Dusseldorf Mini Guide
The western German city of Dusseldorf is the capital of the North Rhine Westphalia state. Taking a walk along the Rhine promenade is a good way to get your bearings there.
Once you get to the Media Harbour you can climb the Rhine Tower for spectacular views. There is even a restaurant, though you end up having to pay for the view as well as the food if you eat there. The Media Harbour itself has some great architecture including buildings built by the legendary Frank Gehry.
Another place to enjoy being outside is Benrath Palace and Park which houses a stunning Rococo palace within the beautiful gardens. If you have a family a carnival which is held along the Rhine annually has good roller coasters and is an entertaining place to take children. Cheaper entry to many of the attractions can be gained with a Dusseldorf Welcome card costing 9 euros for an individual and 18 euros for a family. Details can be found on www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de.
The Rhine-Ruhr area is very densely populated with more than 10 million residents. Accordingly Dusseldorf is bustling and busy with many events put on and a great night life. A good place in which to experience this night life is the old city (altstadt) which is teeming with bars and pubs amidst some beautiful scenery. This includes the castle tower, which is known as the Schlossturm, and St. Andreas Church.
The altstadt has quite a few breweries too so beer drinkers are sure to enjoy the experience. You will even get given a bottle of old beer if you take a tour of the breweries and this makes a good gift to bring back home. If you are not a beer drinker you could sample the local Killepitsch which is made from many fruits and herbs and is a blood red liquor.
Arriving, you are likely to be flying into Dusseldorf International Airport, which has connections with many world wide cities. From there hiring a Rhino rental car makes sense as getting a taxi to the city centre is expensive. Alternatively you may wish to fly into
Cologne Bonn Airport and pick up your Rhino rental car there in order to make the one hour journey into the centre of town.
Any of the following highways will take you to Dusseldorf: the A57 (via Neuss), the A44, A52, A3, A46 and A59. If you like museums then you should find out when the annual night of the museums is held. It is organised by accountancy firm Ernst and Young and they should be contacted for details.