Düsseldorf Old Town Night Watchman Tour in German with Museum Entry

Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and the Ratinger quarter

The watchman waits outside the Kunstakademie, the Düsseldorf art academy founded in 1773 and housed since 1879 in a grand neo-Renaissance building on the Eiskellerberg above the Rhine. It is among the most influential art schools in Europe, and the quarter around it, Ratinger Strasse and the lanes down to the river, is the oldest part of the Altstadt, where the city's northern gate once stood. Starting here, on the quiet edge of the Old Town, lets the group walk into the busy centre with the lanterns already lit.

After a short introduction about his trade, the night watchman leads you along Ratinger Strasse, explaining how the watchmen of old Düsseldorf called the hours, checked the gates and guarded against fire, and why that made them the best-informed people in town. Expect about fifteen minutes before reaching the first church.

St Lambert's Basilica and the twisted spire

St Lambert's is the oldest church in Düsseldorf, a Gothic brick basilica consecrated in 1394 on the site of a much older chapel, and the burial church of several dukes of Berg. Its 72-metre spire is twisted, which legend blames on the devil and engineers blame on the green timber used in a rebuild after lightning struck in 1815; either way it is the symbol of the Altstadt and spectacular when floodlit at night. Inside, during the day, you can see Gothic frescoes, a baroque high altar and a Renaissance tabernacle.

The night watchman stops in front of the church for about fifteen minutes with his version of the spire legend and stories of the pilgrims, the dukes and the floods that reached the church door. From here it is a short walk down to the river.

Burgplatz, the Schlossturm and the Rhine promenade

Burgplatz is the square where the ducal palace of Düsseldorf stood until it burned down in 1872 and was pulled down; only the round Schlossturm survived, a tower with thirteenth-century foundations that today houses the maritime museum of Rhine shipping. The square opens straight onto the Rhine embankment promenade and the river, and in the evening the lights of the Oberkasseler Brücke and the far bank make it the most romantic spot of any Düsseldorf Altstadt walking tour. In the middle stands the cartwheeler fountain, celebrating the children who, so the legend goes, turned cartwheels to celebrate the city's charter of 1288.

The watchman has about twenty minutes here for the story of the counts and dukes of Berg, the lost palace and the cartwheelers, and the spot is ideal for photos with the lantern against the river.

Marktplatz, the Rathaus and the lanes of the Altstadt

A few steps inland lies the Marktplatz with the Rathaus, the Renaissance town hall built between 1570 and 1573 that is still the seat of the city council, and the bronze equestrian statue of the elector who made Düsseldorf a baroque residence city around 1700. From here the lamplit lanes of the Altstadt spread out: Bolkerstrasse, the Andreasviertel with the baroque St Andrew's Church and the Carlsplatz market, a grid of old houses, courtyards and shop fronts that the watchman reads like a book of local history.

The anecdotes range from the ducal court to the present, from the improbable to the illuminating, in the watchman's own words. This is also the part of the walk where children enjoy spotting the carved signs and figures above the doors. The round ends in the Altstadt after about 1.5 hours, close to restaurants and the tram stops.

Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf, your included ticket

Your booking includes an entry ticket to the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf, the city history museum in the baroque Palais Spee at Berger Allee 2, a ten-minute walk south of the Altstadt by the Spee'scher Graben park. Founded in 1874, it is the oldest museum of the city and tells the story of Düsseldorf from the first settlement on the Düssel stream through the ducal court, the industrial boom and the war years to the fashion and art city of today, with models, paintings, costumes and a garden.

The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, roughly 11:00 to 18:00, and closed on Mondays, so you use the ticket on a separate daytime visit rather than during the evening walk. Allow about one hour; the exhibition fits the watchman's stories perfectly and the ticket makes this Düsseldorf city museum ticket and tour combination unusually good value for a walking tour.