The gastronomy in Münster is active day and night. More than 900 restaurants and bars offer something for every taste. The large number of students guarantees a wide selection of pubs, although Münster is also the ideal spot for regional, international and upscale cuisine. It's easy to find traditional fare like Westphalian ham, pork ragout, hearty stews, pumpernickel bread (the black bread "born" in the region) and rote gruetze - a cooled, just lightly boiled and sweetened ragout of fresh berries, topped with cream.

Of course, such heavy fare requires a glass of fresh, slightly bitter beer from the local Pinkus Müller brewery or of Altbier, beer aged about six months to yield a mellow, slightly sweet, almost wine-like character. At the same time, the wine list of many restaurants leaves nothing to be desired. Or try the local schnapps known as "Korn."

Typical Münster hospitality is found above all in the Kuhviertel (Cow District) with its little, lovingly restored, old pubs - many of them the favorite haunts of Münster students. Here, young and old sit harmoniously around the scoured wooden tables at which generations of carvers have immortalized themselves.

An entirely new city district has developed over the past few years in Münster's old harbor, the area surrounding the Kreativkai (Creative Quay) on the Dortmund-Ems Canal. Many freelancers and innovative entrepreneurs have settled here, profiting from the dynamic rebirth of the waterfront district and attracting a new generation of "in" restaurants. Especially in summer, the harbor area resembles one enormous open-air restaurant at the water's edge.