10 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Düsseldorf

1. Königsallee - Germany's Most Elegant Avenue

Düsseldorf's most elegant shopping street is Königsallee, affectionately known to locals as the "Kö." Comparable to Avenue Montaigne in Paris, this long stretch of high-end real estate was laid out in 1802 and continues to draw the crowds with its eclectic mix of exclusive boutiques, luxury shopping arcades and art galleries, as well as numerous restaurants and cafés.

2. Schloss Benrath

An easy ten-kilometer journey from the city center by public transit, Schloss Benrath is a splendid Baroque palace constructed between 1756 and 1773. Highlights include the palace's sumptuous interior, as well as a stroll around its huge park and gardens.

3. North Rhine-Westphalia Art Collection

The North Rhine-Westphalia Art Collection (Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen) is spread across three locations in Düsseldorf. The largest collection, K20, is located in Grabbeplatz, an ultra-modern building with a façade of polished black granite, which is itself a work of art. This vast gallery houses numerous works of modern art, including a notable collection of paintings by Paul Klee. K21, in the 19th-century Ständehaus building, includes a variety of installations focusing on modern painting and drawing, as well as sculpture and film, with works by Thomas Schütte, Reinhard Mucha, and Thomas Hirschhorn. The third location, Schmela Haus, hosts numerous temporary exhibits. Other art-related museums of note in Düsseldorf include the Julia Stoschek Collection, a private collection of contemporary art, and the Ernst Schneider Collection.

4. Kaiserswerth

Incorporated into the city in 1929, Kaiserswerth is one of Düsseldorf's oldest (and poshest) neighborhoods, and is a wonderful place to explore due to its many old buildings and its picture-perfect location on the Rhine.

5. The Museum of Art: Kunstpalast

The Museum of Art (Museum Kunstpalast) is another important art facility in Düsseldorf with artwork dating from the 3rd century BC to the present day. Highlights include fine art, sculptures and drawings, in addition to more than 70,000 items of graphic art, photos, and applied art. Other highlights include a collection of glass by Helmut Hentrich, along with rare Italian Baroque works, a modern art collection including works by Dali, Warhol, and Caravaggio, as well as examples from members of the Düsseldorf School of Painting and Expressionism.

6. Old Town Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf's Old Town (Altstadt) remains remarkably well preserved and should be included on your list of must-see attractions. The focal point of the Old Town is the Marktplatz where you'll find the imposing Town Hall (Rathaus) and a large equestrian statue of Elector John William II erected in 1711. Another highlight is the Castle Tower (Schlossturm) in Burgplatz on the banks of the Rhine. The only surviving section of this old castle that once dominated the city, the tower is home to the SchiffahrtsMuseum, one of Germany's best (and oldest) marine museums with fascinating exhibits on the history of shipbuilding and trade. Another attraction to visit is the Hetjens Museum, dedicated to more than 800 years of ceramics, porcelain, and earthenware. After exploring the Old Town, be sure to visit the neighboring Ehrenhof district, home to the domed Tonhalle, a concert hall constructed in 1926 as the base of the city's orchestra, Düsseldorfer Symphoniker.

7. Neue Zollhof and the Gehry Buildings

Düsseldorf is home to some of the most daring modern architecture, the best of which can be seen in Neue Zollhof, a stunningly redeveloped section of the city's old port. The highlights here are undoubtedly the Frank Gehry designed office buildings of Media Harbor, three quite distinct structures built in 1998 that seem to defy gravity as they lean and curve like jelly frozen in mid-wobble. Another interesting architectural landmark is the nearby Rheinturm Tower, a 240-meter-tall telecommunications tower constructed in 1981 with an observation deck offering superb views of the city (it also claims to be the world's largest digital timepiece).

8. Nordpark's Japanese Garden

One of Düsseldorf's most popular parks - and at 90 acres, one of its largest - Nordpark is a wonderful place to explore. Numerous wide pathways crisscross the park through its spacious lawns and themed gardens, including the lovely Lily Garden. Other Nordpark highlights are its Horse-Tamers statue and the Japanese Garden, the latter presented to the city by Düsseldorf's Japanese community and which boasts an astonishing variety of landscapes.

9. The Hofgarten

Düsseldorf's city center is bounded to the north by the Hofgarten, a large park laid out in 1770 that stretches all the way from the Old Town and Königsallee to the banks of the River Rhine. Designed in the English landscape style, this delightful 68-acre site includes extensive meadows and wooded areas, as well as numerous streams and ponds. Among its many notable buildings is the Baroque Hofgärtnerhaus, or Court Gardener House, former home of garden architect Maximilian Weyhe and now the city's Theatre Museum. Also worthy of a visit is Schloss Jägerhof, a former hunting lodge built in rococo style in 1763 and occupied, albeit briefly, by Napoleon. Today, the building is home to the city's Goethe-Museum with its rich collection of artifacts and exhibits devoted to Germany's greatest writer and poet. The park is also home to a number of interesting modern sculptures as well as historic monuments and memorials, including the Märchenbrunnen with its fairytale figures, and a sculpture by Henry Moore.

10. The Magic of the Rhine: The Embankment Promenade

Düsseldorf's Rhine Embankment Promenade offers one of the best ways of enjoying the city's wonderful riverside. Opened in 1997 as a means of hiding one of the city's busiest roads (it's buried beneath the promenade), this long pedestrian route gives the city a distinctly Mediterranean flavor, lined by cafés, restaurants, galleries, and shops on one side, and the mighty Rhine on the other. Running all the way from the Oberkassel Bridge and connecting the Old Town to the state's Parliament buildings, the one-and-a-half-kilometer, tree-lined promenade encompasses pedestrian and bike paths and offers countless opportunities for sightseeing and people watching.

DüsseldorfCard

The DüsseldorfCard is the cheapest and simplest way of getting to know the city. It grants you not only unlimited use of trams and buses within the city area, but also free or reduced-price entry to museums, various attractions and leisure facilities.

In addition to your DüsseldorfCard, the Tourist-Information offices will provide you with a set of information containing the Düsseldorf City Guide, the official calendar of events and a current list of exhibitions. The DüsseldorfCard is available at the Tourist Information offices, many museums, hotels and the ticket offices of the Rheinbahn (public transports). Our tourist information offices will be pleased with your visit!

Please note that opening times of museums and institutes change on public holidays.

Rates

If you wish to book online we will print out your DüsseldorfCard upon proof of receipt of payment. This service is free of charge. Please note the validity date and time on the back of the card. In case you need the DüsseldorfCard within the next few days, you may purchase it on site at our Tourist Information Offices or at the ticket machines of the Rheinbahn.

Sales Offices

And the following incentives offers the DüsseldorfCard: Local public transports

Museums

Eating & Drinking in Düsseldorf

Altbier

Rhenish specialities: Rhenish sauerbraten, Flönz (Blutwurst or black pudding) and thick pea soup, known in Düsseldorf as Ähzezupp, are traditional culinary specialities. As is Halver Hahn no chicken which is a round and robust cheese with caraway seeds and onion, munched with a Röggelchen, a small ryebread roll, which goes down nicely with a drop of Alt, the mellow, dark beer still brewed according to ancient top-fermentation method. This is a special offering of the Brewery Hausbrauerei "Zum Schlüssel".

Gastronomic Variety: Düsseldorf boasts down-to-earth pubs and cosy eateries, gourmet bistros and the true crème de la crème of restaurants, some of which enjoy top ranking among Germany's starred establishments. Everyone succumbs to the seductive powers of Alt Beer. Not only visitors to the Altstadt, the "longest bar in the world", where bars and traditional ale houses jostle for space. Alt goes down well all over Düsseldorf - and way beyond. Alt' beer from Düsseldorf is one of the city's specialities that has become internationally famous. Naturally, it tastes best in one of the local breweries, most of them located in the legendary Altstadt, the Old Town. In some of them you can even see the huge brewing vat.

Alt beer is top-brewed, copper-coloured, and tart in taste, with a distinct flavour of hops. The content in original wort is 12%, as is Pils. Whilst ferment-ing requires higher temperatures (around 18 to 22° C) as is usually the case for top-brewed beers, maturation takes place at temperatures between 0 and 8°C. Maturation lasts between three and eight weeks, and the finished beer has an alcohol content of around 4,5%. However, if you think that the name Altbier is derived from the German word 'alt' for old, you are mistaken. In Latin, 'altus' means 'high'. This refers to the rising yeast of the top-brewed beer.

Currency Exchange in Düsseldorf

Emergencies

Feuerwehr, Rettungsdienst und Bevölkerungsschutz
Hüttenstrasse 68
40215 Düsseldorf , NRW
Germany
Phone: +49 211 892 0999
Email: feuerwehr@duesseldorf.de

Time

Tourist offices

There can be special opening times during major trade fairs. Please phone us for details.

Tourist Information Office Altstadt (Old Town)
Marktstraße/corner Rheinstraße

T: +49 211 17 202-840

Fax: +49 211/17 202-9310
Opening hours
: Monday–Sunday:
10:00–18:00

They also set up shop at the airport and at the trade-fair centre during major trade fairs. Exchange AG, located at the Tourist Information at central station, is available as our partner for currency transactions.

In addition to the Tourist Information Offices, our partner, "Presse Pavillon" on the Königsallee, also provides a selection of tourist brochures and sells the DüsseldorfCard along with a selection of Düsseldorf souvenirs.

Average weather

The warm season lasts from May 27 to September 3, The cold season lasts from November 28 to February 29

What's the best time to travel to Düsseldorf in Germany? Here are some facts:
The months June, July and August have a nice average temperature.
On average, the warmest month is August.
On average, the coolest month is January.
July is the wettest month.
April is the driest month.