Düsseldorf is the elegant and wealthy capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, and an important centre for fashion and commerce, as well as offering an example of affluent living along the Rhine River.
The Aldstadt, with its late Gothic town hall, cobbled streets and alleyways, comes alive in the evening with bars and restaurants all lighting up the night sky earning it the nickname of 'the longest bar in the world'. The Hofgarten is home to the Goethe Museum and is a delightful park, laid out in English style.
There is a large diversity of shopping opportunities, ranging from the elegant to the wierd avant-garde! Königsallee is an absolute must, pleasantly running parallel to a tree-lined avenue and the ornamental canal that runs through Düsseldorf.
If you should be in Dusseldorf during July, state-of-the-art rides and hundreds of stalls and attractions transform the Rheinwiesen, the normally tranquil meadows facing the Altstadt, into a frenetic nine-day wonderland. In celebration of the Sankt-Sebastian marksmen's guild, the parade through the Altstadt includes 3000 uniformed marksmen, accompanied by brass band music and horses. Whilst the daytime activities appeal to families, at sunset, the young crowd enjoys the summer evenings, fuelled by the many food stalls, rollercoasters and beer tents. The event culminates in a stunning fireworks display over the river on the last weekend. 2006 ~ 15th to 23rd July.
Excursion opportunities from the town/city is the Movie Park theme park, operated by Star Parks at Bottrup-Kirchhellan, and an educational visit to Neandertal, the site of the discovery of the 'neanderthal man' in a limestone quarry in 1856, together with a nature reserve and a prehistorical museum.
