Dusseldorf

miamee

Myself and bf are heading to Dusseldorf in a few weeks for a weekend away. We're mostly going for the Christmas markets but we can't spend all day over the whole weekend at them Are there any things that we should definitely seeor more importantly, things we should book in advance due to their popularity?

Thanks.

goingnowhere

This is fun http://www.kunstsammlung.de/in-orbit.html

miamee

That does look like fun, my boyfriend would love that. I might wait downstairs, lol.

howyanow

Was there last year.Beautiful city.The Alstadt part of the city had loads of pubs along the Rhine which is great craic. Id recommend Rhine cruise if they are on and go up top of the observation tower.also Cologne close by train.Id definitely return

miamee

Thank you! Yes we're planning to do a day trip to Cologne as we have 3 full days in Dusseldorf. An afternoon in Cologne will be a nice little adventure.
I think I should probably try to book the observation tower before we go - would you recommend day or night time?

super_sweeney

my brother and dad live there so i got a lot. There is absolutely loads to do there. There is the big park in the centre which is great to walk around but might be very cold this time of year. There is a great free(well it was last time i was there) car musuem a few stops away on the edge of the city. http://remise.de/Classic-Remise-Duesseldorf-english-summary.php ;
There is a boat cruise up and down the river cant remember exactly how much it is I think 19 euro or something like for a return and you get as much free booze and you can drink each way. There is another nice park at the other end to walk around. 
There are millions and millions of great pubs around from traditional to irish. I would defitely try some on the river the have heaters outside and then also the alstaadt is great. 
If you have time check out of the Football team is playing at the weekend tickets are easy enough to come buy and the atmosphere is amzaing they are amazing supports and its so easy to get in and out of on the train. 
On the river there is also a big radio tower that you can go up as well. Worth checking out i have never done it but have heard its amazing. 
Hope thats enough lol.

howyanow

miamee wrote: »

Thank you! Yes we're planning to do a day trip to Cologne as we have 3 full days in Dusseldorf. An afternoon in Cologne will be a nice little adventure.
I think I should probably try to book the observation tower before we go - would you recommend day or night time?

We just went in to the observation tower around 1pm.It wasn't particulary busy so didn't need to book.Its beside the Rhine so we took a stroll by the river bank there which is pleasant

miamee

Super_sweeney, that is loads, thanks!!

redcup342

Christmas Markets are on now too

There's an Ice Skating rink at the Konigsallee.

Classic Remise is good.

That Boat Trip that was mentioned up to Kaiserswerth is nice, you can get the U-Bahn back as well direct to Heinrich Heine allee Kaiserswerth is worth a walk around and some food/drinks.

For going between Dusseldorf/Cologne You'll need the Preisstufe 5 VRS Ticket, 11.40 / ticket, will be valid on Train,Tram,Bus, U-Bahn from Cologne to Dusseldorf in one direction.

You can't take the ICE Train, just the Regional ones

goingnowhere

The Kaiserswerth trip is a great laugh, I didn't realise it was free booze until half way there as the Germans pay for booze on tab. Seriously though its all you can drink, selection limited.

It takes longer to get back from Kaiserswerth than going out due the flow of the Rhein so the ubahn option is worth checking out. The old days of the buffet car trams on that route are gone, we did until about 3 years ago enjoy a full coffee shop/bar onboard (yes totally crazy).

The TV tower is worth a trip, view is amazing

7 Irish bars in the altstadt, if you can name the one which is actually owned by an Irish man you are doing well. There is Shamrock lane and there is the Spanish street as well. Its a crazy place.

The alt beer is an acquired taste but at many bars its what they expect you to drink

The big wheel should be setup in Burg Platz by now

super_sweeney

goingnowhere wrote: »

7 Irish bars in the altstadt, if you can name the one which is actually owned by an Irish man you are doing well. There is Shamrock lane and there is the Spanish street as well. Its a crazy place.

There are a few the are owned by Irish but run thats a different story....

redcup342

super_sweeney wrote: »

There are a few the are owned by Irish but run thats a different story....

Suttons and Fattys are owned by 2 Greek Brothers seperately.

Mojos Sportsbar is owned by a Spanish lad and his Irish Missus (I think renamed it "The Irish bar at Mojos" since it was doing very little business initially.

O'Reillys is a chain of bars, there's 5 of them in Different cities (Germany/NL/BE)

McLaughlin's is owned and run by a Dublin guy

Tir Na Nog, I'm not sure, don't go in there much.

The 7th Bar (The Land of Youth) on Ratinger Strasse is closed, was supposed to be a burger bar but it never feckín opened

super_sweeney

I could be wrong now but I think Suttons and Fattys is still owned by Mr Sutton and the two lads manage/Run them I could be wrong though. i know that used to be the case. As Sutton owns the Hotel above Fattys as well and a few other places. 
I know that the guy running fattys owns half of the mexican next door to it with one of the Mexicans who owns a few of the others. 
Either way Amazing City!

goingnowhere

redcup342 wrote: »

Suttons and Fattys are owned by 2 Greek Brothers seperately.

Correct, but the bar man in Fattys is from Bray...

redcup342 wrote: »

Mojos Sportsbar is owned by a Spanish lad and his Irish Missus (I think renamed it "The Irish bar at Mojos" since it was doing very little business initially.

Bit of a rebranding after a bit of an incident

redcup342 wrote: »

O'Reillys is a chain of bars, there's 5 of them in Different cities (Germany/NL/BE)

Ughhh, does food though, the old location on Burgplatz was nicer.

redcup342 wrote: »

McLaughlin's is owned and run by a Dublin guy

Correct and he still has 4 ply toilet paper...

redcup342 wrote: »

Tir Na Nog, I'm not sure, don't go in there much.

ughh, pretty hard to find even though its right in front of you. No idea who owns it.

redcup342 wrote: »

The 7th Bar (The Land of Youth) on Ratinger Strasse is closed, was supposed to be a burger bar but it never feckín opened

Thank god, horrible place

So lots of choice,

Mr rebel

I feel Cologne is far more interesting city than Düsseldorf so I'd choose to stay there instead with the day trip to Düsseldorf.