Düsseldorf

The nickname comes from the sheer density of breweries, bars and beer gardens in the Altstadt's narrow medieval streets — a concentration that makes an evening of hopping between Altbier houses (Uerige, Füchschen and Schumacher among the best-known) genuinely practical without much walking between stops. Altbier, a dark, top-fermented style unique to Düsseldorf, is served in small glasses that staff refill continuously until a beer mat is placed on top — a distinct ritual from Cologne's Kölsch tradition just down the Rhine, source of the two cities' long-running, entirely good-natured rivalry. Beyond the drinking culture, the Altstadt holds St. Lambertus Basilica, its spire distinctively twisted by warping green wood during construction, and a dense cluster of restaurants and shops that make the district atmospheric by day as well as night.

The Königsallee, universally shortened to 'Kö' by locals, is one of Germany's most prestigious shopping streets — a tree-lined boulevard split lengthwise by a canal, with flagship stores from major international luxury brands lining one side and elegant early-20th-century banking architecture on the other. The city's reputation as a fashion and design hub runs deeper than the Kö alone: biannual fashion trade shows draw international buyers, and a wider creative-industry cluster has grown up around that commercial base. The Kaufhof and Sevens shopping centres add mid-range retail nearby, and the Kö-Bogen, a striking curved glass-and-greenery building by Daniel Libeskind that opened in 2013, brought a contemporary architectural statement to the street's northern end.

The MedienHafen (media harbour), a former industrial dock south of the Altstadt, has been redeveloped since the 1990s into one of Düsseldorf's most architecturally striking districts. Frank Gehry's Neuer Zollhof — three angular, irregularly shaped buildings that have become one of the city's most photographed modern landmarks — anchors the harbour alongside other significant contemporary buildings by architects including Steven Holl and David Chipperfield. The district is now home to media, advertising and fashion companies, and its bars and restaurants along the water make it a popular evening destination distinct from the Altstadt's beer-hall atmosphere.

The Immermannstraße area, a short walk from the main train station, holds continental Europe's largest concentration of Japanese businesses — restaurants, supermarkets, bookshops and a Japanese school cluster along and around the street, going well beyond a token 'Japantown' gesture. The annual Japan Day festival each May, held along the Rhine, has grown into one of the largest Japan-culture festivals outside Japan itself, drawing crowds for its fireworks display, cosplay, food stalls and cultural performances.

The Rheinturm, completed in 1982 at 240.5 metres, is Düsseldorf's tallest structure and offers panoramic views from an observation deck partway up, alongside a revolving restaurant. The tower doubles as a piece of functional public art: illuminated light bands running down its exterior form the world's largest digital clock, readable from a distance once you know how to interpret the pattern. Below the tower, the Rheinuferpromenade — a riverside walkway built over a section of formerly elevated roadway relocated underground in the 1990s — connects the Altstadt, the tower and the MedienHafen into a single continuous waterfront walk.

Public transport (U-Bahn, trams, buses) runs on the VRR regional ticketing system shared with the wider Rhine-Ruhr area, and the compact city centre is comfortably walkable once you've arrived. Düsseldorf Airport, Germany's third-busiest, sits about 8km north of the centre, connected by a direct SkyTrain link to the airport's long-distance train station and onward S-Bahn service into the city in around 15 minutes. Major trade fairs (fashion, boat shows, medical technology and more) run throughout the year at the Messe Düsseldorf grounds and can significantly affect hotel availability and pricing — worth checking the fair calendar when planning a visit.