Düsseldorf - you'll love it! |
 24 votes |
When foreign people think of German cities, most of them think of cities like Berlin, Hamburg, Munich ... But nowadays, more and more people realize, that there is a very special city at the edge of the Ruhr-Region: Düsseldorf! Düsseldorf is the communal portal of the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia. At the moment, it has more or less 600.000 residents and a range of 217 square kilometres. The people in this city are very friendly, helpfull and 'social beings'. Düsseldorf is well known as a 'fair-city' and for its wild carnival.
Düsseldorf is directly situated at the river Rhine. But the city got its name from another, smaller river: the Düssel. So the name Düsseldorf means: village at the river Düssel. That (village) again, people from cologne (only a half hour drive away) like very much – but I’m going to tell about that story later.
Pictures No. 1 + 3 in this Report are from 'Bildarchiv Stadt Düsseldorf'
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| Favourite spots: |
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Lets start with the Königsallee, called ‘Kö’, that belongs to the small group of world famous boulevards. Here, you find all the international well-known, exquisite fashion designers, expensive jewelleries ... On the Kö condenses the rhythm of the town to self-projection; you can continuously see productions without script. But don't be afraid if your credit card doesn't like boulevards like this - just around the corner you find the Shadowstraße, one of the shopping-streets in Germany with the most turnover. The traditional 'Kö' has recently acquired a new companion promenade, two kilometres long. With the construction of the new Rhine embankment tunnel, the Altstadt (Old Town) has come back to its traditional place by the Rhine. While the traffic races along underground, strollers on the Rhine embankment promenade breathtaking outlook on the Rhine and the art nouveau facades of Oberkassel. The view embraces the Rhine tower and the North-Rhine Westphalian government building.
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| What's really great: |
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From the Rhine tower you have a bird's-eye perspective of the city, the countryside, the river ..., and on a clear day you can even see the towers of Cologne cathedral. In direct vicinity, there is the 'media harbour', where you can find arts, communication, creativity and spectacular architecture. Here, you can also find a lot of restaurants and bars - at night it is the most popular 'party-zone' of town at the moment. The most impressive sight being the 'Frank O. Gehry buildings' and the new 'City gate' office building. Between Rhine promenade and 'Kö' you find the famous Old Town. It starts at the Rhine with the Burgplatz, which has received an award as one of the finest post-war German squares, opens up to the Rhine with the old castle tower, within whose walls 2000 years of navigation romance are presented. The Old-Town is the old quarter of the city. With its 260 cosy pubs and home-brew taverns it is well known as 'the longest bar in the world'!
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| Sights: |
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State Parliament of North-Rhine Westphalia
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In Düsseldorf you can find famous museums like the Kunstsammlung Nordrheinwestfalen, one of the most prestigious modern art museums. Have a look at www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de for all the other museums
Landtag (North-Rhine Westphalia's state parliament): Spectacular round building on the bank of the Rhine
Aqua Zoo in the Nordpark, the living museum
Church St. Andreas in the Old Town, a jewel of baroque buildings
House where Heinrich Heine was born, in the Old Town
Schloss Benrath: one of the most beautiful surviving examples of Rococo architecture
Kaiserswerth: Historical city quarter, ruins of the 12C Barbarossa Palace
EKO House of Japanese Culture: Traditional Japanese wooden architecture with temple complex, bell tower and Japanese garden
Hofgarten: Germany's oldest public park, in the city centre
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You see a part of the Rhine-Promenade
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Have a look at www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de - there you’ll find an accommodation guide
Kastens Hotel, Jürgensplatz 52, Tel.: 0211/30 25 0, www.kastens-hotel.de, (from here it is just a short walk downtown)
Youth-Hostel Düsseldorf, Düsseldorferstr. 1, Tel.: 0211/55 73 10,
It's situated directly at the Rhine and has been built completely new in 2007.
http://www.jugendherberge.de/jh/rheinlan-d/duesseldorf/index.shtml.en
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| Restaurants: |
In Düsseldorf they brew a very special beer, the Altbeer. Don’t miss to taste the beer of the home-breweries Uerige, Schumacher and Füchschen – they are among the best beers of the world! There, you also can get tasty homemade, regional food.
Brauerei Uerige, Bergerstr. 1, Tel.: 0211/8 66 99 0, www.uerige.de (german + english)
Brauerei Schumacher, Oststr. 123, Tel. 0211/ 32 60 04; also Im Goldenen Kessel, Bolkerstr. 44, Tel. 0211/ 32 60 07, www.schumacher-alt.de
Brauerei Im Füchschen, Ratinger Str. 28, Tel. 0211/13 74 74, www.fuechschen.de
In Düsseldorf you can find all kinds of restaurants; just look around.
Only two more recommendations:
Italian: Trattoria Luigi, Jahnstr. 57, Tel.: 0211/37 36 92 (a little bit expensive, 30 minutes to walk from downtown)
International: Zum Trompeter, Fürstenwall 66 b, Tel.: 0211/39 36 98, www.zum-trompeter.de, (20 minutes to walk from downtown
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| Other recommendations: |
If you are in Düsseldorf in wintertime and you are interested in sports, don’t miss to watch an ice-hockey match of the DEG Metro Stars. I would recommend you to be in the stadium minimum 90 Minutes before the game starts. Have a beer, enjoy the atmosphere of a stadium being more and more filled and later the match and the enthusiastic fans around you!
Every July the ‘largest fare at Rhine’ takes place at the Rhine-meadow opposite the old town. There, you can find roller coasters, roundabouts, a boxing ring, snack booths and beer tents. It is far from beeing as big as the Oktoberfest in Munich, but big enough and much more personal. And, it is not only me who thinks that the beer is much better. Have fun!!
People from Düsseldorf and Cologne people don’t like each other. That is a very old story. They make a lot of (rough) jokes about each other. They don’t serve the others anything right. If Düsseldorfer and Cologne sport teams fight each other it is always very emotional, especially if ice-hockey is concerned! But I am sure something would be missing without this rivalry. There is just one thing: It is not possible to drink beer from Cologne. Please believe me although I was born in Düsseldorf!
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Published on Sunday November 2th, 2003 by christianj.
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