Travel Guide Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf – a modern, traditional & international city

The “Rheinmetropole” Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf is the capital of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia. With its 600.000 inhabitants, it is the second largest city of the state. It lies at the center of the Rhineland Metropolitan Region, making it a highly important economic sector. Furthermore, Düsseldorf is the home of many different universities and higher educational institutions like the “Kunstakademie” and the “Heinrich-Heine-Universität”, hosting over 46.000 students.

Culture, leisure and festivals

Culture and leisure: Düsseldorf offers a wide range of culture and leisure opportunities, which is especially attractive to a younger audience. Namely, in terms of culture and arts, it is one of Germany’s most important cities. Besides the Goethe-Museum-Düsseldorf, which is one of the three representative Goethe museums in Germany, you can find many other exhibitions and museums all over Düsseldorf.

No matter what music interests you the most, concert halls like the “Tonhalle” are hosting international stars on a regular basis. If you are interested in arts, you will find your ideal program in the many art exhibitions of the city of Düsseldorf.

Besides the traditional culture that is present at the Rhineland Region, the art and the music culture, you will encounter modern architecture, which is a trademark of the city of Düsseldorf. The dock area of Düsseldorf, “Düsseldorf-Hafen” or “Rheinhafen”, is marked by a skyline of modern buildings, designed by the American architect Frank O. Gehry. They contrast the more traditional cityscape of the old city with their wave-like geometry and are one of the most important trademarks of Düsseldorf.

Carnival, in February-March: Düsseldorf, apart from Cologne, is the most important city in Germany, when it comes to carnival festivities. In North Rhine-Westphalia, carnival is an important festival and is most strongly celebrated here, compared to the rest of Germany. During the festival season, kids and adults dress up as characters from fiction or history, enjoying the many public parades that take place in the city and its surroundings.

Japan Day, in May: Düsseldorf is the home of the largest Japanese community in Germany, being the only city that has its own Japan-town. With over 600.000 visitors, the Japan Day is celebrated annually in Düsseldorf. Similar to carnival, it is a festival of music and dressing up, in this case as your favorite anime/manga character (cosplay). From calligraphy lessons to traditional Japanese food, to martial arts performances, you can be part of a wide variety of activities. The highlight of the Japan Day are the huge fireworks, closing the celebration.

Christmas markets: In winter, visiting a Christmas market is an obligatory leisure activity for every German. Düsseldorf offers many different Christmas markets, all of them differ a little bit from each other. The traditionally designed stalls offer hot drinks, cookies, traditional foods but also jewelry, decoration and much more.

Shopping and food

Food and restaurants: Düsseldorf offers you uncountable possibilities of experiencing international foods at very authentic and high quality. Nonetheless, you can experience the wide range of German traditional cuisine in the many brewery houses of Düsseldorf, which are liked by tourists and the inhabitants of Düsseldorf equally.

Shopping: Shopping in Düsseldorf means stylish and exclusive, but also modern and alternative. The most popular shopping district of Düsseldorf can be found near the Königsallee, the long and classical boulevard, with exclusive shops like Prada, Louis Vuitton and many more.