Altstadt
Start where Düsseldorf started. The Altstadt covers just 0.47 km² on the bank of the Rhine, and only about 2,244 people actually live here, yet it is still the historic, political and cultural heart of the state capital. The Rathaus, the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen and the Kunstakademie all sit inside the district, and large parts of it are pedestrian zone, so you can wander the lanes without dodging traffic.
What gives the quarter its reputation is the sheer number of places to drink. More than 300 pubs, clubs and restaurants crowd into half a square kilometre, which is why the Altbierlied, the song about the local Altbier, calls it the “longest bar in the world”. That side of the Altstadt belongs to the evening, so keep it in mind for after the walk.
The town itself grew from very little. Before 1190 a knight named Arnold von Tyvern pledged his large estate on the right bank of the Rhine, including land at “Dusseldorp”, to Count Engelbert of Berg for 100 marks of silver. He never redeemed it, so the land passed to the Counts of Berg. By the middle of the 13th century the village mattered as a ferry and trading point between the two banks, and after the Battle of Worringen it received town rights on 14 August 1288. At that moment Düsseldorf consisted of only a handful of streets and lanes.
The Altstadt faces the Rhine with its riverside promenade, and the Hofgarten closes it off to the northeast; you will meet both later on the walk. For now, head for the water: the Fischmarkt is 620 m away, about 9 minutes on foot.
