Eindhoven

If you find yourself in the Netherlands' fifth-biggest city it's probably for an international budget flight or to watch a football match at PSV's Philips Stadium. But Eindhoven is also a vibrant centre for creative design and post-industrial reinvention. OK, so visually the townscape has all the charm of Minsk on a bad hair day, but before rushing on, do at least consider visiting the fascinating Philips Museum, which tells the story of the global electronics company that essentially created modern Eindhoven. There's also a highly thought-provoking modern-art gallery and a UFO-shaped quirk of 1960s architecture.