North Rhine-Westphalia (German Nordrhein-Westfalen) is the most populous state in Germany, with 17.5 million inhabitants, located in the west of the country. It consists of two historically independent parts - Nordrhein, the urbanized area across the river Rhine in the southwest, and Westfalen in the northeast, which is quite diverse as it includes both the heavy industrialized and densely populated Ruhr Valley and the very green Teutoburg Forest.
The region contains several of the most-often visited cities of Germany, both for business and pleasure. Here you can find numerous headquarters of Germany's large and mid-sized corporations, European outposts of Asian and American multinationals, as well as world-renowned factories. Many of the globally important trade fairs take place in Düsseldorf and Cologne, the latter is also a major cultural centre. The beautiful historic city of Bonn was West Germany's de facto capital until 1990 and still contains many federal institutions, both governmental and cultural.
With the large population accumulated within a small area, as well as equally sizeable tourist traffic, North Rhine-Westphalia possesses the appropriate transportation infrastructure, with three major international airports and a very efficient - if sometimes overcrowded - railway and motorway network. NRW, as it is frequently abbreviated, also contains the first "cycle highway" of Germany which is planned to grow to over 100 km of fully grade separated extra broad cycle route. Accommodation and gastronomic opportunities are aplenty as well. There is always a lot going on and getting between destinations is easy and quick.
