Mülheim

Schloss Broich, the MüGa and the Kirchenhügel, then upriver to Kettwig

Mülheim's stretch of the Ruhr makes a good single day. Take tram 102 or 901 to Schloss Broich, walk through the MüGa park to the Camera Obscura in the Broich water tower, cross to the old town on the Kirchenhügel, then board a Weisse Flotte boat from the Wasserbahnhof upriver to Kettwig. Evenings suit the Ringlokschuppen.

Morning. Take tram 102 or 901 to Schloss Broich, whose foundations date to around 884, when it was built against Viking raiders coming up the Rhine. The Hochschloss holds a small history museum on weekends, and the tourist office is under the roof. Walk on into the MüGa, the riverside park created for the 1992 state garden show, to the Broich water tower and its Camera Obscura, a room-sized camera with a museum on the prehistory of film below.

Late morning. Cross the Schlossbrücke to the old town on the Kirchenhügel, a small knot of half-timbered houses around the Petrikirche, the oldest church in the city, rebuilt after wartime bombing. The house of the 18th-century mystic Gerhard Tersteegen stands nearby.

Afternoon. Walk along the river to the Wasserbahnhof on the lock island, then board a Weisse Flotte boat upstream past the meadows of Saarn and Mintard to Kettwig, a pretty Essen suburb with a lake and old lanes. Boats leave about every two hours from late April; cycle back on the towpath if you have a bike.

Evening. Check the programme at the Ringlokschuppen, a former locomotive shed in the MüGa turned into a theatre and concert venue, or the Theater an der Ruhr in the Raffelberg spa park.

Rainy-day alternative. The Aquarius water museum in a Thyssen water tower in Styrum explains how the Ruhr supplies the region's drinking water.

Himmel un Ääd and riverside beer gardens at the Wasserbahnhof

Mülheim's kitchen is Rhenish. Order Himmel un Ääd, Rheinischer Sauerbraten or mussels in the months with an R, and Currywurst at an Imbiss. Pils is the usual beer. In summer, eat at the beer gardens on the Wasserbahnhof lock island, take cake in Saarn, and look to Menden's riverside hotels for fine dining.

Mülheim was historically part of the Rhineland, and its kitchen leans Rhenish, not Westphalian. The dish to try is Himmel un Ääd, "heaven and earth": mashed potato mixed with apple sauce, topped with fried black pudding and onions. Rheinischer Sauerbraten, beef marinated for days and served in a sweet-sour gravy with raisins, appears on Sunday menus at traditional inns, and in the months with an R, Rhenish-style mussels cooked in wine with vegetables come with black bread.

The Ruhr side of the city shows in the snack bars. Order Currywurst at an Imbiss, or a cold drink from the local corner kiosk, which here as across the region is called a Bude. Between Düsseldorf's Altbier and Dortmund's lagers, Mülheim drinkers mostly stick to Pils.

Where you eat matters more than what. On summer days, the beer gardens and terraces around the Wasserbahnhof on the lock island and along the Ruhr promenade fill with cyclists and boat passengers; get there before the late-afternoon rush. Saarn, with its old convent and village square, has cafés for cake and coffee after a walk in the meadows, and the MüGa park has kiosks near the Ringlokschuppen.

In the centre, the streets around the Kirchenhügel and the Schloßstraße shopping area have Italian, Greek and Turkish restaurants. For a special occasion, the hotel restaurants on the riverbank in Menden serve fine dining with views of the water.