Dusseldorf in May

[G42]

Apparently I'm now going to Dusseldorf Germany in May for a work trip... I'm going to try to add a couple vacation days to the trip, to take advantage of being there.
I won't have a car and intend to poke around the city and/or stay within rail day trip distance.
If anyone has any suggestions for things to do (or avoid), restaurants they love, etc. - please sing out.

[kathryn]

I have never been to Dusseldorf, but I loved Cologne, which is a short (<30 min) train-ride away. It's got one of the most arresting, impressive first views when exiting a train station I've seen. Apart from that, I mostly just wandered around--and I'll admit, bought a tiny souvenir bottle of eau de Cologne. Another short train ride south of Cologne will bring you to Bruhl which has a castle and Max Ernst museum (he's my favorite surrealist) which I really enjoyed.

[b1gsky]

I work in Düsseldorf and live nearby, but I've only moved here last summer, so I don't really have insider tips. But I'll see what I can think of and then come back to you.

[aedifica]

Oh, fun! You'll be in "my" part of Germany (the part where I know people, that is).

I second the recommendation of Köln (Cologne) and its cathedral. If you want to ride the train a little farther, Bonn city center is pleasant for wandering around and shopping. (Probably Düsseldorf and Köln city centers are too, but I spent a lot more time in Bonn on my last trip so I'm more familiar with it.)

Are you a beer drinker? My Bonn colleagues made a point of taking me to Köln for Kölsch beer, which I enjoyed. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6lsch_(beer)

I'll probably think of more later!

[Cristina]

I am going to add on to the Cologne part of this thread: many years ago I did a whirlwind trip of Europe and by the time we got to Cologne we were tired. Cologne, it turns out, it a great city for relaxing. There is a chocolate museum and thermal baths (swimming, hot pools, cold pools, saunas), and a big park and of course the cathedral. The cafes lining the streets have the freshest most beautiful sandwiches. I had such a lovely restorative time there.

https://www.schokoladenmuseum.de/en/

https://www.claudius-therme.de/en/zeiten-tarife/

[b1gsky]

So, I can definitely recommend a short trip to Cologne, if you haven’t been there yet. Definitely visit the cathedral, you can also climb one of the towers for a view over the city and the river.

If you are a beer drinker, you can also get lucky in Düsseldorf - in Cologne you drink Kölsch, in Düsseldorf Alt. There are quite a few old traditional breweries in the old city center of Düsseldorf (Im Füchschen, Uerige...).

You can also go shopping in Düsseldorf, on and around the Königsallee are the luxury brands, but you also find more mainstreet stores around Altstadt, Carlstadt and Stadtmitte.

If you want a view over the city you can go up the Rheinturm.
https://www.rheinturm.de/en/visit.html

And Düsseldorf has lots of Museums! Here’s an overview: https://www.duesseldorf.de/internati...r/museums.html

If you’re interest in photography, the Museum Kunstpalast shows an exhibition about the work of Peter Lindbergh, curated by himself before he died last year. I haven’t seen it yet, but plan to go in April when I have a friend visiting. https://www.kunstpalast.de/de/museum...eter-lindbergh

The K21 museum has a very cool permanent installation where you can walk around on and in the art, at least if you don’t fear heights:
https://www.kunstsammlung.de/entdeck...-saraceno.html

If you want to escape the city for a while I recommend visiting the Landschaftspark Duisburg Nord. It’s an old industrial area which has now become a public park. There are no opening times and the admission is free. I’ve been there by car, but I checked and it’s about 35 minutes with public transport from Düsseldorf main station. Directions are on the website.
https://www.landschaftspark.de/en/ba.../introduction/

[bartleby]

I second in recommending the art museums in Dusseldorf and the beer in both Cologne and Dusseldorf. If you go to Cologne don't miss the art museums there, because they are absolutely worth a visit (e.g. Museum Ludwig: https://www.museum-ludwig.de/). One of the most interesting is propably Kolumba (https://www.kolumba.de/) because of a stunning architecture and a most intersting contrast of old religious art and modern art.

[G42]

Thanks everyone for the advice so far!

Lots of stuff to consider, once I get my flights/hotel/work schedule figured out - I'm going for a huge convention that apparently takes up all the hotel rooms, etc, so need to figure that all out first.

I drink more wine than beer but I do appreciate good beers and will definitely be trying local specialties

[G42]

Not unexpectedly, the big conference/show I was going to (Interpack) has been delayed until early 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic
Hopefully I'll still be able to go next year - thanks again for all the advice

[sevendog]

Apologies for coming late to this party! I sadly just left Cologne after living there for two years. Definitely take the train there! I second all the museum and beer recommendations, but even if you only see the cathedral, it's worth the journey. Or go east to Wuppertal, and ride the historic Schwebebahn (monorail).

https://www.schwebebahn.de/en/

I hope the conference/show goes on in 2021 as planned!