Rheinturm Düsseldorf: Panorama Viewpoint MedienHafen and the Rhine

• Top choice MedienHafen Tour from US$218 Rating4.64 from 276 reviews^[5]Duration2 hours^[5]Live guideGerman, English^[5]CancellationUp to 24 hours in advance^[5] Check availability
• Rhine Segway Tour from US$91 Rating4.90 from 189 reviews^[7]Duration2 hours^[7]Live guideGerman, English^[7]CancellationUp to 24 hours in advance^[7] See this tour
• Altstadt Guided Tour from US$218 Rating4.50 from 488 reviews^[8]Duration1.5 - 2 hours^[8]Live guideGerman, English^[8]CancellationUp to 24 hours in advance^[8] See this tour

Why the Rheinturm view is worth the climb

The Rheinturm is the tall concrete needle that rises out of the MedienHafen, and the observation deck near its top is the quickest way to understand how Düsseldorf fits together. The tower is 240.5 metres tall and was built between 1979 and 1982.^[1] From up there the old town, the harbour basins and the river sit in one sweep, and the Rhine running past the city is 1320 km long on its way toward the sea.^[9]

Seen from above, the district stops looking like a random collection of glass boxes. The three leaning buildings of the Neuer Zollhof, completed in 1999, sit together on the water's edge, and the colorful Colorium, designed by Will Alsop, stands 17 stories tall a short walk away.^[2][3] Later, at street level, you can pick out the same shapes from the pavement and see how the planners used the old harbour walls as the bones of something new.

The tower is easy to reach on foot from the old town, and the lift ride is short, which leaves plenty of time on the deck itself. Go up once in daylight to read the layout of the city, and if you are staying nearby, come back at dusk, when the lights of the harbour start to come on and the river turns grey and silver.

What you see from the top: the MedienHafen

The MedienHafen is a working district rather than a museum piece, and that is part of its appeal. Düsseldorf's city planners and developers reimagined the vacant former working harbour as the MedienHafen media district during the 1980s and 1990s.^[10] From the tower you can see how tightly the offices, apartments and water sit together, and the district is home to more than 700 companies.^[11]

The buildings that pull the eye are the ones that broke the rules. The Neuer Zollhof, a complex of three buildings designed by Frank Gehry, was completed in 1999, and from above its curved walls look almost soft, like sails or stacked cards.^[2] The Colorium, designed by Will Alsop, stands 17 stories tall and shifts colour as you move around it.^[3] Between the two, the water does most of the work, holding the reflections that make the district photograph so well.

What surprises most people is the scale. Buildings that feel enormous at street level shrink into a pattern of roofs, courtyards and quays, and the river becomes the widest thing in the frame. Walk the full circle of the deck before you head down, because the view changes with every step, and the old town looks very different from the harbour side.

The Rhine Tower rises above the MedienHafen and the river

Getting to the Rheinturm Düsseldorf

The tower stands on the southern edge of the MedienHafen, close to the old town and right by the river. The Rhine embankment promenade is one and a half kilometers long and gives you a flat, easy approach on foot from the Altstadt.^[12] The walk is level almost all the way, which makes it a good option whatever your pace.

Local trams and buses stop within a few minutes of the tower, and the city centre is close enough that most visitors simply walk. The route along the water passes the harbour basins, the bridges and the row of waterfront buildings before the tower appears above the roofs. If you are coming from the far side of the city, allow time for the stroll rather than rushing straight to the lift.

If you can, come at the end of a harbour walk rather than the start. The MedienHafen Tour lasts 2 hours and ends near the water, which leaves you a short stroll to the tower and a rest while you ride up.^[5] The Rhine Tower entry ticket is valid for 1 day and includes skip the ticket line at the entrance.^[6]

The Lichtzeitpegel: a clock made of light

The Rheinturm is not only a viewing platform. The light clock on the tower, called the Lichtzeitpegel, is an architectural installation by Horst H. Baumann that shows the current time using a vertical series of lights in a simplified decimal reading layout.^[4] Once you know it is there, you will look for it every time you cross the river.

After dark the lights are the clearest landmark on the skyline, running down the shaft in columns that change as the minutes pass. Photographers tend to frame the tower from the promenade on the opposite bank, where the shaft, the lights and the reflections in the water fit into one shot. Day or night, it is the detail that makes the tower more than a lift with a view.

The clock is a good excuse to look at the tower twice, once from the deck and once from the ground after dark. From the promenade the whole shaft is visible, and the columns of light read like a slow, quiet sign that the city is still awake. It is a small thing, but it turns a simple landmark into something people remember.

Around the tower on foot

The harbour the tower looks down on has a working past. At the end of the 19th century Düsseldorf's docks lay at the southern end of the Rheinuferpromenade, and they played a part in the city's boom until the end of WWII.^[13] When shipping moved on, planners stepped in, and the vacant waterfront became the MedienHafen during the 1980s and 1990s.^[10]

Water still shapes the place. In 1995 the Rhine crested at 10.69 meters at Dusseldorf, testing the harbour's flood defences, and the river's mood changes the look of the district from one week to the next.^[14] Walk the quays after your visit to the deck and the engineering you saw from above makes sense at eye level, from the bollards to the retaining walls.

The MedienHafen is easy to explore without a plan, and that is half the fun of staying nearby. Walk one bank, cross a bridge and come back along the other side, and you will pass the same buildings from a completely different angle. The tower stays in view the whole time, which makes it hard to get lost and easy to find your way back to the water.

When to go and what to wear

Düsseldorf gets busy in the warmer months: the city recorded 3,068,803 guest arrivals in 2018.^[15] If you would rather have the deck to yourself, aim for a weekday morning or a quiet winter afternoon, and check the weather before you commit, because haze and low cloud flatten the view and hide the far side of the river.

Dress for a few degrees cooler than the street. The deck is high and open, so wind is part of the experience, and a light jacket earns its place even in summer. Comfortable shoes matter more than anything else, because the best way to see the MedienHafen is still on foot, along the water, with the tower as your landmark.

Bring a phone or a small camera with a wide lens if you want the whole harbour in one frame, and keep a little time spare at the top. The light changes quickly in the late afternoon, and the view toward the old town is at its most photogenic when the sun sits low over the roofs. A short stop covers the highlights; a longer one rewards patience.

Pairing the viewpoint with a guided walk

The MedienHafen Tour lasts 2 hours and is led by a live guide in German and English, from US$218 and rated 4.64 from 276 reviews.^[5] A private group is available, you can reserve now and pay later, and free cancellation applies up to 24 hours in advance.^[5] A guide at street level adds the background that the skyline alone cannot tell you.

If you would rather stay on two feet, the Altstadt Guided Tour lasts 1.5 - 2 hours and covers the old town, from US$218.^[8] The Guided City Architecture Walking Tour runs 2 hours for from US$23 and stops at Königsallee, Kö-Bogen, Dreischeibenhaus and Ehrenhof.^[16] Either one can be paired with the climb.

Whichever you choose, the order matters less than the contrast. Spend an hour at street level first, among the cafes and the water, then ride up and watch the same streets turn into a pattern. Or do it the other way round, and use the tower view to decide where to walk next. Either way, the district makes far more sense once you have seen it from both heights.

Plan your tower visit

1. Book the tower ticket

   The entry ticket is valid for 1 day and includes skip the ticket line, and it can be cancelled up to 24 hours ahead.^[6]

2. Time it for the light

   Late afternoon and dusk give the most dramatic views, when the harbour lights come on and the river reflects the sky.

3. Add a guided harbour walk

   The MedienHafen Tour runs 2 hours with a live guide in German and English, from US$218.^[5]

4. Walk the promenade

   The Rhine embankment promenade stretches one and a half kilometers along the water and leads to the tower on foot.^[12]

5. Check the weather

   Clear air makes the far view worthwhile, so pick a day without low cloud if you can choose.

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