Düsseldorf in 2 days, on foot

This 2-day self-guided walking plan for Düsseldorf covers 18 narrated sights in an easy day-by-day order. Each day is split into a morning and an afternoon loop, and every stop has a two to three minute audio story in the Gingerguide app.

You set the pace: this is a suggested order, not a schedule. Walk it in 2 days, or stretch it out. Reorder freely; Düsseldorf rewards a detour.

Day 1

Morning

1. K20 Kunstsammlung: Düsseldorf's flagship modern art museum on Grabbeplatz, home to a major Paul Klee collection alongside masterpieces by Picasso, Mondrian, Matisse, and major 20th-century artists.
2. K21 Kunstsammlung im Ständehaus: Contemporary art from 2000 onwards in Düsseldorf's historic 1880 Parliament building, home to monumental installations, works by Nam June Paik, Thomas Ruff, and one of Germany's most exciting museum spaces.
3. Königsallee (Kö): Germany's most glamorous shopping boulevard, flanked by a tree-lined canal, with Chanel, Gucci, Burberry, and the finest boutiques reflecting in the water, the gilded heart of Düsseldorf.
4. Altstadt (Old Town): Düsseldorf's vibrant historic quarter, home to over 260 pubs and restaurants packed into a small area, earning its title as 'the longest bar in the world', plus the Gothic St Lambertus Church.
5. Rheinturm: Düsseldorf's 240-metre telecommunications tower on the Rhine, featuring the world's largest decimal clock display on its shaft and a revolving restaurant with panoramic views.

Afternoon

1. Media Harbour (Medienhafen): Düsseldorf's former commercial harbour reinvented as a creative hub, famous for Frank Gehry's three wildly undulating Neuer Zollhof towers and a flourishing restaurant and media industry scene.
2. Kunstakademie Düsseldorf: One of the world's most influential art academies, where Joseph Beuys taught and where Gerhard Richter, Sigmar Polke, Imi Knoebel, and many other major artists trained, a powerhouse of postwar German art.
3. Schloss Benrath: An exquisite 18th-century Rococo summer palace south of Düsseldorf, surrounded by a perfectly symmetrical baroque garden and lake, one of the finest pleasure palaces in the Rhineland.
4. Tonhalle Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf's world-class concert hall housed in a 1926 former planetarium by Wilhelm Kreis, its circular domed architecture creating exceptional acoustics in the Ehrenhof park complex by the Rhine.

Day 2

Morning

1. Japan Town & Immermannstrasse: Düsseldorf's Immermannstrasse area hosts the largest Japanese community in Germany, with Japanese restaurants, supermarkets, bookshops, and a cultural life that has made Düsseldorf 'Little Tokyo on the Rhine'.
2. Burgplatz & Rhine Promenade: Düsseldorf's historic river square, site of the original medieval castle, marked by the surviving Round Tower, opening onto the famous Rhine Promenade pedestrian walkway along the river.
3. Marktplatz & Jan-Wellem Statue: Düsseldorf's most historic civic square, the Marktplatz, dominated by the famous 1711 equestrian statue of Elector Jan Wellem, with the Renaissance-style Town Hall (Rathaus) standing alongside.
4. Rhine Promenade (Rheinuferpromenade): Düsseldorf's stunning riverside promenade along the Rhine, a car-free waterfront stretching about 2 kilometres with restaurants, bars, and sweeping views of the Media Harbour skyline.
5. Kunsthalle Düsseldorf: Düsseldorf's progressive contemporary art space, an influential exhibition venue without a permanent collection that has championed experimental and avant-garde art since 1967.

Afternoon

1. NRW-Forum Düsseldorf: A dynamic culture and digital media centre in the Ehrenhof parkland beside the K20, presenting photography, digital art, design, and pop culture in an elegant neoclassical building.
2. Düsseldorf Carnival: One of Germany's greatest Carnival celebrations, Düsseldorf's tradition rivals Cologne's with its famous Rose Monday parade of biting political floats, giant confetti cannons, and half a million revellers.
3. Neandertal & Neanderthal Museum: The Neandertal valley 15km east of Düsseldorf, where the bones of Neanderthal man were discovered in 1856, and home to the excellent Neanderthal Museum exploring 300,000 years of human evolution.
4. Düsseldorf International Airport: Germany's third-busiest airport, just 8km north of the city centre, serving over 25 million passengers annually with direct connections to over 200 destinations on more than 60 airlines.

Full Düsseldorf guide and all stops →