Home to pioneering bands such as NEU! and Kraftwerk — as well as Germany’s finest contemporary artists including Joseph Beuys and Gerhard Richter — Düsseldorf brims with creative energy alongside its seven centuries of history.
Although the heart of this Rhineside city was damaged during the Second World War, a core of the old town’s buildings and cobbled lanes remains on the east bank, flanked by picturesque neighbourhoods such as medieval Kaiserswerth and art nouveau Oberkassel. The former port area, meanwhile, has risen from wartime ruins to become a thriving new quarter teeming with modernist architecture. You’ll still find sheep grazing on the banks of the river at Oberkassel while futuristic edifices designed by Frank Gehry and Renzo Piano rise on the other.
Yet, no neighbourhood embodies Düsseldorf’s DNA better than Flingern, east of the main station, where mid-century design shops mix with eye-popping street art and legendary punk-rock music clubs such as AK47 offer a contrast to chandeliered gin bars.
The famous Uerige Obergarige Hausbrauerei in the old town
ALAMY
Day one
Morning: Sound of Düsseldorf walking tour
Lunch: Kushitei
Afternoon: Schloss Benrath
Drink: Bar M168
Evening: Explore MedienHafen
Dinner: Lido Hafen
Day two
Morning: Visit the Kaiserswerth district
Lunch: Galerie Burghof
Afternoon: Museum Kunstpalast and Sammlung Philara
Drink: Uerige
Evening: Hofgarten
Dinner: Ham Ham
Spring blooms in the French Garden at Schloss Benrath
ALAMY
What to do
• During his uber-cool “Berlin years”, David Bowie hit Düsseldorf to delve into a music scene that spawned the 1970s electronic and punk innovators. Explore that musical maelstrom on a two-and-a-half-hour Sound of Düsseldorf walking tour, led by the musicologist Michael Wenzel through the centre of town, with gossipy insights plus tips on today’s cultural hangouts (£13; visitduesseldorf.de).
• Take the half-hour U-bahn ride (U71/83) from Benrather Strasse to the Barbie-pink Schloss Benrath baroque palace. Make time for its intriguing Museum of Garden Art and formal gardens, plus a tranquil inner courtyard scented by lemon trees (£12; schloss-benrath.de).
• MedienHafen shows how to transform an old port area into an exciting walkabout hub, with galleries and bars in renovated warehouses and Insta-magic, postmodern edifices. Standouts include Frank Gehry’s artfully twisted Neuer Zollhof, and Roggendorf House, quirkily covered with colourful figures apparently climbing its front, by the German artist Rosalie.
• Düsseldorf’s most beguiling enclave of ancient stonework is the villagey Kaiserswerth, where cobbled, boutique-lined lanes and colourful baroque houses frame a leafy café-lined main platz — complemented by the medieval castle ruins of the Kaiserpfalz (Imperial Palace).
• Time for a gallery fest. Contrast the pulse-quickening In Orbit experience at K21 — where you play in a web of steel, hanging four storeys above a dizzying atrium — with the Museum Kunstpalast, Düsseldorf’s answer to London’s V&A, which offers collections from Roman glass to German expressionist canvases (£8; kunstpalast.de). Don’t miss its KristallBar café, dominated by a towering living installation from the Swiss artists Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger.
• For contemporary art head to Sammlung Philara in Flingern, recast from a former glassworks factory. When you’ve had your fill of zeitgeisty German artists and exhibits such as Justin Lowe and Jonah Freeman’s multi-room installation Artichoke Underground, head to the rooftop sculpture garden (free; philara.de).
• Head for the 18th-century Hofgarten — Germany’s oldest public park — to potter among ornamental lakes, glades and meadows. Then stroll to the nearby Rhine promenade for a sundowner from one of the many riverside spots that mean the area’s earned its “world’s longest bar” moniker. Look out for free weekend art events and performances under the Oberkasseler bridge.
Where to eat and drink
Kushitei of Tokyo
In the home of Germany’s largest Japanese community, grab a seat by the open kitchen at Kushitei for sizzling skewers of wagyu, eel or slabs of tuna. You’ll find good ramen and sashimi too (small plates from £5; @kushiteiduesseldorf).
A bowl of ramen at Kushitei
Bar M168
At the bar and restaurant in the pointy peak of the Rheinturm — the telecoms tower that soars 240m above the Rhine — the cocktails really do come with a spinning room, as the whole caboodle rotates on its axis every 72 minutes. Expect grandstand views of both the old town and futuristic harbour — you’ll see as far south as Cologne Cathedral (cocktails from £10; rheinturm.de).
Lido Hafen
Channel Succession vibes at this swanky glass-cube restaurant surrounded by water in the middle of the pedestrianised Living Bridge. Luxe ingredients get novel spins: rabbit with langoustine, lobster in salt butter with leeks, quail confit with turnip and sherry vinegar (mains from £24; lido1960.de/hafen).
Galerie Burghof
This riverside beer garden by the Kaiserpfalz offers traditional German classics: white sausages with sweet mustard, savoury Alsatian pancakes, goulash spaetzle (noodles) cooked in the local tangy altbier (plates from £4; galerie-burghof.de).
Pork goulash with spaetzle
GETTY IMAGES
Uerige
Sup Düsseldorf’s celebrated altbier (a Teutonic take on British ale) in wood-panelled historic style at this 19th-century brewery pub. Be aware waiters will keep bringing fresh glasses when you finish unless you put a beer mat over the top (drinks from £2.50; uerige.de).
Ham Ham
The pork knuckle (schweinshaxe) and crispy pork rolls (schweinebrotchen) at Ham Ham are as much Düsseldorf icons as the local football team Fortuna — no surprise, as the gaff is overseen by the ex-Fortuna star Marinko Miletic (dishes from £5; hamham-duesseldorf.de).
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Where to stay
Hotel Friends
Budget boho cool
The characterful vintage decor downstairs at this low-cost stay reflects a vibe that’s continued in the individually themed rooms from “Punk” to “Sherlock Holmes”. The hotel’s arts space next door continues the creative theme with exhibitions, gigs by local bands and weekend club nights. Breakfast surrounded by retro vintage furniture and posters sets you up nicely to hit the streets (B&B doubles from £65; hotel-friends-dusseldorf.h-rez.com).
Hotel Henri
Convenience with retro dash
Don’t be put off by its location at a crossroads near the Pempelfort and Wehrhahn U-bahn stops — that makes it handy for the airport trains. Once inside this snazzily repurposed former office building, laidback tranquillity rules courtesy of a palette of 1960s and 1970s design touches: psychedelic soft furnishings, wood panelling above purple bedspreads and garish red push-button phones for room service. A secluded courtyard provides a quiet breakfast spot (B&B doubles from £95; henri-hotels.com).
Villa Achenbach
Period style by a hip neighbourhood
Handily placed for Flingern, trains and the metro, this 1907 villa has period style, from four-poster beds to 19th-century mahogany furniture. Breakfasts are served overlooking a secluded garden (blessed with a terrace and conservatory), while guests also benefit from a complimentary travel card covering all public transport for the duration of their stay (B&B doubles from £120; villa-achenbach.de).
In orbit by Tomás Saraceno
STUDIO TOMAS SARACENO
Getting there
Flights from London (Heathrow and City), Birmingham, Newcastle, Manchester and Edinburgh take 70-90 minutes. The airport is five miles from the city centre and the S11 train runs from the arrival terminal to Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof in 20 minutes.
Getting around
A superb metro and tram network zips visitors around, earning Düsseldorf the tag of the “ten-minute city” for the time it takes to get almost anywhere. A Düsseldorf Card offers access to public transport and discounted or free entry to many museums (from £11 for 24 hours; visitduesseldorf.de).
Norman Miller was a guest of Visit Düsseldorf (duesseldorf-tourismus.de)
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