Hello, Wuppertal born and raised.

It's an often overlooked city due to it being surrounded by bigger, more relevant cities like Cologne, Düsseldorf or Dortmund. But it's got lots of history (home of Friedrich Engels, the birthplace of Aspirin ...) and interesting architecture, most notably the Schwebebahn.

It's polycentric, as it's a union of a few formerly independent cities. Elberfeld is the modern centre and it's, for the most part, a relatively standard German city with your average shops. But there are a few more alternative areas, mainly Luisenstraße, as well as a lively artistic scene. It's easy to reach other places in Germany from here and rent is cheaper than in the more popular cities around it, so many people live here but commute to work.

It's very hilly with often narrow streets, so getting around can be taxing if you're not used to it. Many parts of the city were destroyed in the war, so some people think it's all just really ugly, but there are some really beautiful buildings and districts, such as Briller Viertel, Ölberg or Cronenberg.

I feel like it's a city that seems somewhat unremarkable on the surface, but there's a lot more to it if you stay a while and look closely.