
KERAMION houses collections of modern and historical ceramics. Ceramics are the common subject of its collections, while BERGHEIMAT explores the history of Bergheim. This makes it easy to choose between the museums according to your interests: local history at one, modern and historical ceramics at the other. The district also offers architectural heritage to discover. Since 1984, Augustusburg Palace in BrĂĽhl, together with Falkenlust Palace and the BrĂĽhl Gardens, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
At the broader destination level of North Rhine-Westphalia, Augustusburg Palace and Falkenlust Hunting Lodge in Brühl are among the earliest and most significant examples of 18th-century Rococo architecture in Germany. This architectural context adds a specific perspective on architecture and the period to their UNESCO World Heritage status. Brühl thus highlights both the palaces’ place within the World Heritage ensemble and their significance for Rococo architecture.
Choose Your Own Focus
The different themes offer guidance for planning your trip without prescribing a set order. You can shape your stay around your interests and choose between outdoor activities, nature experiences and culture.
Discover more destinations: Bedburg, Kerpen, Bergheim, Wesseling, Pulheim, HĂĽrth, Frechen, BrĂĽhl, Buir, Erftstadt, Elsdorf
Return to the main travel overview: North Rhine-Westphalia.
