A Nuclear power site that became a fun park, a place where the cyclist is king, historic towns and cities and bustling markets.

These are among the attractions that can provide an ideal holiday in the Lower Rhine, tells all.

IMAGINE spending your holiday on the site of a nuclear power station - Not as crazy as it sounds if its the Wunderland Kalkar.

The power station was built but never used and its original buildings remain on the site, now a leisure park and holiday resort in the German district of Kalkar.

It is one of many unique attractions I found during my visit to the Lower Rhine region of Germany and the Netherlands courtesy of the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.

Even the original cooling tower at the Wunderland has a bright mural to show the only thing nuclear about this place is the families that visit.

The fast breeder reactor plant had taken 13 years to build but was never opened and commissioned because of years of public protest and safety fears.

The plant was completed in 1986 but that year’s Chernobyl disaster was the last straw.

The site was eventually put up for sale in 1995 and remained idle for years until Dutch businessman Hennie van der Most bought it and eventually turned it into the present leisure centre.

The centre has accommodation for 2,000 guests, seven speciality bars, including Ancient Egyptian and Western themes, and attracts 350,000 visitors a year.

Its attractions include a carousels, a ferris wheel, and a whitewater course and even a drag racing strip on which gas-powered dragster driven on a 100-metre course.

The Lower Rhine covers the German regions of North and Middle Limburg, Eastern Braband and cities such as Duisburg and Krefeld.

It overlaps into the southern Netherlands with the historic towns of Arnhem and Nijmegen.

The region is promoted as 2-Land as it embraces two countries for one holiday.

It has many picturesque villages, fascinating art galleries, which include paintings by masters such as Vincent Van Gogh, and of course the majestic River Rhine itself, which can be enjoyed through pleasure boat trips.

Because much of is so flat it is an ideal place to enjoy the healthiest and most eco-friendly form of transport - the bicycle.

There are plenty of flat cycle paths for children and older people but also challenging tracks for trekkers and cycling enthusiasts.

For nature lovers the regional region has numerous national parks, large forests and heathlands and crystal-clear lakes.

The region has a huge variety of shops, markets and shopping malls and there are several castles and gardens to visit.

For further information visit www.2-LAND.com.