Altbier is Düsseldorf's own style of beer, a dark, copper-colored, malty top-fermented beer. It is served in small straight 0.2-liter glasses, and in the traditional brewhouses the waiters, the Köbes, keep replacing your glass and marking your coaster until you place the coaster on top to signal you are done. The famous house brewers in the old town are the place to drink it.

Is Düsseldorf or Cologne better to visit?

They are close neighbors with a friendly rivalry, including over their beers, Düsseldorf's Altbier against Cologne's Kölsch. Cologne has the bigger landmark in its cathedral, and Düsseldorf has the more polished, fashion-and-design side and a tighter, bar-packed old town. They are under 30 minutes apart by train, so on a Rhine trip the easy answer is to see both.

Düsseldorf is an old town that doubles as the longest bar in the world

My Dusseldorf travel guide. The Altstadt and its Altbier brewhouses, the Rhine promenade, the MedienHafen, where to stay, and where to eat.

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Düsseldorf is a compact old town so packed with bars it is nicknamed the longest bar in the world, where you drink the dark local Altbier, plus a sharp modern side in fashion and design. A day or two covers it. Here's how I'd use the time.

How long do I need?

One or two days covers Düsseldorf. A day handles the Altstadt, the Rhine promenade, and a brewhouse or two. A second day adds the MedienHafen, the Königsallee, and the Japanese quarter.

Düsseldorf sits close to Cologne and the rest of the Rhine-Ruhr region, so it also works as one stop on a wider western Germany trip rather than a long stay.

How do I get to Düsseldorf?

Düsseldorf Airport is one of Germany's larger airports, a few minutes from the city by S-Bahn. Düsseldorf is also a major rail hub on the ICE high-speed network, with frequent trains across Germany and into neighboring countries, and Cologne is under 30 minutes away.

The Hauptbahnhof is a short tram ride or walk from the old town. Inside the city, an extensive U-Bahn and tram network covers the longer distances, and the center is walkable.

Where should I stay?

Stay near the Altstadt, the old town. From there the bars, the Rhine promenade, and the Königsallee shopping street are all on foot, and the main station is a short tram ride away.

The atlas does not yet carry hotel pins for Düsseldorf, so book on the usual sites and read recent reviews for the property.

The Altstadt and the Rhine

The Altstadt is the heart of the visit, a small grid of streets packed with bars and brewhouses, which is where the "longest bar in the world" tag comes from. It is also the place to drink Altbier, the city's own dark, malty beer, served in small glasses by waiters called Köbes who keep refilling until you cap your coaster.

Along the river, the Rheinuferpromenade is the wide riverside walk, busy on warm evenings, with the Rhine Tower rising at its southern end. Beyond the old town, the Königsallee, known as the Kö, is the canal-lined luxury shopping boulevard, and the MedienHafen is the old harbor redeveloped with striking modern buildings, including a trio by Frank Gehry. Düsseldorf also has one of the largest Japanese communities in Europe, centered on Immermannstrasse near the station, with its own concentration of Japanese restaurants and shops.

Where to eat and drink

Düsseldorf eats on Rhineland cooking and brewhouse plates, with a strong Japanese scene near the station and a broad international range across the old town.

The pin set below is the saved Düsseldorf list, all restaurants and brewhouses. None carry notes yet, so this is a list rather than a writeup.

Spot	What it is
Uerige	A historic Altstadt house brewery pouring its own Altbier
Zum Schlüssel	A traditional Altbier brewhouse
Brewery Schumacher	Another of the city's Altbier brewers
HeimWerk Altstadt	German home cooking in the old town
Münstermann Kontor	A delicatessen and restaurant
Steakschmiede by Don Carne	A steakhouse
Tachibana	Japanese, near the city's Japanese quarter
Xiao Long Kan	Sichuan hot pot
To1980 Vegan	Vegan Vietnamese street food
Hexe Bolker4	An Altstadt bar and restaurant

Planning Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is a city of about 650,000 on the Rhine in western Germany, the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia. It is known for its compact old town, the Altstadt, where the density of bars has earned it the nickname "the longest bar in the world," for its own dark Altbier, and for a sharp modern side in fashion and architecture. A day or two covers it.

A day or two

The Altstadt, the Rhine promenade, and the modern harbor fill a day or two. Düsseldorf works as a short stop on a wider trip through western Germany.

Drink the Altbier

Düsseldorf has its own beer, a dark, malty Altbier, served in small glasses and poured until you cap your coaster. The old brewhouses are the place to try it.

Stay near the Altstadt

A base by the old town puts the bars, the Rhine, and the Königsallee shopping street on foot. The main station is a short tram or walk away.

The other Düsseldorf

Beyond the old town are the Königsallee luxury strip, the Gehry-designed MedienHafen, and one of Europe's largest Japanese communities around Immermannstrasse.

Quick answers

How long do I need in Düsseldorf?: One or two days covers Düsseldorf. A day handles the Altstadt, the Rhine promenade, and a brewhouse or two. A second day adds the MedienHafen, the Königsallee, and the Japanese quarter. Düsseldorf sits close to Cologne and the rest of the Rhine-Ruhr region, so it also works as one stop on a wider western Germany trip.
How do I get to Düsseldorf?: Düsseldorf Airport is one of Germany's larger airports, a few minutes from the city by S-Bahn. Düsseldorf is also a major rail hub on the ICE high-speed network, with frequent trains across Germany and to neighboring countries, and Cologne is under 30 minutes away. The Hauptbahnhof is a short tram ride or walk from the old town.
What is Altbier?: Altbier is Düsseldorf's own style of beer, a dark, copper-colored, malty top-fermented beer. It is served in small straight 0.2-liter glasses, and in the traditional brewhouses the waiters, the Köbes, keep replacing your glass and marking your coaster until you place the coaster on top to signal you are done. The famous house brewers in the old town are the place to drink it.
Is Düsseldorf or Cologne better to visit?: They are close neighbors with a friendly rivalry, including over their beers, Düsseldorf's Altbier against Cologne's Kölsch. Cologne has the bigger landmark in its cathedral, and Düsseldorf has the more polished, fashion-and-design side and a tighter, bar-packed old town. They are under 30 minutes apart by train, so on a Rhine trip the easy answer is to see both.

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