Quick summary
- The MedienHafen Tour runs 2 hours with a live guide in German and English, from US$218, and you can reserve now and pay later.[1]
- Arrive early, get a cup in hand and use the walk's check-availability start times to work your morning around the tour slot.[1]
- More than 700 companies sit in the MedienHafen, and the walk itself runs for 2 hours, which leaves a clear gap for a Mittagstisch lunch.[1][2]
- The Rhine embankment promenade runs one and a half kilometers, giving you a long, open stretch between the old town, the harbour and the next stop.[3]
- Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and reserve now and pay later, make the harbour walk easy to shift.[1]
- Top choice MedienHafen Tour from US$218 Rated4.64 from 276 reviews[1]Duration2 hours[1]Live guideGerman, English[1]PaymentReserve now & pay later[1]CancellationCancel up to 24 hours in advance[1] Check availability
- Altstadt Guided Tour from US$218 Rated4.50 from 488 reviews[4]Duration1.5 - 2 hours[4]Live guideGerman, English[4]PaymentReserve now & pay later[4]CancellationCancel up to 24 hours in advance[4] See this tour
- Architecture Walking Tour from US$23 Rated4.74 from 65 reviews[5]Duration2 hours[5]Live guideGerman[5]PaymentReserve now & pay later[5]CancellationCancel up to 24 hours in advance[5] See this tour
The MedienHafen is home to more than 700 companies and some of the best and most popular restaurants in the city.
Is the MedienHafen walk worth your morning?
Before you set off
- Pick a start time that leaves an easy run at lunch
- Reserve now and pay later, so you can hold a place without paying straight away
- Harbour, old town and beer walks come in at very different prices, so compare before you book
- The harbour is a short walk from the old town and the Rhine embankment promenade
On the day
- A refillable bottle is the one thing worth carrying on an open quay
- Tell the guide if you need a comfort stop and ask about facilities at the meeting point
- Ask about step-free routes if you are bringing a pram or a wheelchair
- Book a table before you set off so lunch is waiting when the walk ends
Coffee and the first hour in the harbour
A walk through the MedienHafen works best when you arrive with coffee already in hand. The district grew out of a working harbour that city planners and developers reimagined during the 1980s and 1990s, and the result is a grid of quays, bridges and glass that is easy to wander before the offices wake up.[6] The area is home to more than 700 companies, and the early hours on the quays are quiet.[2]
If you have booked the MedienHafen Tour, build the morning around your slot rather than the other way round. The listing runs for 2 hours and asks you to check availability to see starting times, and the guide leads it in German and English.[1] Tickets start from US$218, and there is a private group option if you would rather keep the walk to yourselves.[1]
Coffee stops cluster along the water and in the streets just behind it, and because the district is compact you can drink one cup before the walk and pick up a second afterwards without losing your bearings. Lokal MedienHafen Düsseldorf is a name worth noting when you want to sit by the basin, and it suits an early, unhurried start before the quays get busy.
Toilets and facilities along the quay
Two hours is not long, but it is long enough to regret leaving a comfort stop to chance. The MedienHafen Tour runs for 2 hours, and because you check availability to see starting times before you book, you know how much room you have either side of it.[1]
Make the stop before the walk rather than in the middle of it. Big public buildings, museums and station concourses are the dependable choices in most German cities, and around the harbour the restaurants and cafés along the water are the obvious port of call when they are open. Ask your guide at the meeting point which facilities sit on the route; the question takes a moment and saves a lot of discomfort.
If you are travelling with children or with anyone who needs regular stops, the private group option on the tour is worth a look before you book.[1]
The harbour quays fill with office workers at midday.
Water, hydration and what to carry
The Rhine you are walking beside is 1320 km long, and this stretch is the one that carried the harbour's trade.[7] The Rhine embankment promenade ties the old town to the water over one and a half kilometers, so a harbour walk slots neatly into a longer riverside day.[3] At the end of the 19th century the city's docks lay at the southern end of that promenade and played a part in Düsseldorf's boom until the end of WWII.[8]
Bring a refillable bottle and expect to use it. The quays are open and breezy, and on a bright day the light off the glass leaves little shade over the water, so a drink in your bag matters more here than it does on a wooded walk. The buildings are the other half of the view: the Neuer Zollhof, the Frank Gehry complex of three buildings completed in 1999, and the Colorium, a Will Alsop design that stands 17 stories tall.[9][10]
In 1995, the Rhine crested at 10.69 meters at Dusseldorf, testing the harbour's flood defences, which is worth remembering as you look at today's calm basin.[11]
Lunch and the Mittagstisch hour
The Medienhafen Mittagstisch is the phrase to look for on boards outside kitchens at midday: the German lunch menu, usually written up by hand with the day's dish. Harbour offices empty around the same hour, and the district is home to more than 700 companies, while the tables near the water fill quickly.[2]
If you want lunch to be part of the day's touring rather than something you fit around it, the beer and brewery walks pair well with a harbour morning. The Düsseldorf: Brewery Tour with Alt Beer Tastings runs for 2 hours from US$32, and the Old Town & Altbier Tour runs for 2 hours from US$26.[12][13]
Time the walk sensibly. Because the MedienHafen Tour lasts 2 hours, a late-morning start puts you at a table as the kitchens open, while an afternoon slot leaves you free for cake and coffee instead.[1]
from US$218
The MedienHafen Tour, booked from this site, is a walk through the old harbour district with a live guide in German and English, and a private group option.
Japanese food, ramen and Little Tokyo
Düsseldorf's Japanese community shapes a good part of the city's eating, and the streets near the main station are where ramen, sushi and sake sit alongside Japanese bakeries and grocers. It is a short hop from the harbour and a natural second act to a water-side morning, whether you want a bowl of noodles or a long evening of small plates.
Two guided options make that side of the city easier to read. The Düsseldorf: Sushi, Sake & Japanese Lifestyle Tour runs for 2 hours from US$37 as a small group limited to 10 participants, and Manga, Mochi, and More, Düsseldorf's Little Tokyo runs for 2 hours from US$40, also limited to 10 participants.[14][15]
Both of those walks are led in German, so if that is not your language, the harbour walk is the simpler booking: its guides work in German and English, and it starts from US$218.[1][14][15]
Vegetarian and other dietary needs
Say what you need when you book, not when you sit down. Kitchens in the city are used to vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free requests, but a table booked with a note on it is a table that can plan, and the harbour rooms turn over fast at midday. A short message when you reserve saves a long conversation at the door.
Food-led tours are the simplest way to eat your way through the question. The Culinary Soul Guided Tour runs for 3 hours from US$51 and the Flingern Food Tour runs for 3 hours from US$51, both with a German-speaking guide.[16][17]
If sweet things matter more than savoury, the Sweet Treats Guided Walking Tour of Old Town runs for 2 hours from US$51 with a private group option, and the Hidden Düsseldorf walk in Flingern Nord runs for 3 hours from US$45.[18][19]
Sundays, reservations and the evening shift
Sunday plans are worth making in advance. Düsseldorf recorded 3,068,803 guest arrivals in 2018, and the harbour sits in the middle of the city's eating and drinking.[20] Book the table you actually want rather than leaving it to the moment, and think about how the day fits together: coffee on the quay, the harbour walk, then a long lunch with the river in front of you.
Watch for new arrivals too. A neues Restaurant Düsseldorf Medienhafen opening is worth booking early if you hear about one before you travel. For a table on the water, MedienHafen Düsseldorf Riva and Au Quai Medienhafen are the two names to start with.
The walk itself stays flexible, which helps when dinner plans move: the MedienHafen Tour comes with reserve now and pay later and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1] Evenings here belong to the breweries, and the guided beer tour with 4 beers runs for 2.5 hours from US$39 if you want company.[21] As the light drops, look for the Rheinturm, which is 240.5 metres tall and was built between 1979 and 1982, and for its light clock, a Horst H. Baumann installation that shows the time in a vertical series of lights.[22][23]
Review counts for Düsseldorf harbour and city tours
Food and drink tours, from-prices
Adult from-prices taken from GetYourGuide listings:[12][13][14][16][26]
When to eat around the harbour walk
Plan the harbour day
Book the walk
Choose a MedienHafen Tour start time that leaves a clear gap for lunch.
Sort out coffee
Find a café near your meeting point so the first coffee is not a scramble.
Plan the midday meal
Decide between the harbour and the old town before you set off, and book if you can.
Handle comfort stops
Use the facilities you trust before the walk and ask the guide about the route.
Keep the evening open
Keep the breweries and the Altbier tours for the evening, when the quays light up.
See the MedienHafen Tour times and book your slot
from US$219Reserve now & pay later
