Alnö, known as 'Norrland's Hawaii', is a volcanic island just outside Sundsvall that formed approximately 570 million years ago. As a result, Alnö features unique rocks and minerals not found anywhere else in the world, including the eponymous Alnöite. Around the turn of the 20th century, Alnö was a true sawmill island with 19 sawmills operating simultaneously. Today's Alnö is a summer paradise with cosy bathing coves, fishing villages, restaurants and cafés.

Approximately 60 kilometres west of Sundsvall, you'll find Flataklocken, which was designated as the Geographical Centre of Sweden's landmass through a centre-of-gravity calculation by KTH in Stockholm in 1947. This means that if you were to put Sweden on a needle, it would be in balance just over the mountain Flataklocken. It offers a vast 360-degree view of the beautiful landscape in Ljungandalen, and on clear days, one can see far towards the Sundsvall coast. At the summit, there are fire pits and a café open in the summer.

Added in early 2002 as the second main pillar of the Kunstsammlung and accommodating contemporary art was the Ständehaus am Kaiserteich, until 1988 the seat of the Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Four wings with continuous arcades surround the building’s central public area, a spacious plaza. The creative treatment of this representative building in the Historicist style (1876-80) by the Munich architectural office of Kiessler + Partner created a modern museum building with a striking glaze domed roof which shapes the building’s aesthetic and at the same time spans an expansive sculpture garden located on the uppermost level. Together, a flexible hall for temporary exhibitions in the ground floor level and the upper galleries comprise more than 5300 m² of surface area. Installations and artist’s rooms are an important focus of the Kunstsammlung, an area which has been expanded continuously in recent years.

Düsseldorf's Altstadt (Old Town) is also home to some of the city's most beautiful churches. For instance, the Sankt Lambertus Basilika, which was first built in the 13th century, and which with its twisting spire helps make Düsseldorf's skyline unique. In conjunction with the Schlossturm (Castle Tower) and the River Düssel, the basilica remains part of the Old Town's original core. This church's parish altar also houses a shrine containing relics of Saint Apollinaris, the city's patron saint.