Düsseldorf City Guide
Eating
Budget: Zum Schiffchen (Hafenstrasse 5, 0211 / 132) Located near the river
in the heart of Altstadt. This restaurant offers good sized portions of traditional
German cuisine at competitive prices. The décor is rustic and the
atmosphere is buzzing!
Mid-range: Top 180 Restaurant (Stromstrasse 20,
0211/848558) Situated on the top floor of Düsseldorf’s tallest
building at 172m, the restaurant revolves very slowly allowing fantastic
views across the city centre. The food is varied with several German & International
style dishes. The menu focuses on seasonal ingredients and also has some
good vegetarian options. De’Medici (Oberkassel, 0211/594151), a popular
French/Italian restaurant. Known for its excellent, creative dishes and pleasant
staff this place is very popular so be sure to book ahead!
Luxury: Im Schiffchen (Kaiserwerth, 0211/403667) Im Schiffchen offers
some of the finest cuisine to be found on the Rhine. The ingredients are
of a superbly high standard. Some of the best dishes include the gooseliver
pâté and the exquisite fruit mélange dessert. The menu
is updated on a regular basis. Victorian Restaurant (Königstrasse 3A,
0211/8655020), a wonderfully presented banquet style establishment. Serving
a fusion of International and Continental food in both traditional and modern
styles. Prices are relatively high but the dishes certainly reflect that
in their quality.
Drinking
The main
area to visit for nightlife is Altstadt, located between the Königsallee
and the Rhine River it’s a large collection of narrow streets and alleyways.
With over 200 traditional taverns and numerous restaurants, nightclubs and
bars there is plenty to keep you entertained. Don’t forget to try Dusseldorf’s
most famous drink, Altbier, a very dark sweet ale!
Bräuerei Schumacher (Oststrasse 123) is extremely popular and proclaims
to be the oldest brewery-bar in the city. It’s always busy and is open
late into the night at the weekend. Bräuerei zum Uel (Rattingerstrasse
16) is another popular haunt, particularly with students due to it’s
wide range of house beers. To mix with the media crowd in contemporary surroundings
head down to Hafenbar in the media harbour. Baby Love (Kurzestrasse) is a
modern, chic bar attracting a young and trendy crowd. It’s a good place
to start your night out! The Front Page bar (Manesmannufer, 9) is a fashionable
retro style bar offering live music with rat pack style sounds. If live music
is your thing you might also like to try McLauglin’s Irish Pub (Kurzestrasse,
11) which as you’d expect serves traditional Irish food and drink with
plenty of live Irish bands.
Things to See & Do
Kunstmuseam Dusseldorf (Ehrenhof 5, €6.5 adults, €4.5 children):
This museum houses a very large collection of art spanning from the late
middle ages to the 20th Century. The exhibition includes thousands of paintings,
drawings, ceramics and textiles.
K20 (Kunstsammlung Nordhrein – Wetfalen, €6.5 adults, €4.5
children): This museum is located in a stunning black glass building on Grabbeplatz
5, the K20 has a good selection of modern art including an excellent surrealism
collection and over 100 pieces by Paul Klee.
K21: The second division of the K20. On show are various pieces spanning
from 1980 up until the present day. This is widely recognised as a museum
for the future, with various paintings, photography and film on show.
Altstadt Area: Dusseldorf’s old town centre is well worth visiting
for its architecture including the baroque church of St Andrews and the Gothic
Basilica of St Lambertus. There are also hundreds of bars and restaurants
and boutique style shops to keep you entertained.
Rheinuferpromenade (Media Harbour) : Considered by many to be the creative
centre of the city, the Media Harbour offers some interesting and distinctly
modern architecture and is home to many of Düsseldorf’s creative
industry offices. There are also plenty of trendy bars in the area!
Shopping
Fashionista’s
won’t be disappointed in Düsseldorf! It’s
a shopping haven for high fashion and designer trends. If you have money
to spend head towards the East of Königsallee which boasts the Kö Galerie
and the Kö Center. Both stores specialise in designer fashions and haute
couture and contain over 100 stores. If your budget doesn’t quite stretch
that far you might want to head to Schadow Arcade (off Schadowplatz) which
offers some of the more accessible designer brands.
Beyond the City
Düsseldorf
aiport offers 350 direct rail connections across Germany opening up a wealth
of interesting towns and cities to you.
Cologne is just 35 minutes away by train, it offers fantastic architecture
and sightseeing combined with excellent shopping and buzzing nightlife. Dortmund,
recently dubbed Germany’s green metropolis is just 40 minutes away
and the business destination of Essen is just 25 minutes by rail.
For something closer to the city you could visit the village of Benrath
a fifteen minute journey away, it offers a Baroque-style castle and some
lovely tranquil gardens.
Key Phrases
Hello - Hallo
Goodbye - Auf Wiedersehen
Yes - Ja
No - Nein
Please - Bitte
Thankyou - Danke
Excuse me - Entschuldigen Sie bitte or simple
Entschuldigung
Do you speak English? - Sprechen Sie Englisch
I don’t understand - Ich vestehe nichts
Where is the ... - Wo ist ....?
Train Station - Bahnhof
Tram/Bus stop - Strassenbahn-/ Bushaltestelle
Bank - Bank
Tourist Office - Reisebüro
What time does the train leave? - Wann fährt
der Zug ab?
I’d like a single/return ticket -
Ich hätte gern eine Fahrschein für die einfache Strecke /
hin und zurück
Do you have any rooms available? - Ist bei
Ihnen ein Zimmer frei?
How much is it? - Was kostet das?
I need a doctor - Ich brauche einen Arzt
What time is it? - Wie viel Uhr ist es?
Call the police/an ambulance - Rufen Sie die Polizei / einen Krankenwagen
Click here for our lowest fares...
Click here for cheap flights to Dusseldorf from Leeds Bradford