🗺️ Dusseldorf route: 25 places with prices and hours

Düsseldorf looks like a city of banks and corporations, but that impression is misleading. In the Altstadt, beer is brewed a hundred steps from the town hall, and from the embankment you can watch the dark water of the Düssel cut into the Rhine. The city packs twenty-five interesting places into a compact route that you can realistically cover in a few days.

From the main train station to the Altstadt you can walk in 20 minutes (on the map). In the center, everything is close. For the palaces and parks on the outskirts, you'll take a tram or suburban train; you can't walk there.

Below in this guide: what to see in order, where admission is paid, when places are closed, and how to get there. Prices and opening hours were checked in 09/2026 on the official websites of the museums and the Rheinturm tower. Some places take half an hour, others a full day, so choose according to your pace.

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Düsseldorf: where to start

💡 In short:

The center is compact: the Altstadt, the embankment, and Königsallee combine into one walking route.
Museums are open Tuesday through Sunday; most are closed on Mondays.
Put the outlying sites (Schloss Benrath, Schloss Heltorf, Schloss Kalkum, Neanderthal Museum) on a separate day.
Prices and opening hours: 09/2026, checked on the official Kunstpalast website.

Plan the city by zones, not by the order of the list. The center can be covered on foot in a day, but Schloss Benrath, Schloss Heltorf, Schloss Kalkum, and the Neanderthal Museum are far from each other, so each one needs its own trip. On Mondays almost all museums are closed, so leave that day for parks and the embankment. Bring a map or cash: in the small Altstadt pubs, card payment is not always possible.

1. Altstadt: pubs and churches of the old town

Jan Wellem monument on a square in Düsseldorf

The historic center is bounded by Heinrich-Heine-Allee to the northeast and the dome of the Tonhalle to the northwest. Within a few square kilometers, boutiques, nightclubs, restaurants, and religious centers stand close together. This is also home to the Art Academy, the seminary of St. Ursula, the only Ceramics Museum in Germany, and the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, which occupies three separate buildings.

The Altstadt is called the longest bar in the world. Head into the pubs serving local Altbier in the evening: during the day they're quiet, but after work finding a free table is not easy. Next to the Historisches Stadtmuseum stand the Church of St. Maximilian and the Film Museum, which is covered below.

The Westphalian prince-electors built their fortifications right here. The Kaiserpfalz fortress, Schloss Heltorf, and Schloss Kalkum kept this land under control. Before the war, the city had about a hundred churches and synagogues, and the surviving churches still show the wealth of the medieval capital.

If you want to get your bearings from day one, take a sightseeing bus: ticket for the Hop-on Hop-off sightseeing bus on GetYourGuide.

The catch: in the evenings the lanes are noisy and very crowded. For a quiet walk, come on a weekday morning.

2. Burgplatz: castle, clock, and the meeting of two rivers

Düsseldorf Central Station on a sunny day

As you approach the square, you're greeted by the "Green Mathilde": that's what the clock on the Neue Uferpromenade is called. The granite column at its base also serves as a water gauge, and the clock itself was installed in the 19th century. The square's dominant feature is a round tower with an octagonal tent roof, replicating the one that stood on the surviving foundation before a fire in the late 19th century.

The Schlossturm is the last witness of the Düsseldorf Castle, built for the dukes of Jülich-Cleves-Berg. The half-ruined walls were demolished to make way for a highway along the Rhine, and the early 20th-century reconstruction now houses the Shipping and Navigation Museum along with a restaurant.

Behind the square, three stepped levels descend to the water. The second is a promenade above the highway that was moved underground, and the third, the most interesting, shows how the churning Düssel bursts out of concrete pipes and mixes with the Rhine. You watch the meeting of the rivers from a terrace built in the form of a medieval bastion.

How to get there: from the Rathaus, one block toward the river, about 5 minutes on foot (on the map).
The catch: the terrace is always windy, and in summer there is almost no shade.

3. Neuer Zollhof: Gehry's dancing houses

Neuer Zollhof in the evening: dancing houses and the square

American architect Frank Gehry designed these buildings with tilted planes, which is why locals call them the dancing houses or simply the Gehry buildings. The white, silver, and brown buildings of Neuer Zollhof house a media center, and they marked the start of the district's so-called architectural zoo.

A colorful quarter grew up on the site of the old customs house. Here you'll find the mirrored "City Gate," the Roggendorf-Haus with figures of people on its facade, the sail of the KAI 10 gallery, the "Needle" high-rise, the curved Alu-Bürodose, the Grand Bateau wedge, and the patchwork "Solitaire."

The city paid about sixty million euros for this dance of concrete in the late nineties. The center was not rebuilt all at once but improved gradually, which is why old port warehouses remain next to the glass and concrete.

Who it's for: anyone interested in modern architecture and wanting to photograph the city from the water.
The catch: the quarter is residential and commercial; there's not much to see here besides the facades.

4. Rathaus: Gothic on Marktplatz

Düsseldorf City Hall on Marktplatz with its tower

The old town hall rises above Marktplatz, and it's easy to reach from the embankment: from the Shipping Museum, walk one block northwest. The U-shaped Gothic building with gable fronts was built in the third quarter of the 16th century.

The citizens erected the equestrian monument to Elector Johann Wilhelm of the Palatinate as a sign of gratitude to their ruler. In September people gather here for wine festivals, and in December for Christmas markets. The town hall was designed by architect Alessandro Pasqualini, and construction was supervised by Heinrich Tuschmann from Duisburg.

The dominant feature of the five-story pink-brick facade is a tower with a pointed tent roof and a staircase inside. For a long time it served as the main entrance; the ground floor housed workshops and craftsmen's storerooms, and goods were sold right by the walls. The gallery with portraits of famous Düsseldorfers is open on weekdays, and on Fridays the doors close earlier than on other days.

Next to the tower is the new central entrance, which was added during an expansion. The municipal administration building along the embankment was added later, when the city government of the growing city ran out of space.

The catch: the interior halls are open only during working hours; on weekends you can't get inside.

5. Basilica of St. Lambertus: the crooked spire

Crooked spire of St. Lambertus Basilica and the castle tower

The basilica stands where a wooden church was built in the 8th century. Nothing remains of the structure from the time when the local population was Christianized on the banks of the Düssel except its name: the church is dedicated to Saint Lambert, a Germanic missionary and Bishop of Maastricht.

In the 13th century, a village church appeared on this site, which grew and became a monastery. It received monastery status after the Battle of Worringen, where Count Adolf von Berg and Count Eberhard von der Mark, together with Cologne's citizens, defended Düsseldorf's right to mint coins and hold city status. The signed capitulation charter of the Archbishop of Cologne gave impetus to the development of the new city on the Rhine.

The church acquired its present appearance under Duke William I, who decided to make Düsseldorf the center of his domains. The basilica built under him was named the Church of Our Lady, but the name did not stick: the church was rededicated in the early 19th century, and the papal title of minor basilica was granted in the 1970s.

The soaring spire with its offset axis recalls the rose, the symbol of Our Lady, and its petals can be seen in the stained glass windows. Thus the oldest building in the city became a symbol of its independence.

Cost: entry to the active church is free; during services, tourists are asked not to enter.
The catch: the spire is visible from outside, but the interior is not open to visitors at all times.

6. St. Andrew's Church

Yellow Baroque church facade with a tower

From Burgplatz, head deeper into the Old Town along Kurze Straße, and on the next street, Andreasstraße, you'll see the church built in honor of St. Andrew the First-Called. The Baroque building was constructed in the first half of the 17th century and served as the burial place of Johann Wilhelm of the Palatinate, treasurer of the Holy Roman Empire.

The church was consecrated for the Jesuit order, later a burial vault for the Electors of the Palatinate was added, and after the pope dissolved the order, it became a parish church. Since the beginning of this century, the parish has belonged to the Dominican order. Inside, sculptural portraits of the twelve apostles have survived, and the altar, heavily damaged in the war, was recarved from marble in the second half of the 20th century.

The organ dates back to the late 18th century. It was built by masters Peter Kemper, Bernhard Orlinski, and Josef Zimmermann, and in the early 20th century the instrument received an electromechanical action. Since then, the organ has been restored several times, most recently in the second half of the last century.

The catch: it's an active church, so the doors may be closed between services.

7. Tonhalle: concerts under an old dome

Brick Tonhalle building with a green dome in Düsseldorf

The Tonhalle stands next to Hofgarten park, and this building with Gothic windows looks like a covered stadium. It was built in the 1920s as a planetarium, the largest in the world at the time, which is why it was called the "Colosseum of the 20th century."

In the 1970s, the planetarium was converted into a concert hall. Now the stars don't move across the dome, they stand on stage: the hall hosts opera singers, jazz musicians, rock artists, and symphony orchestras. There's also a state-of-the-art organ, and after the renovation in the 2000s, LED lighting and 3D stage sets were added.

A light rail line takes you right to the hall, to the Tonhalle/Ehrenhof stop. Tickets for symphony evenings range from tens to hundreds of euros, so the cheaper seats sell out first.

The catch: good seats are pricey, and the acoustics in the upper gallery are noticeably quieter than in the orchestra section.

8. Kunstpalast: 20th-century art

Brick building of the Kunstpalast museum in Düsseldorf

The Kunstpalast stands next to the Tonhalle concert hall. The nearest tram stop is called Tonhalle/Ehrenhof. It's one of the largest art collections in the region.

The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 6 pm, and until 9 pm on Thursdays (as of 09/2026, kunstpalast.de). There's a designer restaurant inside.

Tickets are sold on site and online; children and young people get a reduced rate. If you're going for a specific exhibition, check the schedule in advance: some galleries are closed between projects. Düsseldorf museum tickets on Tiqets

Who it's for: those who want to see 20th-century classics in one place.
The catch: the museum is closed on Mondays, and between exhibitions the collection may be incomplete.

9. Goethe museum in Jägerhof palace

Goethe mania began during the poet's lifetime. Collector Anton Kippenberg amassed a huge number of personal items, manuscripts, and folios, and his collection became the foundation of the museum.

In the late 1980s, the exhibition opened in Jägerhof Palace, built in the Rococo style. The Dutch-style park with flower fields around the palace was laid out while preserving a branch of the Düssel river, and the palace itself was renovated before Napoleon's visit. Many looted items were recovered, and today the furniture, sheet music, porcelain, and paintings create the atmosphere of Goethe's era here.

The museum has a library and reading room, and the numismatic collection numbers several tens of thousands of coins. The entrance to the Royal Park is through the Goethe restaurant.

Opening hours are short. The museum only welcomes visitors during daytime hours, and Monday is a day off. Check the schedule before your visit: the rooms are sometimes closed for exhibition changes.

The catch: closed on Mondays, and the rooms are small and fill up quickly with a tour group.

10. Schloss Benrath: Rococo on the Rhine

Pink Rococo facade of Benrath Palace with a staircase

The luxury of the electoral courts is on full display at Schloss Benrath. The complex of two- and three-story buildings stands around an artificial pond, and the park grounds slope down to the Rhine. The palace style is Rococo: oval windows with curved shutters, a dome over the central hall, octagonal cabinets, and state rooms with polished marble between pilasters and sculptures.

The palace was built for Charles Theodore, Elector of the Palatinate, under the direction of architect Nicolas de Pigage. The houses for servants, guests, and the retinue are arranged in cavalier wings and built in a horseshoe shape around the lake, completed later in the Neoclassical style. Dishes were served from the kitchen through an underground tunnel, and exotic plants still overwinter in the greenhouses. The Museum of Garden Art opened on their premises at the turn of the century.

The palace is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 5 pm, with guided tours departing every hour (as of 09/2026, Stiftung Schloss und Park Benrath). In summer, the palace stays open longer on weekends, and in winter it closes earlier, so check the website before your trip. The Museum of Natural History also operates at the palace.

Getting there: S6 train to Benrath station, then a 15-minute walk (per the map).
The catch: closed on Mondays, and you can only go inside with a guided tour.

11. Schloss Heltorf: an English park

Square in front of Düsseldorf Central Station

In the north of the city, in the Angermund district, stands Schloss Heltorf. The palace itself has survived from the 19th century in its original form, while the fortifications with a moat, bridge, watchtowers, and fortress walls date back to the 14th-16th centuries.

The palace is still inhabited by descendants of Count von Spee and is closed to visitors. However, anyone can stroll through the English park covering over fifty hectares: it was laid out in the late 18th century.

The park features a summer pavilion with frescoes by Karl Mücke depicting scenes from the history of the Holy Roman Empire. Viewing the frescoes is free, but the park itself is only open in the summer season on weekends and public holidays, so it's best to check the dates in advance.

The catch: the palace itself is closed, you can't go inside, only the park is accessible.

12. Schloss Kalkum: forest and hunting lodges

Kalkum Castle with a moat and autumn trees

The park grounds around Schloss Kalkum, near the international airport, leave a deep impression. It's a pleasure to wander through the preserved 16th-century forest with hunting lodges and shady alleys.

The palace itself, with three gate towers, tented roofs, narrow arrow slits, and a moat at the base of the walls, belongs to the city. The style is classified as "Neapolitan Baroque," and the interior houses administrative offices and restoration workshops. One of the pavilions contains a memorial to the philosopher Ferdinand Lassalle.

The catch: the palace is closed to tourists; you can only see the park and the outer walls.

13. Kaiserpfalz Kaiserswerth: ruins of an imperial fortress

Ruins of the Kaiserpfalz in Kaiserswerth with arches and ivy

The ruins of the imperial palace tell much of their own story, but the finer details are explained at the Kaiserswerth Museum. What survives includes fragments of six-meter defensive wall masonry, foundations of the northern and southern parts of the palace, traces of the great hall, and the foundation of the keep with walls up to four and a half meters thick. Nearby, a rainwater cistern descends underground: eight meters of its catchment rises above the surface.

The banks of the Rhine saw fighting long before Germany was unified, both against neighbors and among local powers. Neanderthal remains have been found near Düsseldorf, later came Cro-Magnons, and eventually emperors divided the power. The most famous figure here is Henry II of Bavaria: after his canonization he became known as Saint Henry.

After becoming king, the Bavarian expanded his domains, brought counties and abbeys under his control, and fought the Poles, Czechs, and Byzantium. After his coronation, his lands stretched from the Mediterranean to the North Sea. Before Germany's unification, the Kaiserswerth palace is mentioned in chronicles only once, in connection with the transfer of the castle to Ezzo of Lotharingia.

The gift was generous, considering that the emperor, a former Duke of Bavaria, had been reclaiming his lands around Kaiserswerth as unlawfully seized by Cologne abbots. The palace became payment to a claimant from the Ottonian dynasty for withdrawing his claim to the imperial title. The castle changed hands repeatedly: Archbishop Anno II seized it, Henry IV won it back, and Frederick Barbarossa built a new one on the old site. After surviving four sieges, the fortress was destroyed by the combined forces of Brandenburg, the Netherlands, and England.

The excavations here were led by Paul Clemen, and the finds are displayed in the Castle Museum. The museum is open only on Saturdays and Sundays, with a short midday break, so plan your visit for a weekend morning.

The catch: these are open ruins without restored interiors, and climbing the stones in the rain is slippery.

14. Rheinturm: observation deck

In the late 1970s, the city needed a radio and television tower, and Harald Deilmann's design won the competition. The shaft, made of two coaxial cylinders, was raised by moving the formwork on jacks, and then a basket over thirty meters in diameter was assembled at height.

The Rheinturm is almost 240 meters tall, and the observation deck with the M168 bar sits at about 168 meters (as of 09/2026, rheinturm.de). Four elevators take visitors to the top, and hundreds of thousands of people visit the tower every year. The deck is open Sunday through Thursday from 10 to 24, and on Friday and Saturday until 1 a.m.

Several tram lines will get you to the tower, to the Landtag/Kniebrücke stop, or a bus heading toward the parliament. From the top you get views of the Altstadt, the media center, and the bend of the Rhine. ticket to the Rheinturm observation deck

The catch: on clear weekends there can be a line at the elevator, and it's windy at the top.

15. Königsallee: canal and boutiques

Panorama of Königsallee with the canal and trees

Königsallee separates the new city from the old. It was planted with chestnut trees, and the crowns have grown together into a green tunnel that is pleasant to walk along even in the heat.

A decorative canal with narrow bridges without railings runs along the avenue. The water originates from the fountain jets of the sculptural group "Young Triton and Putti," installed in the early 20th century.

Nearby, on Schadowstraße, you'll find boutiques and fashion stores, with restaurants and cafés close by. In one of the buildings, the experimental theater group JuTA performs.

The catch: the stores along the avenue are among the most expensive in the city; for budget shopping, head to other neighborhoods.

16. Hofgarten: the first public park

Corner building on Konrad-Adenauer-Platz in Düsseldorf

Hofgarten park frames the Altstadt from the northeast. It was laid out as a place for citizens to relax with no entrance fee, and it was the first such initiative in Germany.

Paths, fountains, and sculptural groups lead to Lake Landskrone, and at the northern point stand Jägerhof Castle, home to the Goethe Museum, and the entrance to the green space. Favorite photo spots include the "Children Looking at a Frog" composition and the bronze "baronesses"; at the entrance stands a monument to the painter Peter Cornelius, and deeper inside is the marble "Fallen Warrior."

In summer, the bridge with the figures gets crowded, so come early in the morning or closer to evening. Admission is free and open around the clock.

The catch: the park is poorly lit in the evening, and the popular sculptures are packed on weekends.

17. Rhine embankment: promenade above the tunnel

People strolling along the Rhine promenade in Düsseldorf

The Altstadt embankment became a promenade back under Duke Johann Wilhelm, after his marriage to Jacobina of Baden. That was also when the castle and its approaches began to be built, and the demand for a beautiful city led to the opening of the Art Academy, which occupied the walls of Düsseldorf Castle until the early 20th century.

Parts of the embankment are named after landmarks: Castle, Tonhalle, Burgplatz, and Town Hall, followed by the stretch at the Mannesmannufer high-rise, Apolloplatz, and the state parliament square. The Rhine tunnel, opened in the early 1990s, carries the B1 highway, and the new terraces were designed by architects Niklaus Fritschi, Benedikt Stahl, and Günter Baum. For this work, the Association of German Architects awarded the authors first prize.

The glass dome of the KIT gallery works as a restaurant in the evening, while the exhibition itself is open during daytime hours. In the evening, people come here to watch the sunset over the Rhine, and that's when the embankment is at its liveliest.

The catch: the promenade is windy and has few benches, and there is almost nowhere to take shelter in the rain.

18. St. Suitbertus Church

Romanesque Basilica of St. Suitbertus in Kaiserswerth with a garden

This is one of the city's most remarkable Catholic shrines, located in the historic district of Kaiserswerth, which translates as "imperial island." This was once a silted-up island in a branch of the Rhine, where the old Roman road crossed the main trade route of the Middle Ages.

The building's history goes back to the 8th century, when Saint Suitbertus founded a monastery on the granted lands. Later, a three-nave Romanesque basilica was built on the site of the monastery chapel, and then an extension with Gothic choirs was added. The relics of Saint Suitbertus were brought here, and the gilded oak reliquary remains one of the few surviving treasure chests of its kind.

The area was ravaged more than once: in the 8th century by the Saxons, and in the 9th century the Normans attacked. In the late 19th century, the church was expanded and four towers were added, and after the bombing of World War II, the surviving part was restored. Today it is a minor papal basilica with stained glass windows and a large organ.

The catch: the district is far from the center, and getting there without the S-Bahn takes a long time.

19. Japanese garden in Nordpark

The Japanese garden is beautiful all year round, but the spring blooming of cherry trees and azaleas gives it a special charm. The site was refined in the best Asian traditions in the 1970s, and the initiative came from the city's Japanese community.

The overall plan and delivery of rare saplings were overseen by the "Japanese Garden" society at the Düsseldorf Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The project design was entrusted to Japanese architect Iwaki Ishiguro, assisted by his son Shōjirō and six other Japanese landscape design specialists.

The garden is small, and half an hour is enough to see it. In high season it gets crowded, so it's calmer to come at opening time.

The catch: small area, many visitors on weekends, and almost no shade.

20. Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum

In Nordpark in the north of the city you'll find the Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum: a natural history museum combined with a zoo, an aquarium, and a research facility. Originally, this was only a zoo, opened in the second half of the 19th century.

The zoo's founders wanted to show visitors animals living in open enclosures as close to natural conditions as possible. Today the site covers more than thirteen hectares with rare trees, connected ponds, restaurants, and playgrounds. The museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm (as of 09/2026, aquazoo-duesseldorf.de).

Families with children can easily spend half a day here. Plan your visit for the morning. By lunchtime the halls get noisy, and you won't be able to enjoy the aquariums in peace.

Who it's for: families with children who want a zoo and a museum in one place.
The catch: it's not the largest zoo in Germany, and part of the exhibition is noticeably outdated.

21. Wildpark Grafenberg: a forest with animals

Fallow deer grazing in a forest clearing

The Grafenberg forest has plenty to offer families with children who want to learn more about animal behavior. This is a free wildlife park, designed as a Wildpark, and it's home to typical representatives of European fauna.

Deer and roe deer, wild boar and mouflon, ferrets and raccoons go about their business in the undergrowth or in their own shelters. Pheasants and partridges sometimes come closer to visitors, while predators are separated by enclosure fencing: these include wildcats, foxes, and wolves.

The forest area of about forty hectares is part of the Aaper conservation zone stretching from Duisburg to Hilden, so the animals have plenty of space. The Wildpark was established back in the 1920s, and sections of relic beech forest have been preserved here. A tram will take you to the park, and then it's just a short walk.

Who it's for: families and anyone who wants to see animals without buying a ticket.
The catch: feeding the animals is prohibited, and the predators are behind fencing and don't always show themselves.

22. Nordpark: the most visited park

Among Düsseldorf's green spaces, Nordpark is considered the most convenient in terms of location and amenities. Guidebooks list it as the most visited, and construction began in the 1930s. The site covers more than thirty-five hectares in the Stockum district.

Under the National Socialists, the park was prepared as an exhibition ground to showcase the achievements of the "Working People." The exhibition, designed for millions of visitors, did not last long due to the events of World War II, and most of the monuments and sculptural compositions fell into disrepair in the British-occupied territory.

The park then came under city management and underwent a major renovation. Today part of it is given over to the Japanese Garden, and part to the Aquazoo and the Natural History Museum. You'll find a large pond, numerous fountains, and flower galleries here.

The catch: some of the sculptures and pavilions remain in a neglected state.

23. K21: 21st-century art

Historic K21 building with a flag and trees

For unprepared visitors, some of the exhibits at K21 come as a culture shock, although it's simply a museum of 21st-century art. It has been operating since the early 2000s and is part of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen together with K20 on Grabbeplatz.

K21 occupies the former state parliament building, now the Ständehaus under a glass dome that creates a sense of unlimited space. K20 and K21 are open Tuesday through Sunday, usually from 11 am to 6 pm (as of 09/2026, Kunstsammlung NRW). Tickets are not time-bound and give you one-time entry to one of the two buildings. Düsseldorf museum tours on GetYourGuide

You can't say the exhibition is designed to please everyone. Many works raise questions, and that is perhaps the point of progressive art.

The catch: some exhibits are hard to understand without background knowledge and commentary.

24. Filmmuseum on the embankment

Film Museum building with a sign above the entrance

There are not many museums of cinema history in the world, and Düsseldorf's exhibition holds its own against those in Hollywood or Japan. Here, on the Rhine embankment, Germany's national collection is housed, open to visitors since the early 1990s.

The modernist building is made of concrete, brick, and glass, but it looks attractive. Each floor is dedicated to its own theme: the first features costumes of familiar characters, photos and posters from film sets, the second covers the history of cinema from primitive cameras to modern special-effects equipment.

On the third level there's a real film set, where everything is frozen in anticipation of the word "action." The fourth floor shows the preparatory work of screenwriters, makeup artists, costume designers, and set decorators. Admission costs a few euros; check the exact price and screening schedule on the museum's website.

Who it's for: families with children, it's interesting even for preschoolers.
The catch: free admission only for children, adults need a ticket.

25. Neanderthal museum in the Neander valley

Neanderthal Museum building with a green facade

© Heiko Tomaszewski -- Darkstar1970 20:01, 19 August 2007 (UTC) · CC BY-SAPhoto: Heiko Tomaszewski -- Darkstar1970 20:01, 19 August 2007 (UTC), CC BY-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), Wikimedia Commons

Neanderthal Museum is considered one of Germany's most visited attractions on the periphery: more than 170,000 people come here every year (as of 09/2026, neanderthal.de). The exhibition is dedicated to archaeological excavations, and the surrounding area is pleasant for walking and breathing the forest air.

In the mid-19th century, German naturalist Johann Carl Fuhlrott conducted excavations in the Neander Valley, on the banks of the Düssel River. In the Feldhofer cave, his team found a settlement and the remains of an ancient human, and soon the new species was named after this area. That is how the world learned about homo neanderthalensis.

The most interesting exhibits recreate the daily life of prehistoric people, and modern technology makes the cave simulation realistic, right down to the wax figure of a Neanderthal at the entrance. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday during daytime hours, closed on Mondays. Several hiking routes have been developed here for walking enthusiasts.

How to get there: take the S-Bahn to Neanderthal station, then about a 10-minute walk (follow the map).
The catch: the site is on the periphery, and getting there without a car or train is inconvenient.

Düsseldorf attractions on the map

All twenty-five points are easy to view on a single map. Mark them in advance and split your route into zones: center, north, south, and east of the city. Distant sites are best moved to separate days so you don't waste time traveling across the whole city.

Landmarks of Düsseldorf

Places on the map

1Altstadt Historic centre with beer halls and churches, the world's longest bar counter
2Burgplatz Square with the "Green Mathilda" clock and the Schlossturm tower
3Neuer Zollhof Frank Gehry's "dancing" buildings on the site of the old customs house
4Rathaus 16th-century Gothic town hall with a monument to the elector
5St. Lambertus Basilica The city's oldest church, with an 8th-century crooked spire
6Church of St. Andrew Baroque burial church of the Palatinate electors
7Tonhalle Former planetarium, now a concert hall
8Kunstpalast One of the region's largest collections of 20th-century art
9Goethe-Museum The poet's personal belongings and manuscripts at Jägerhof Castle
10Schloss Benrath Rococo palace on an artificial lake by the Rhine
11Schloss Heltorf 19th-century castle with an English park, the palace itself closed to visitors
12Schloss Kalkum Castle in "Neapolitan Baroque" style with a 16th-century park forest
13Kaiserpfalz Kaiserswerth Ruins of the imperial palace where Henry II of Bavaria was crowned
14Rheinturm Observation deck at about 168 metres with the M168 bar
15Königsallee Avenue with a canal and boutiques, separating the new town from the old
16Hofgarten Germany's first free public park, with Lake Landskrone
17Rhine Embankment Promenade over a tunnel with sunset views over the Rhine
18Church of St. Suitbertus Minor papal basilica in the Kaiserswerth district
19Japanese Garden Garden with cherry blossoms and azaleas, laid out by the city's Japanese community
20Aquazoo Löbbecke Museum Zoo, aquarium and natural history museum in one place
21Wildpark Grafenberg Free forest park with deer, wild boar and wolves
22Nordpark The city's most visited park, with a pond and flower galleries
23K21 21st-century art museum in the former state parliament building
24Filmmuseum Museum of film history on four floors by the embankment
25Neanderthal Museum Exhibition about the discovery of Neanderthal man in the Neander Valley

If you plan to visit many museums, calculate in advance whether a tourist card will pay off. The Düsseldorf Card offers discounts and free public transport, and with several visits it is more cost-effective than individual tickets: Düsseldorf Card on GetYourGuide.

The card discount also applies to the Rheinturm tower ticket (according to the tourist office, 09/2026), so it's convenient to buy it at the ticket office before going up. Check the list of participants and terms at the city tourist office.

Tours and tickets in Dusseldorf

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⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions

How much does admission to Düsseldorf museums cost?

Exact prices depend on the exhibition, so check the official museum websites; we verified them as of 09/2026. K20 and K21 sell tickets without time slots, and they are valid for a year. At Kunstpalast, children and young people get a reduced rate. If you plan to visit a lot, do the math on a tourist card.

What can you fit into one day in Düsseldorf?

Start with the Altstadt and Burgplatz, then walk along the Rhine promenade to the media harbor with the Gehry buildings. After lunch, go up the Rheinturm, and in the evening stroll along Königsallee and through the Hofgarten. Leave outlying sights like Schloss Benrath and Kaiserswerth for a second day and don't mix them with the center.

Can you go inside Schloss Heltorf and Schloss Kalkum?

No, both castles are closed to visitors. Schloss Heltorf still belongs to the descendants of Count von Spee, and Schloss Kalkum is occupied by the city administration and restoration workshops. The surrounding parks, however, are open, and they are exactly why it's worth coming here. Heltorf Park welcomes guests only in the summer season on weekends.

How do you get to Schloss Benrath and the Neanderthal Museum?

The S6 suburban train takes you to Schloss Benrath, getting off at Benrath station, then it's about a 15-minute walk (see map). For the Neanderthal Museum, take a train to Neanderthal station, then it's about a 10-minute walk to the museum (see map). Both sights are on the outskirts, so allow at least half a day for the trip.

When is the best time to visit Düsseldorf?

The best months are April and May, and the cherry blossoms in the Japanese Garden bloom in April. In summer the city hosts many fairs, but it's also the most crowded time. In winter, Christmas markets run on Marktplatz, and museums close earlier. In autumn it's warm here and there are noticeably fewer tourists.

In short: what to book

Düsseldorf is easy to plan by area, so don't try to cover everything in one day. If your trip is short, stick to the center and the promenade, and put the palaces and the Neanderthal Museum on separate days.

If you have one day: Altstadt, Burgplatz, Rheinturm, and Königsallee.
If you have two days: add Schloss Benrath and Kaiserswerth with its ruins.
If you're traveling with kids: Aquazoo, Wildpark Grafenberg, and the Filmmuseum.
If you want art museums: Kunstpalast, K20, and K21.
If you plan to visit a lot: get the Düsseldorf Card tourist pass.

Book hotels in the center in advance: during fairs there are almost no rooms left. see Düsseldorf hotels on Trip.com

What to see in Dusseldorf: 25 places from Altstadt to palaces on the Rhine