Oia’s the one you’ve seen in all the photos—white houses, blue domes, and narrow lanes packed with people come sunset. It sits on the edge of the caldera, about 150 metres up, with genuinely great views (if you can find a spot to stand). It’s pricey, often crowded, but still worth a visit, especially early in the morning or just after sunset when things calm down. Good for wandering, photos, and a splurge meal if you’re into that.

Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, or just Spinnerei, opened in 1884 as the largest cotton mill in continental Europe. Today, the revamped industrial space hosts art galleries, architecture and design studios, cafes and restaurants, Luru Kino arthouse cinema, Residenz and Lofft theatres, and Internationales Choreografisches Zentrum Leipzig (ICZ).

Burgplatz is where the little River Düssel, which gave the town its name, flows into the Rhine. In the background is the former collegiate church, St. Lambertus, with the shrine of St. Apolinaris. Next to the bridge over the Düssel, the monument to Düsseldorf being granted the privileges of a town demonstrates impressively more than 725 years of town history (town status granted in 1288). The square is dominated by Alter Schlossturm, the old palace tower (now the Schifffahrt-Museum navigation museum) and last testimony to the princely palace from the 13th century that fell victim to flames in 1872. The generously proportioned Rhine embankment promenade is considered one of the most beautiful on the Rhine. Upriver, the Medien Hafen is characterised by outstanding architectural creations, and the elegant district of Oberkassel on the opposite bank by art-nouveau facades.