Hameln, Germany

Like Bremen with its town musicians, HAMELN must say a daily prayer in praise of fairytales. The rat-turned-child-catcher not only gave the town international fame but a ready-made promotional angle. Fountains of pipers gush rodents and thousands of white rats painted on the pavements lead visitors around the sights. Even the Marktkirche has a Pied Piper window. Whatever the yarn would have you believe, the town has more than its fair share of children, too, because the ploy works. Such is its popularity – the town receives over 3.5 million tourists per year – Hameln isn't always the "pleasanter spot you never spied" that American Robert Browning describes in his jaunty poem of the tale. It is a good-humoured place, however, with few pretentions to greatness other than its historic Altstadt. It also serves as gateway to the lovely hill-and-river country of the Weserbergland south.