If you’re looking for a city to relax, have lunch and dinner in nice restaurants, terraces with homemade beer and to go shopping, Dusseldorf is the place to go. Visit the old part of the city in Altstad neighborhood, drink a homemade beer, have a walk near the river, enjoy the architecture from Medien Hafen and go shopping. Hope you enjoy this tips to explore Dusseldorf within a weekend or three days.
Old cosy and trendy neighborhoods to visit
Dusseldorf has a lot of nice neighborhoods to visit. Altstad is a must visit area. In the small city center of Dusseldorf you’ll find old buildings, colored houses and a lot of cafes and terraces. They say Dusseldorf has the longest bar in the world, because of the long street full of cafes. If you’re a book lover, bring a visit to the bookstore next to the art hall.
The last years, Ackerstrasse is an upcoming neighborhood where you can find art galleries and several stores for secondhand and designer clothing. Also Unterbilk is a hip and upcoming neighborhood. Drink an excellent coffee, shop something antique or vintage. The vibe is great because a lot of students live in the district Bilk nearby.
Dusseldorf is the place to be for art
If you love art, Dusseldorf is the place to go. Bring a visit to the modern Medien Hafen. Here you’ll find offices of big media companies and innovative architecture. Enjoy the three designs of Frank Gehry. On the other side of the offices, you’ll find an old warehouse transformed into a colorful building, designed by artist Rosalie.
More a museum fan? Dusseldorf has a lot to offer. Bring a visit to ‘Kunsthalle‘ or the famous K20 and K21 museum. Or go to the film museum, where you can learn everything about the history from movies. Regularly you can even watch a movie with live music. One big plus: most museums in Dusseldorf are free to visit at the end of the day.
Visit the Rheinturm for a perfect view. The Rheinturm is with almost 250 meters long the highest building in Dusseldorf. It is used as a transmission tower but you can also take something to drink or eat upstairs.
Another famous place to visit in Dusseldorf is KIT (Kunst im Tunnel). The name says it all: a 140 m long and underground tunnel where you set your eyes on art from young artists. Since 2007 you can visit the tunnel where four exhibitions are held each year.
Last but not least, street art. Kiefernstrasse is a Walhalla for street art and graffiti fans. Discover the 180-meter-long work of art on the facades of the houses here. Bring your camera to take some nice shots!
Vintage and Luxury shopping
Dusseldorf is known as a shopping Walhalla. In the famous Königsallee and the side streets, you’ll find the luxury brand stores like Gucci and Prada and the famous department stores like Galeria Kaufhof. Looking for something more affordable clothing? Bring a visit to Schadow Arkaden and the Schadowstrasse. The Schadow Arkaden is a modern shopping center located directly on the Königsallee. You will find mainly well-known stores such as H&M, Esprit and Zara.
Unterblik for vintage shopping and smaller boutiques
Smaller and more unique boutiques are located within the neighborhood (Unter)bilk. In this district, you can wander for hours in all sorts of separate shops. In the Lorettostrasse you’ll find the design store nul:zwo:elf where they sell bags, toys, books, sunglasses and more and Romantiklabor, one of the best hotspots of Germany. Every item in this store is handmade. In the Neusser Strasse you’ll find Kleidsam, a cute store with nice accessories.
The Bilker Allee is the place to be for vintage shopping. Jack wie Hose offers a collection of dresses, skirts and leather bags. Frauenzimmer offers colorful clothing of famous brands and great quality. Looking for designer clothes? Bring a visit to Schone Sachen, where you’ll find accessories of young designers. My favorite store Anziehend is located in the Wissmannstrasse, nex to the Bilker Allee. Here you’ll find a mix of secondhand and new clothing.
Hipster shopping in Derendorf, Pempelfort and Flingern
Broke the Store is located in the Tussmannstrasse. Here you’ll find sneakers, hoodies and another hipster vintage must-haves. Or design and shop your own t-shirt and skateboard in Rebel’s Garage. In the Ackerstrasse and side streets of Ackerstrasse, you’ll find a lot of cute and charming stores, such as Lieblingsstücke, Damenwahl and Elementarteilchen. Lieblingsstücke offers second-hand women clothing. Damenwahl is a small store where they sell clothing of various designer and most of the items are handmade. For summer and colorful dresses, high heels and sunglasses you’ll need to go to Elementarteilchen.
Markets in Dusseldorf
Dusseldorf has various markets. At Karlsplatz there is a daily market to find German specialties and daily groceries like bread, cheese and vegetables. Once per month there is a flee market at the Radschläger market. This is the famous and oldest flee market of Dusseldorf. Every Saturday there is a flee market at Aachener Platz and on MesseparkPlatz you’ll find a flee market on a parking place.
Marie The best places for coffee, lunch and diner
In Altstadt you’ll find Rösterei VIER. They serve various homemade filter coffee. Tip: take a vanilla cake bol. They’re delicious! Also Woyton serves delicious coffee and they have several branches throughout the city.
Also Ann Bann Mi has several branches throughout the city. Here you can enjoy a lovely Asian lunch. They serve authentic Vietnamese dishes such as bread, warm noodle salad and bowls. They offer a lot of vegetarian options as well.
At Gingerboy they serve also Asien dishes. I had the most delicious noodle soup. The best part is that they make their own noodles. I recommend making a reservation because it is quite full every day. In front of Gingerboy you’ll find Mangold. This is a nice restaurant for a drink or dinner. The food is affordable, delicious and the staff is so friendly.
Hi! My name is Manon, an Amsterdam based travel junkie who wants to explore at least three new destinations each year. Follow my personal Instagram: @manonheitkamp
