Clemens August of Bavaria, prince-elector and archbishop of Cologne in the eighteenth century, loved two things above all: hunting with falcons and building in the latest style. At Brühl, just south of Cologne, he created two of the finest rococo buildings in Germany. Augustusburg Palace, his summer residence, has a staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann that is one of the masterpieces of the period, a whirl of marble, stucco and frescoes, and a formal French garden that stretches toward the forest. Falkenlust, a smaller hunting lodge at the end of a long avenue, was built for falconry, with a delightful interior decorated with tiles and lacquerwork. The two castles were listed by UNESCO in 1984.
Augustusburg was used by the West German government for state receptions for decades, when Bonn was the capital, and many world leaders have walked up Neumann's staircase. Guided tours of the interiors run regularly, and the gardens are free to explore.
Brühl is a town of about forty-five thousand people, and it is also home to Phantasialand, one of the biggest theme parks in Germany, which brings heavy traffic on summer weekends. The riding around Brühl is mostly flat and suburban, with busy roads between Cologne and Bonn, but the Ville, a low ridge to the west with forests and lakes created from old lignite mines, offers quieter roads and a pleasant landscape. Further south, the Eifel and the Ahr valley, less than an hour away, are a riders' paradise, with endless curves and the Nürburgring, the legendary race track, where on certain days anyone can ride a lap of the Nordschleife for a fee.
Brühl has fuel, shops, cafés and restaurants, and the old town, close to the palace, has a pleasant pedestrian zone. Cologne, about fifteen kilometres north, has everything, including its cathedral and the beer halls serving Kölsch, the light local beer, in small glasses that are refilled until you put a beer mat on top. Local dishes include Himmel un Ääd, potatoes and apples with black pudding, and Halve Hahn, which despite its name is a rye roll with cheese. The palace gardens are lovely in spring and early summer.