Dusseldorf Facts

Altstadt (Old Town)

The Altstadt or Old Town, located between the Rhine and Heinrich-Heine-Allee, is the heart of Düsseldorf. This pedestrian zone is said to be the "longest bar in the world" and most of the city's out- and indoor-events take place here, i.e. the Düsseldorfer Altstadt-Herbst, an end-of-summer festival. The Altstadt attracts both tourists and locals thanks to its beautiful location on the banks of the Rhine. Pubs, haute cuisine, snack bars and shops are all packed into this part of the city. Take the U-Bahn or a taxi to Heinrich-Heine-Allee and dive into the crowd. If the weather is nice, go for a stroll along the Rheinuferpromenade, where you'll have a beautiful view of the houses...

...It's big and commercial, full of banks and industrial offices and skyscrapers, but it's also refreshingly clean. Düsseldorf got its start as a settlement on the right bank of the Rhine, but today it's spread out on both sides -- the older part on the right, and the modern, commercial, and industrial part on the left. Five bridges connect the two sections, the most impressive being the Oberkassel. Parks and esplanades line the riverbanks. After 85% of the right bank was destroyed in World War II, Düsseldorf followed a modern trend in reconstruction, and today it's the most elegant metropolis in the Rhine Valley.