Germany Guide
North Rhine-Westphalia
The Rheinuferpromenade and Medienhafen
Düsseldorf regained its riverside in 1995 when the traffic-choked B1 highway was finally diverted into a tunnel. In its place, the Rheinuferpromenade makes for delightful strolling south from the Altstadt towards the Medienhafen, a revamped dockside district that's now one of the city's most visually striking.
Admire the dignified stone facade of Peter Behrens' 1912 Mannesmann-Haus building before pausing for artistic and liquid refreshment at KIT (Kunst im Tunnel; Tues– Sat noon–7pm, Sun 11am–6pm; €4; www.kunst-im-tunnel.de), an inspired venue for contemporary art sandwiched between the two arms of the road tunnel, with a cool café/bar at ground level. To the south, beneath the Rheinkniebrücke, the Apollo Varieté (0211/828 90 90, www.apollo-variete.de) organizes alfresco tango evenings in summer. Beyond the bridge, the obligatory TV tower (Rheinturm Düsseldorf; daily 10am–11.30pm; €3.50) looms above the North Rhine-Westphalia parliament, with an observation deck 168m above the river, a revolving restaurant and illuminated portholes forming the world's largest decimal clock.
Over the past decade or so, the redundant harbour south of the parliament has been reinvented as the hip Medienhafen, with advertising agencies alongside slick nightclubs, restaurants and eye-catching buildings by celebrity architects. Particularly distinctive are the wobbly silver-and-white Neuer Zollhof towers by Frank Gehry; also notable is the Stadttor, which resembles a steel-and-glass Arc de Triomphe astride the entrance to the road tunnel. Though it's all undeniably developer-led, the Medienhafen is anything but sterile, and in the nightlife stakes at least is beginning to give the Altstadt a run for its money.