Nibelungenhalle Cologne & Northern Rhineland

The 1913 Nibelungenhalle is a temple-like shrine to the composer Richard Wagner, decorated with scenes from his opera cycle Ring of the Nibelungen. Part of the ensemble is the Drachenhöhle, a musty walkway that wraps around the hall and culminates at a pond inhabited by a 13m-long moss-draped stone dragon. Tickets are also good for the small reptile zoo with pythons, anacondas and crocodiles. Tram 66 heads to the bottom of the hill from Bonn Hauptbahnhof; from here it's a 1.2km walk.