Hotel MedienHafen: Stay Beside the Gehry Buildings

• Top choice MedienHafen Tour from US$218 Duration2 hours^[6]Rating4.64 from 276 reviews^[6]Guide languageGerman, English^[6]CancellationCancel up to 24 hours ahead^[6]Good forA first look at the district Check availability
• Rhine Segway Tour from US$91 Duration2 hours^[9]Rating4.90 from 189 reviews^[9]Guide languageGerman, English^[9]CancellationCancel up to 24 hours ahead^[9]Good forCovering more ground See this tour
• Altstadt Guided Tour from US$218 Duration1.5 - 2 hours^[10]Rating4.50 from 488 reviews^[10]Guide languageGerman, English^[10]CancellationCancel up to 24 hours ahead^[10]Good forOld town and Altbier See this tour

Why a hotel in the MedienHafen works as a base

The MedienHafen is the part of Düsseldorf that grew out of a working harbour. City planners and developers looked at the vacant waterfront and reimagined it as a media district during the 1980s and 1990s.^[1] What is left today is a compact quarter of glass, pale concrete and water, with offices on one side of the lanes and the Rhine on the other. Staying here puts you inside that architecture rather than a tram ride away from it.

It is also a district that keeps working. The MedienHafen is home to more than 700 companies and some of the best and most popular restaurants in the city.^[2] Mornings belong to people walking to their desks with coffee, evenings to a much slower crowd along the water. A hotel here gives you both versions of the place, plus a quiet room at the end of the night while the old town bars are still going.

The layout is compact enough to learn in an afternoon. Lanes run between the old harbour basins, small bridges cross the water, and the river promenade marks the western edge. Once you have worked out the route from your lobby to the water, most of what you came to see is a short walk in one direction or the other. That is the main argument for basing yourself here rather than in the commercial streets further inland.

What you will see from a MedienHafen hotel window

The Neuer Zollhof, the complex of three buildings designed by Frank Gehry, was completed in 1999 and is the image the district is known for.^[3] The towers lean and curve, and they change character completely with the light. From a room facing them you get the full show: sculptural and bright at midday, softer at dusk when the windows come on and the shapes blur into the water.

Behind them stands the Colorium Building, a modern building designed by British architect Will Alsop that stands 17 stories tall.^[4] Its facade is printed glass in strong colours, so it reads as a stack of panels rather than one flat surface. Nearby, the Rheinturm is 240.5 metres tall and was built between 1979 and 1982,^[5] years before the media district took shape around its base.

At night the tower carries the Lichtzeitpegel, the light clock designed by Horst H. Baumann that shows the time as a vertical series of lights in a simplified decimal layout.^[11] It is worth knowing what you are looking at before you go to bed. From a hotel window the pattern can read as lamps that happen to be on. Walk down to the water for the view back at the whole skyline.

The riverfront at the MedienHafen, with the towers leaning over the water

The Rhine, the promenade and the harbour's history

Everything here faces the Rhine, a river 1320 km long that carries the shipping, the sunsets and most of the photographs.^[12] The Rhine embankment promenade runs one and a half kilometers along the water,^[7] and it is the natural route between the MedienHafen and the old town. Walk it early in the morning, or in the last of the light when the boats come back in.

The docks at the southern end of the promenade date to the end of the 19th century and played a part in the city's boom until the end of WWII.^[13] After the war the water went quiet and the warehouses emptied. Decades later the vacant waterfront was reimagined as the MedienHafen.^[1] Signs of the working past survive in the basins, the quay walls and the names still used for the lanes.

The river is not always gentle. In 1995, the Rhine crested at 10.69 meters at Dusseldorf, testing the harbour's flood defences.^[14] Buildings here sit behind serious engineering, and the promenade is built to cope with high water. It is a reminder that this is a river port first and a design quarter second.

Choosing a hotel: rooms, views and how to book

Two names you will meet in this district are the Hyatt Regency MedienHafen and the INNSIDE MedienHafen. Beyond them, the lanes behind the basins hold smaller houses and apartments, which often suit longer stays. Decide first what you want to look at: rooms facing the water and the towers get the view, rooms at the back get the quiet.

Think about how you will move around. The MedienHafen sits on the river side of the city, within comfortable walking distance of the promenade and the old town for most people. If you plan to use trams and trains, check the nearest stop before you book, since the district is long and thin and one end is handier than the other. A kettle and a decent desk matter more than a balcony in most months of the year.

Book early if your dates clash with a trade fair or a big event. Düsseldorf recorded 3,068,803 guest arrivals in 2018,^[8] and rooms at the water go first when the city is busy. Ask about parking before you arrive if you are driving, and ask whether your room faces the basins, the promenade or an inner courtyard. Those details decide how much you enjoy the stay.

Tours that start near your MedienHafen hotel

The most obvious thing to book from here is a walk through the district itself. The MedienHafen Tour runs 2 hours with a live guide in German or English and costs from US$218.^[6] It is rated 4.64 from 276 reviews, and a private group is available if you would rather keep it to your own party.^[6]

If you want to cover more ground, the 2-Hour Segway Tour along the Rhine starts at from US$91 and also runs 2 hours with a German or English guide.^[9] For the old town, the Altstadt Guided Tour takes 1.5 - 2 hours and starts at from US$218.^[10] Cheaper still, the Guided City Architecture Walking Tour is from US$23 and follows a route from Königsallee to Kö-Bogen, Dreischeibenhaus and Ehrenhof.^[15]

Boats and buses are the other easy options. The City Sightseeing Cruise on the Rhine is from US$23 and takes 1 hour,^[16] while the 24-Hour Hop-On Hop-Off Ticket is from US$28 with an audio guide and stops including Königsallee, the Altstadt, the Rheinturm and the Rheinterrasse.^[17] Both let you see the harbour from the water and then decide where to spend the rest of your afternoon.

Eating and drinking around the working harbour

The district is not a museum. Companies fill the offices, and the food follows them: the MedienHafen is home to more than 700 companies and some of the best and most popular restaurants in the city.^[2] Weekday lunch is a working crowd, while weekends are quieter in the offices and busier on the terraces.

For an introduction to the local beer, the Brewery Tour with Alt Beer Tastings runs 2 hours and starts at from US$32.^[18] The Altbier-Safari Beer Walking Tour includes 5 beers, also runs 2 hours, and is from US$42.^[19] Both are led by live guides in German or English and make an easy evening from a harbour hotel.

The names on the doorplates run from broadcasters to online retail, and Fashion ID Gmbh & Co. KG is headquartered in Dusseldorf.^[20] If you would rather stay close to your room, the district's own restaurants sit between the offices, many with terraces over the basins. That mix of desks and dinner tables is what makes the MedienHafen feel lived in rather than staged.

When to come, and how to plan your stay

Late spring and summer are the obvious months for a harbour hotel: the promenade fills in the evening, the terraces open and the light on the glass lasts until late. Autumn is quieter, with sharp clear days that are good for the tower. Winter is for indoor plans, and there are winter cruises on the Rhine if you want the water without the crowds.^[21]

Book tours with flexible terms. The MedienHafen Tour offers free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and you can reserve now and pay later.^[6] That makes it easy to hold a place while you plan the rest of your week. Check starting times when you book, since slots vary by date.

Give yourself at least half a day with nothing booked. Walk the promenade, find the Gehry buildings from the water side, look up at the light clock after dark and eat somewhere with a view of the basins. That is the MedienHafen at its best, and it is a good reason to have chosen a hotel here.

Plan your MedienHafen stay

1. Choose your side

   The district is long and thin. Decide whether you want the basins and the towers or the quieter lanes closer to the old town.

2. Pick the view

   Ask for a room facing the basins if you want the skyline, or one at the back if you want quiet evenings and early nights.

3. Book around events

   Check trade fair and match dates first. When the city is full, the rooms on the water are the first to go.

4. Add a guided walk

   The MedienHafen Tour covers the district in 2 hours with a live guide, which makes a good first morning.^[6]

5. Leave an evening free

   Keep one evening for the promenade and the light clock, with dinner somewhere overlooking the water.

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