Dress to impress and make your way to Düsseldorf, Germany’s art and fashion capital. Once a series of sleepy villages on the Rhine (“dorf” literally means village), the city has turned into one of Germany’s most important international cultural destinations – here you’ll find a plethora of incredible architecture, attractions, shopping and museums. Despite the massive growth, Düsseldorf has managed to maintain the charm of its original provincial feel. It helps that the city still isn’t yet considered a major tourist destination – explore and use this time to your advantage!

 

Friday Evening

Altstadt

Image credit: duesseldorf.de

Known as “the longest bar in the world”, the Altstadt or Old Town is the place to be on a Friday. Altstadt is a charming, yet crowded, area with cobblestone streets and more traditional architecture. Stay here if you’re looking for nightlife as the area becomes loud, bold and boisterous when the sun goes down. During the evening, however, is the ideal time to take a deep breath and sample some of the local speciality beer, altbier. Düsseldorf’s beer is a moderately bitter, deep amber brew and there a plenty of historic breweries along the world’s longest bar to try out different variations.   

 

Rhine Promenade

Image credit: duesseldorf.de

Walk your beer-induced haze off along the Rhine Promenade. Not only will you get to enjoy exquisite views of the Rhine, Altstadt and the region across the river, but gain a greater sense of the culture. Here you can find public salsa classes, busking artists and singers, and plenty of food to nosh. There are also boat and Segway tours if you would prefer to not walk and see the Rhine from a different perspective. 

 

Friday Night

Rheinturm telecommunications tower

Image credit: rheinturm.de

With no distinguishable downtown area, Düsseldorf life revolves around the Rheinturm telecommunications tower. So, to gain your bearings, head to the viewing deck at the top of the tower.

While you’re up there, celebrate your travels with a drink or two at Bar & Lounge M 168. The sleekly designed bar gets its name from its location 168 metres above the city. There you will get to enjoy one of the best views of Düsseldorf from the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows. Maybe see if you can spot your hotel while you’re sipping on some finely crafted cocktails.

 

Saturday Morning

The Shops of Königsallee

Image credit: Kürschner/Wikimedia Commons

Move over Paris! When you’re going to the fashion capital of Germany, shopping is a must. After breakfast, take a walk down Königsallee, known affectionally as Kö to the locals. Divided by a canal and lined with chestnut-trees, this one-kilometre long shopping street and promenade is the most-visited luxury stretch of retailers in all of Germany. All the major designers and labels can be found here. 

 

 

Carlsplatz Market

Image credit: carlsplatz-markt.de

If you’re not too shopped out from Kö, head to Carlsplatz Market. Here, however, your shopping will consist of fresh produce rather than luxury wear – great if you’re hungry or don’t have food provided at your accommodation. The plentiful stalls sell everything from fruits and vegetables, fish, meat, and flowers, to cheese and wine. For the best coffee in town search for KaffeeReich. This café roasts their own beans on site!

 

Saturday Afternoon

Lunch at Zum Schiffchen

Image credit: brauerei-zum-schiffchen.de

Eat in the footsteps of Napoleon, who once referred to Düsseldorf as “little Paris”, and find yourself at Zum Schiffchen, the city’s oldest restaurant. Its first recorded mention was in 1628! 

A massive brewhouse that seats over 100 patrons, Zum Schiffchen features everything you would expect of a German establishment – a huge outdoor beer garden, schnitzel, pork knuckle and altbier. With its long communal tables, wood panelling and touches of mahogany, you might feel like you’re in the belly of a ship, which, is appropriate considering the restaurant’s name translates to “To the Ship”.

 

Schloss Benrath

Image credit: Peter H on Pixabay

After lunch, venture away from the Rhine and head south to Schloss Benrath, a Baroque-style summer palace originally built for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore (a high-level German official) who ultimately only visited the palace once. Schloss Benrath is considered one of Düsseldorf’s most important architectural works of art with its 148 acres of landscaped gardens and elegant rooms. The palace took the architect and builders nearly 20 years to finish! The pink building is also one of Bavaria’s most beautiful and well-preserved castles. Much of the furniture is still original to the palace! The wings of the palace are now two museums, but the gardens are the real gems.   

 

Saturday Evening 

Pre-dinner drinks at Pardo’s Bar

Image credit: kunstsammlung.de

If you’re in the mood for something a bit different for your Saturday evening, Pardo Bar is the place to be. The bar isn’t so much a bar as it is an art installation. It’s part of Düsseldorf’s contemporary art museum K21! Within a beautiful space of the museum, it features high ceilings, lots of light, huge mirrors and bold colours. There’s a great selection of drinks as well as outdoor space to take advantage of if the weather is good. Do note, however, that Pardo closes at 6 PM so you will need to go early. 

If a pre-dinner drink doesn’t sound good to you, Pardo serves excellent coffee!

 

Dinner at Fritz’s Frau Franzi

Image credit: fritzs-frau-franzi.de

Within the Fritz Hotel in the centre of Düsseldorf lies Michelin star restaurant, Fritz’s Frau Franzi. Its dishes of locally-sourced small plates varies from season to season, and the restaurant touts itself as a “world kitchen with an experimental touch”. Fritz’s Frau Franzi is open for all three main meals, but you really want to eat here for dinner. In the evenings the atmosphere is absolutely buzzing, and the extensive wine list and signature cocktails will make you want to stay for hours.  

 

Saturday Night

Beuys Bar

Image credit: beuys-bar.com

On a Saturday Night, for some avant-garde fun, head to Beuys Bar – named for the contemporary German performance artist Joseph Beuys. The bar has a rather expansive menu of drinks that range from retro classic to tiki. As well, the bartenders have created a list of experimental cocktails that are unconventional yet delicious. Beyond the drinks, Beuys is known for spontaneously hosting events – they’ll put together events whenever the mood strikes! Maybe you will get lucky and enjoy a bit of a show!  

 

Sunday Morning

Oberkassel

Image credit: Jula2812/Wikimedia Commons

Although most of the city’s original buildings and architecture was destroyed in World War II, there are a few neighbourhoods within Düsseldorf where the old-world architecture remains prominent. To get an understanding of what the city once looked like head across the river to Oberkassel. In this district, you can wander among the ornamental Art Nouveau style buildings and imagine what used to be.

 

Little Tokyo

Image credit: nagaya.de

Surprise! Düsseldorf has a strong Japanese community. The enclave of “Little Tokyo on the Rhine” is home to one of the largest Japanese communities in Europe. So, for a little something different, take a deep dive into German-Japanese culture. In particular, the shops of Kyoto and Takagi are favourite institutions of those looking for Japanese wares. 

If you get hungry as you peruse the shops in this section of Düsseldorf, try out the Michelin star Japanese restaurants of Nagaya and Yoshi by Nagaya. Separated by only a few blocks, Nagaya is the upscale sister of Yoshi, which, tends to draw a trendier crowd. 

 

Sunday Afternoon

K20 & K21

Image credit: kunstsammlung.de

There are a plethora of world-class museums in Düsseldorf to choose from! 26 of them to be exact! One of the best ones to explore if you have limited time is at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. Don’t worry if that’s a mouthful to say, as the museum is quite simply referred to as K20. The museum is home to a rather stellar collection of 20th-century masterpieces from the likes of Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollack, as well as famed German artist Joseph Beuys. 

If 20th century doesn’t sound quite like your kind of thing, wander over to K20’s sister museum K21. This museum focuses more on contemporary art with five levels of paintings, photography, videos and installations. The major highlight of K21 is an enormous steel web that you can climb!

 

Hofgarten

Image credit: d uesseldorf.de

Exhausted from your full weekend of touring? Go enjoy some fresh air, a stroll or maybe just a nap in the tranquil greenery of Hofgarten in the heart of Düsseldorf. Spanning almost 70 acres, Hofgarten is Germany’s first and oldest park! The park mixes a variety of landscapes from formal French gardens to expansive meadows. If you’re looking to view more art, don’t miss out on the park’s many modern sculptures. A favourite spot for park-goers is the “fairytale fountain” created by French sculptor Max Blondat in 1904. The sculpture shows three children sitting together, looking at three frogs.

 

A few tips before you go

Dress to the Nines

As one of Germany’s wealthiest and most fashion-conscious cities, there is an unwritten dress code in many establishments. Don’t risk getting turned away at the door of that Michelin star restaurant by showing up in flip-flops and torn jeans. 

Get an Art:Card

Düsseldorf is all about the arts, and the city wants to make it easy for you to enjoy its museums. If you’re looking to spend time in some of the museums, head to the Tourist Office and grab an “Art:Card”. The card will grant you access to most of the city’s 26 museums for a year! Also, remember that most museums are closed on Mondays. 

Cash is King

Germans aren’t big on debt and with that, credit cards. Few taxis, pubs and restaurants accept credit or debit cards, and even fewer will accept mobile pay. Make sure to keep cash handy!