For many visitors, Düsseldorf comes as a surprise. Its status as a major city in the Rhine-Ruhr conurbation leads many visitors to assume that Düsseldorf is pre-eminently an industrial city. That’s true to a point, but Düsseldorf is much more. It claims with some justification to be Germany’s major creative hub for the cultural sector. You’ll find chic shops and designer labels aplenty in this affluent Rhineland city, but you’ll also discover edgy modern architecture and superb contemporary art. Make time just to wander: our favourite area is the promenade along the east bank of the River Rhine.

The main railway station is Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof; it is a ten-minute walk east of the city centre. If you are pressed for time, hop on the Stadtbahn and it’s four stops to Tonhalle on the bank of the River Rhine. From there you can stroll south along the riverbank promenade.

The departure boards at Düsseldorf are a roll call of European cities. Thalys trains speed west to Brussels and Paris; Vienna and Zurich both have two direct day trains from Düsseldorf. There are EuroCity trains to Berne, Interlaken and Zurich which follow the classic route south up the Rhine Gorge. Deutsche Bahn’s sleek silver ICE trains leave Düsseldorf hourly for Munich and Berlin, both less than five hours away.

There are also direct ICE trains to Utrecht and Amsterdam. Direct night sleeper services leave Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof for Munich, Innsbruck, Linz and Vienna. For hardy souls who don't mind an overnight journey in a regular train seat, there are also direct IC overnight trains from Düsseldorf to both Basel and Berlin.