Düsseldorf

Introduction

Düsseldorf

© robsie

Düsseldorf is the capital of the Northrhine-Westfalia area with a population of about 500,000 people. Early 7th and 8th century fishing villages existed along the Rhine River where the city of Düsseldorf is today. The first written mention of the city can be dated back to the 12th century and it slowly grew into an important European city. In 1380 Düsseldorf was made into the regional capital of the Duchy of Berg. In the mid 19th century the city grew into a major industrial center because of the Industrial Revolution. Because of World War II the city was bombed into a pile of rubble because of 24 hour air raids. Düsseldorf quickly grew into a major economic power house and some of the cities trade fairs attract over 4 million visitors each year.

Neighbourhoods

With 10 districts and 48 boroughs this German city is very large.

Sights and Activities

Sports

• Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 is the local football team and they play at the Esprit Arena, which opened in 2005 (then called the LTU Arena).
• DEG Metro Stars is the local ice hockey team and they play at the ISS-Dome.
• Düsseldorf Panther are the local American Football team.

Museums

• Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum (Aquarium and Zoological Museum)
• Forum NRW is a nice museum dedicated to Industry and the economy with a constantly changing exhibits.
• Goethe Museum.
• Heinrich-Heine-Institut.
• Kunsthalle Düsseldorf.
• Kunstsammlung Nordrhein Westfalen is a massive art museum in two buildings. One building is dedicated to 20th century art and the other to 21st century art.
• Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen.
• Kunst Palast is an art museum with a huge collection that has pieces from the 3rd century BC to the present.
• Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf is the city history museum.
• Schloss und Park Benrath (Museum of European Garden Design).

Other Sights and Activities

• Rheinturm, this 240.5 m high concrete TV tower was built between 1979 and 1981. The Rheinturm is the worlds biggest digital clock.
• Deutsche Oper am Rhein is a very nice opera house that was rebuilt in 1950.
• Kom(m)ödchen, watch out some political theme cabaret at this theatre.
• Tonhalle Düsseldorf is a nice jazz, classical, and pop music theatre.
• Gerresheim Basilica.
• St. Suitbertus Basilica.

Events and Festivals

• Düsseldorfer Karneval is the largest cultural event of the year in the city and starts on the November 11 at 11:11am. It finishes with a weekend of carnival celebrations, including a children's parade on Saturday (where candy and chocolate are thrown to the crowd), the Karneval Day on Sunday and then a big parade on Rosenmonntag, which is the Monday before Shrove Tuesday and the beginning of Lent. Fancy costumes are the apparel of choice for young and old. Beer is flows freely and there are food stalls everywhere, and a fantastic atmosphere.
• Düsseldorfer Fischmarkt - A stretch along the Rhine Waterfront is transformed 8 times a year (from March to November) on a Sunday into a fish focussed market, but there are lots of other delicious treats (cheeses, olives, meats, bread, poffertjes, etc) from around Europe, as well as wines and beers. There are also a number of stalls selling handcrafts, jewellery and seasonal flowers. Fabulous party atmosphere, just hope for a sunny day. Dates are included on the website. Address: Tonhalleufer - along the Rhine, opposite the Tonhalle
• Christmas Markets - Most open spaces (like courtyards and town squares) are transformed at the end of November into magical Christmas villages, with amazing handcrafts, decorations and foods for sale. Each market has it's own theme and is stunningly decorated. Because it gets dark early, it is truly magical with fairy lights and candles everywhere. The social atmosphere is charged with goodwill and happiness. The Glühwein and Reibekuchen (potato pancakes) are a staple.

Weather

Like the rest of the lower Rhineland, Düsseldorf experiences moderate winters with little snowfall and mild to warm summers. The average annual temperature is 10.6 °C with an average yearly precipitation of 797 millimetres.

Getting There

By Plane

Düsseldorf International Airport (DUS) is a large airport with over 17.8 million passengers each year. The airport is located 9 kilometres from the city centre of Düsseldorf and is the major airport for the entire area. It is possible to reach the airport by the high speed Intercity Express train from any city in the area.

Airport Weeze is often refered to Düsseldorf as well and offers quite a few budget flights. Ryanair has many flights to European destinations. But note that this airport is not very near to Düsseldorf. Getting there, or getting to Düsseldorf from there, by shuttlebus takes 1.30 hours.

By Train

Being located on the Deutsche Bahn railway network the cities central train station handles over one thousand trains a day. The train station is located in the city centre at Konrad-Adenauer-Platz. Information about destinations and timetables can be found at the website of Deutsche Bahn

By Car

Düsseldorf is well connected, by the A44 autobahn that runs just north of the city, which also passes the International Airport. The A44, leads to the A3, and the A61 (via de A52). Both important north-south connections in Germany. The A52 runs through the center of town, which can cause some delays. It connects to Roermond in the Netherlands, and Essen to the northeast.

By Bus

Eurolines connects to several German cities, including Düsseldorf. The stop is at the Central Station. You can't make reservations here, you need to make the reservations on internet.

Getting Around

By Car

It is easy to drive within Düsseldorf, and parking stations are prevalent. Most on-street parking in the inner city has ticket parking, at roughly the same rates as a parking station, but if you are out a bit further then it is likely to be free. Düsseldorf and the surrounding areas are well signposted and it is easy to follow directions. Although sometimes roadwork diversions are not so clear.

By Public Transport

Stadtbahn is the local light rail network that opened in 1981. Tickets can be purchased at the larger stations. An EinzelTicket (Single Fare) lets you travel for up to 90 minutes, in one basic direction (eg point to point). A short trip ticket lets you travel 4 stops, and these are cheaper. You can also get a ticket with four trips on it, you need to be sure that you validate your ticket when you get on the U-Bahn.

By Foot

Düsseldorf is a pedestrian friendly city. Through the Altstadt there are many streets closed to cars, however be aware that some permit U-Bahns or bicycles. Be aware that you should not cross against the red man, as pedestrians will typically wait patiently until the light changes, even if there is no traffic!

By Bike

There are bike paths along most main roads, and cyclists are prevalent. There is also a path along the Rhine, from Kaiserswerth (north) to at least the Altstadt. All over Düsseldorf are facilities for chaining your bike up.

Bikes can also be taken on the U-Bahn.

Eat

Characteristic Rhenish dishes like Düsseldorfer Senfrostbraten (mustard roast pork), Rheinischer Sauerbraten (marinated beef with raisins), Halve Hahn (rye bread, slice of cheese, mustard and gherkin) or Ähzezupp (pea soup) are offered everywhere within the old town.

• Carls Platz Markt - Fresh fruit and vegetable market, also with fish stalls, butchers, and delicatessens, all of outstanding quality. A number of stands selling food to eat immediately as well, including Flammkuchen, cooked fish, sausages (of course), fresh juice, and also surrounded by other little places to eat. Perfect on a sunny day! Partially closed on Mondays. Address: Carls Platz, Düsseldorf

Drink

Düsseldorf is known for its many bars in the downtown (Altstadt) area. In fact, many people refer to the Altstadt as the "longest bar in the world" ("Längste Theke der Welt"). The most common drink is "Altbier" or simply "Alt." This dark beer, served in small glasses, is available at practically any restaurant in the city. Altbier is only brewed in breweries around Düsseldorf. Some of the traditional breweries are the "Uerige", "Füchschen", "Zum Schlüssel" and "Schumacher".

In the Altstadt you can enjoy Schlüssel, Uerige, Schumacher, and Füchschen beers, at traditional brewery restaurants. The waiters at these traditional restaurants are called "Köbes." These waiters will replace empty glasses with full ones when they see one. Typically new visitors to the city are surprised by a new fresh glass of Altbier in front of them when they did not order one. To signal that you are done and do not want any more Altbier, simply place your coaster ("Bierdeckel") on top of your glass, and the "Köbes" will not automatically refill you. Bolkerstraße (Zum Schlüssel, Schumacher), Flingerstraße (Uerige), Ratinger Straße (Füchschen) and Kurzestraße (Kürzer) are the main places where you find all kinds of pubs and breweries. A variation of the Altbier is called Krefelder. It's an Altbier with Coke.

During summer months the Altstadt will come alive after work. People standing outside the pubs and enjoying their beer and good company. This will be especially so on Wednesday evenings on Ratingerstraße. The street will be packed full of people with a great chilled atmosphere. Be aware though of broken glass on the cobbled street. But if you have a chance to go, do not miss it.

Besides Altstadt, which some might consider to be slightly artificial, there are many others places around the city to enjoy beer or cocktails as well. In recent years, Medienhafen (Media Harbour) has become one of very popular quarters, especially during the summer. Other areas which are rather non-touristic include Pempelfort (Nordstraße), Unterbilk (Lorettostraße, Düsselstraße), Oberkassel (Luegallee), and Düsseltal (Rethelstraße).

Sleep

Mid-Range

• Apartment Düsseldorf - Well furnished flat / Fair-room a few minutes from the international airport, fairground and Düsseldorf city centre.

Upscale

Learn

• University of Düsseldorf

Keep Connected

Internet

Internet cafes (rates €1.50 to €5 per hour) are starting to become less common due to widespread offers of free wifi by shops, restaurants or cafes. Sometimes it requires minimum consumption but usually it's free within the premises. Phone shops will often offer internet access, too. In general hotels offer internet access. In several cities, projects exist to provide free "community" hotspots for wireless networking. Passenger lounges at some airports and central railway stations also provide internet access to their customers.

Several pre-paid SIMs allow Internet access for a monthly flat fee, for example those available at Tchibo coffee stores (o2 network, €10/month limited to 500 MB, €20/month for 5 GB) or Aldi (E-Plus network). A regular O2 sim card, which can be used for calls and text messages, is €15 and another €15 buys 1GB of data valid for 1 month. Vodafone offers a prepaid sim card for €25 which includes €22.5 of credit, out of which you can get 300 MB of data for 2 days for €15 and be left with €7.5 of credit.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The international call prefix in Germany is 00. To dial out of Germany, dial 00, followed by country code, area code, and the telephone number (for example 00 44 1234 567890). If you're using a mobile phone, simply add the plus sign "+" before the country code to call out of Germany (for example +44 1234 567890). The general emergency number is 112 and the additional number for less emergent issues for police is 110.

Mobile phone coverage on the four networks (T-Mobile, Vodafone, E-Plus and o2) is excellent across the whole country. UMTS (3G data and HSDPA) and EDGE is also available. UMTS is still somewhat limited to urban areas. All mobile providers use GSM technology on the 900 and 1800 MHz frequency ranges. If you stay for a longer period of time, consider buying a prepaid phone card from one of the mobile phone companies; you won't have trouble finding a T-Mobile (in a "T-Punkt"), Vodafone, E-Plus or O2 store in any major shopping area. In most supermarket chains (for example ALDI), there are prepaid SIM cards from their own virtual providers available. These are normally quite cheap to buy, but expensive for international calls (around €1–2/min), but incoming calls are always free and SMS cost around €0.09–0.19. They are available at: Aldi, Lidl, Penny, Netto, Tchibo, Rewe, toom. A registration via Internet or (expensive) phone call is necessary after buying to activate the SIM card.

The cheapest way to call abroad from Germany is to use the internet cafés run by immigrants. They sell special calling cards that give the best rate to certain countries as well as offer cheap international calls from phone booths. It is also the cheapest way to call landlines in Germany.

Post

Germany's postal system is very efficient, their logistics branch DHL is one of the best companies in this field world-wide, with domestic post or within a radius of 400 kilometres, send within a day. The website of Deutsche Post has an online calculator for postage fees as well as a post office finder. Stamps are available at post offices and sometimes at newsagents or shops selling postcards. Also stamp vending machines can be found at a lot of places around the cities. You can purchase every stamp you need from this machines. They are unique as they accept every coin from 1 cent to 2 euro but change is only given in stamps. It costs about €40 to send a small package to Australia and €1.70 to send an old-fashioned letter to any place in the world outside of Europe. Within Germany, sending postcards costs €0.45 and standard letters €0.55, within Europe it is €0.65 for a postcard, standard letters to places in Europe cost €0.75. Outside Europe, the prices for sending a postcard or standard letter are €1 and €1.70 respectively. Although you will find the old post offices (mainly in the city centre), most of the smaller neighbourhood post offices are part of a small tobacco shop or grocery store. For larger package, you might consider competitive private companies like UPS, DHL or TNT.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website