Quick summary
- A live tour guide speaks German and English on the MedienHafen Tour, which runs for 2 hours.[1]
- From US$218 on the MedienHafen Tour, which 276 travellers have rated 4.64.[1]
- Reserve now and pay later on the MedienHafen Tour, with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
- The Rhine Tower entry ticket is a listing of its own, from US$14, valid 1 day and wheelchair accessible.[2]
- A DüsseldorfCard is a separate product, from US$16 and valid 1 - 4 days; the DüsseldorfCard Plus is from US$34.[3][4]
- Top choice MedienHafen Tour from US$218 Duration2 hours[1]Guide languageGerman, English[1]Rating4.64 from 276 reviews[1]CancellationFree up to 24 hours ahead[1] Check availability
- Altstadt Guided Tour from US$218 Duration1.5 - 2 hours[5]Guide languageGerman, English[5]Rating4.50 from 488 reviews[5]CancellationFree up to 24 hours ahead[5] See this tour
- City Architecture Walk from US$23 Duration2 hours[6]Guide languageGerman[6]Rating4.74 from 65 reviews[6]CancellationFree up to 24 hours ahead[6] See this tour
The Neuer Zollhof, designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, is a striking architectural landmark in the MedienHafen (Media Harbor) district of Düsseldorf, Germany. Completed in 1999, the complex has three distinct buildings in Gehry’s signature deconstructivist style.
Two hours with a guide, extras on your own terms
Pre-trip notes
- Check that the guide's language suits your group before you book.
- Set aside a clear window in the day for the tour itself.
- Note the free cancellation window in case your plans change.
- Prices shown are from-prices, so the total at checkout can differ.
On the day
- Trams, the hop-on hop-off bus and the promenade all put you near the harbour.
- Stay for the evening light on the glass facades.
- A private group option is available if you would rather not share the guide.
- Wear comfortable shoes and pack a light layer for the riverside wind.
Your guide on the MedienHafen tour
The tour booked from this site is the Düsseldorf MedienHafen Tour, and the clearest promise in its listing is a person: a live tour guide who speaks German and English.[1] It runs for 2 hours, and starting times appear when you check availability.[1] The price is from US$218, and 276 travellers have rated it 4.64.[1] Inside that score, the guide element sits at 4.7 and value for money at 4.5.[1] That guide figure is the one to weigh when two tours look similar on paper.
A private group is available on this tour, which matters if your party would rather keep the guide to itself.[1] The booking terms are familiar: reserve now and pay later, and free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1] In practice that means you can hold a slot while flights and hotels settle, then release it if plans move. Two hours is a comfortable length for a district that rewards looking up, and it leaves the rest of the day free for the tower or a table by the water.
The city museum visit and other museum tickets
Museum entry around the harbour is a purchase of its own. The Art:walk museum pass is listed from US$29, is valid 2 days from first activation and is wheelchair accessible.[7] It has 36 reviews at 3.60.[7] A two-day window suits a slower stay better than an afternoon squeezed between other bookings. If a collection is the main reason for your trip, put it in the morning and keep the guided walk for later, when the light on the water softens the concrete.
Other listings bundle art and city architecture differently. The guided city architecture walking tour runs for 2 hours with a live guide who speaks German and stops at Königsallee, Kö-Bogen, Dreischeibenhaus and Ehrenhof.[6] It is listed from US$23.[6] The Rhine Tower entry ticket, from US$14, is another single ticket you can add.[2] Build a day out of single tickets and you keep control of the pace, which is handy when one member of the group wants two museums and another wants a beer garden.
Curved metal and printed glass: the harbour skyline seen from the promenade.
Inside the harbour buildings
The MedienHafen is a working district as much as a sight, and it is home to more than 700 companies.[8] City planners and developers reimagined the vacant former working harbour as the MedienHafen media district during the 1980s and 1990s.[9] Before that, at the end of the 19th century, the city's docks lay at the southern end of the Rheinuferpromenade and played a part in the city's boom until the end of WWII.[10] The quays have had several working lives, and the architecture standing on them reflects the later ones.
The buildings are best known from the outside. The Neuer Zollhof is the Frank Gehry complex, a group of three buildings completed in 1999.[11] The Colorium Building, designed by British architect Will Alsop, stands 17 stories tall along the Rhine.[12] Facades like these change with the weather and the hour: pale metal, printed glass and curving walls pick up whatever the sky is doing. Walk the same stretch twice if you can, once in flat daylight and once as the lights come on, and the district reads differently both times.
The Rheinturm and its own entry ticket
The Rheinturm is 240.5 metres tall and was built between 1979 and 1982.[13] It is the vertical landmark over the harbour, and it comes with an entry ticket of its own: from US$14, valid 1 day, wheelchair accessible and with skip the ticket line.[2] It has 226 reviews at 4.41.[2] If you want the city from above, this is a booking to make in its own right, and it works well on the same day as a wander along the water.
The tower also carries a piece of public art that is easy to miss from the ground. The Rheinturm light clock, 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.[14] Once you know it is there, the shaft turns into a clock face and the tower stops being just a silhouette. Come back after dark and watch the pattern shift as the minutes pass.
from US$218
The MedienHafen Tour runs for 2 hours with a live guide in German and English, and can be cancelled up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1]
Refreshments, transport and getting around
Beer and architecture sit together well here. The brewery tour with Alt beer tastings is listed from US$32 and runs for 2 hours with a live guide in German and English.[15] The Altbier safari, which includes 5 beers, is from US$42 and also runs for 2 hours, with a live guide in English and German.[16] Both feel like evening plans: a little walking, a few stops and a long conversation. Keep them away from anything that needs a clear head the next morning.
For moving around, the 24-hour hop-on hop-off ticket is listed from US$28 and is valid 1 day from first activation.[17] Audio guides are included in Spanish, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Russian and Arabic.[17] Its stops include Königsallee, Altstadt, Rheinturm, Rheinterrasse, Nordpark, Kunstakademie and Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof.[17] On foot, the Rhine embankment promenade is one and a half kilometers long.[18] A private transfer between the airport and the city centre is listed from US$37.[19]
DüsseldorfCard and what it is for
If you want a Düsseldorf card for discounts around town, it is a separate purchase: from US$16, valid 1 - 4 days and rated 4.46 from 484 reviews.[3] The DüsseldorfCard Plus is listed from US$34 and is valid 2 - 4 days.[4] A card only earns its place when the transport and the discounts match plans you already have, so count the journeys and the entries you are sure about before you buy one, and treat the rest as a bonus.
The city is busy, so book the pieces you care about first. Düsseldorf recorded 3,068,803 guest arrivals in 2018.[20] The river is on another scale again: the Rhine is 1320 km long.[21] Water has shaped this waterfront in dramatic ways too. In 1995, the Rhine crested at 10.69 meters at Düsseldorf.[22] The level markers along the promenade make more sense once you know what the river can do.
Before you book: practical points
Check language before anything else. The MedienHafen Tour has a live guide who speaks German and English.[1] The Altstadt guided tour runs 1.5 - 2 hours with a live guide in German and English and is listed from US$218.[5] The guided city architecture walking tour runs for 2 hours with a live guide in German.[6] If your group needs English, that narrows the shortlist quickly.
Leave room in the day. A tour, a tower visit and a meal make a full afternoon. The Rhine Tower entry ticket is listed from US$14.[2] The city sightseeing cruise on the Rhine is from US$23 and lasts 1 hour.[23] The Art:walk museum pass is from US$29.[7]
Keep the cancellation windows in mind as you book. Free cancellation on the MedienHafen Tour runs up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[1] The winter afternoon boat cruise on the Rhine allows it up to 3 days in advance for a full refund.[24] Note the difference before you commit, especially if you are stacking several bookings on the same day.
Review counts for Düsseldorf tours
GetYourGuide: MedienHafen Tour,[1] Altstadt Guided Tour,[5] City Architecture Walking Tour,[6] Brewery Tour with Alt Beer Tastings,[15] Segway Tour along the Rhine.[25]
US dollar from-prices for tours and tickets
From-prices in US dollars, as listed: MedienHafen Tour,[1] City Architecture Walking Tour,[6] 24-Hour Hop-On Hop-Off Ticket,[17] Rhine Tower Entry Ticket.[2] No separate child price is listed for these.
Booking and cancellation timing
Plan your harbour visit
Book ahead
Reserve now and pay later: the MedienHafen Tour can be held without paying today.[1]
Pick a start time
Check availability for starting times; the MedienHafen Tour runs for 2 hours.[1]
Match the language
The live guide speaks German and English; check that suits your group.[1]
Consider the tower
The Rhine Tower entry ticket is its own listing, from US$14 and valid 1 day.[2]
Note the cancellation
Cancel up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund on the MedienHafen Tour.[1]
Leave time for the quays
The Rhine embankment promenade runs one and a half kilometers along the water.[18]
Spend two hours in the MedienHafen with a live guide
from US$219Reserve now & pay later
