STRAAT Museum redefines the gallery experience inside a spacious warehouse at Amsterdam’s NDSM wharf, reachable via a free ferry from Centraal Station. Inside, over 180 monumental works by 170 global artists (including Eduardo Kobra’s towering Anne Frank mural) were created on-site, preserving the spontaneity of outdoor graffiti. The raw, industrial space lets you watch artists at work during rotating exhibitions. Unlike traditional museums, STRAAT embraces street art’s rebellious roots: massive stencils by Banksy-esque provocateurs share space with hidden tags. The café serves gluten-free treats, and the gift store stocks affordable prints. Post-visit, explore NDSM’s open-air murals that blur the line between museum and street art.

The Rhine tower, the North Rhine-Westphalia parliament, the Gehry Buildings, the city gate or Colorium – MedienHafen is a hotspot for creative architecture in Düsseldorf. Several international architects played a creative role in the reconstruction of the old Rhine port area. Frank O. Gehry, David Chipperfield, Joe Coenen, Steven Holl and Claude Vasconi were among those who made a creative contribution to make it what it is today. Those goods depots which were protected by a preservation order had to be renovated with hi-tech engineering and creative interior design. The ancient storerooms have been recreated with a new style and grace. However, you can still feel the old port atmosphere everywhere despite all the reconstruction. Just a decade ago the warehouses were nothing but immense empty spaces inside. Today, various television channels and radio stations, and advertising and media agencies, design bureaus and suchlike have all set up shop inside. So that’s where the name came from: MedienHafen, which means media harbour. The MedienHafen also plays in the premier league where hospitality is concerned. From the exquisite “Berens am Kai”, with a Michelin star, through the “most golden” curry sausage in Düsseldorf, to a cosy cocktail in the evening – the restaurateurs here have adapted to their heterogeneous clientele, which is composed of business customers during the day and the funky in-crowd in the evening, who all meet up to party at the stylish “Rudas Studios” advertising film venue or at the “Port Seven”.

Düsseldorf's Goethe-Museum is housed in the former hunting palace "Schloss Jägerhof", which was finished in 1772 and is located at the eastern edge of the Hofgarten. Since 1956 Goethe's life and work is presented via about 1000 exhibition pieces in chronological order. The first editions of the poet's individual works are kept in glass cases, surrounded by draft manuscripts and letters from the period when they were written. Pictures of towns and landscapes show places where Goethe wrote his books; pictures of the poet and his friends complete the exhibition.

Discover the jewels of the Dutch countryside on a fun day trip to Zaanse Schans, Edam, Volendam, and Marken leaving from Amsterdam. See typical Dutch windmills that are still in use today. Visit a local cheese producer, where the cheese master will explain how they produce Gouda and Edam cheeses. Discover the secrets of the klomp, the traditional Dutch clog, and much more.