Düsseldorf

Introduction

Düsseldorf

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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 cenutry 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 is the local football team and they play at the LTU Arena, which opened in 2005.
• 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.

Weather

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.

By Boat

Getting Around

By Car

By Public Transport

• Stadtbahn is the local light rail network that opened in 1981.

By Foot

By Bike

Eat

Drink

• Altstadt - Is the the main scene for German and international students.
• Ratinger Straße - While the locals, including some students and artist types, tend to hang out on this street.

Sleep

Budget

Mid-Range

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

Upscale

Work

Learn

• University of Düsseldorf

Keep Connected

Internet

Phone

See also International Telephone Calls

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. 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 €0.70. 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.

External Links

• Official Governmental Website