The City em Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf – a successful combination of traditions and trends, a city of five seasons: during the “foolish season”, i.e. carnival time, the city bubbles over with sheer zest for life. The city pulsates, it is palpable everywhere. Above all in the Altstadt (Old Town), the legendary square kilometre on the banks of the Rhine with its around 260 restaurants and inns, pubs, rustic breweries and cafés, which earned it the name “the longest bar in the world”. This is the home of the Altbier. Nowhere else does this topbrewed beer taste as delicious as at the historic microbreweries. But the Altstadt (Old Town) is more than that: quiet lanes with cobblestones, the old palace tower saluting the ships passing by, the twisted spire of St. Lambertus church leaving its observer puzzled, and the splendid old private houses, a reminder of past glamour. A visit to the Altstadt is also an absolute must for art and culture lovers. The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, which shows 20th century painting, the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf/Duisburg (both on Heinrich-Heine-Allee), the Kunsthalle (Grabbeplatz), Kunstakademie, Tonhalle and Ehrenhof (all on the Rhine embankment) are major elements of Düsseldorf’s art axis. The Rhine embankment promenade has drawn the city close to the Rhine again, it is an invitation to stroll and relax. The promenade leads all the way to where the city’s creative brains are at home, the MedienHafen. A feast for lovers of architecture: Ancient railway lines listed for preservation form an exciting contrast with the glass palaces of the present. Trendy bars, clubs and restaurants complete the ensemble. Night owls are able to choose between noble clubs on the “Kö”, dancing the night away at the ultramodern MedienHafen or on former shop floors in the district of Lierenfeld. “Ratinger Straße” in the Altstadt (Old Town) is hip – the whole road is one big open-air party in summer.