The most amazing Christmas markets in Dusseldorf are about a trip during the Pandemic when we visited three amazing cities in Germany. Dusseldorf is part 1 of this trip.

My husband spent weeks and weeks doing the research, and the final itinerary would include a visit to Dusseldorf, Stuttgart, and Frankfurt. Traveling during a Pandemic takes a lot of research, flexibility, and the ability to change your plans as needed. “Go with the flow” as they say…

My favorite airplane to fly is the amazing B747. I think it is so beautiful and comfortable. We decided to fly out of Miami, where this aircraft was flying from. Seeing this aircraft brought a smile to my face. The flight was very smooth and comfortable.

Once we arrived in Frankfurt and entered Germany, showing our CDC cards with our vaccination records, we proceeded to the train station. Our first stop was Dusseldorf and it was about a 1-hour train ride.

CovPass & Luca App

A CovPass & Luca App are 2 things that almost are a must when visiting Europe during the Pandemic. The Covpass has a QR code that shows your vaccination status/vaccine record in a very easy way. The Luca App is a digital contact tracking system that is connected to the health system. It is mandatory to “check in” and “check out” using the Luca app at many restaurants, stores, and Christmas markets.

The first thing we did was to stop at an “Apotheke” that was located inside the train station. I read they can assist in converting the CDC vaccination card to an EU green certificate that is conveniently stored on your phone. All we needed was out vaccination cards and passports. 15 minutes later, we were all owners of the new app “Cov Pass” and able to show our QR code for vaccination status. This was very helpful & a smooth way to show it wherever we went.

The city of Dusseldorf

Dusseldorf is the capital of the German state of North Rhein – Westphalia, and the 7th largest city in Germany. It is known for fashion, and art as well as being a financial center.

Das Carl Hotel

We stayed in the old town, at the hotel Das Carl. It was a very nice hotel, located across from a market and surrounded by shops & restaurants. They served an amazing breakfast every morning. Due to its central location, we were able to walk everywhere.

During our 3 days, we did a walking tour of the old town, visited churches, and a mustard museum, and enjoyed the amazing view from the Rhein tower. In Dusseldorf, you will be able to find a lot of nice shops.

Rhine Tower

The Rhine Tower is a 240-meter-high telecommunications tower in Dusseldorf. On a clear day, you will get an amazing view over Dusseldorf. You may even see the outline of Cologne. There is a cafe/bar at the top and you can enjoy a little something as you take in the view.

Stadterhebungsmonument (City founding monument)

This amazing bronze sculpture was made by the artist Bert Gerresheim. It was created in1988, to celebrate the 700-year celebration of Dusseldorf becoming a city. It shows scenes from the Battle of Worringen, the seal of the city deed, and the elevation of the parish church dedicated to Saint Lambertus to the canonical foundation. You can find this in the old town, close to the Lambertus Basilica.

Lambertus Basilica

This church was founded the same year that Dusseldorg became a city, in 1288. There was a fire in 1815 that destroyed the spire. When rebuilding it, they used damp wet wood and it resulted in a twisted roof. The legend says that the devil twisted the tower as he tried to uproot the church. This basilica is beautiful inside as well as outside.

The Senf Museum

There is a small mustard museum located in the old town. They had memorabilia and photos from old times. It is more of a store than a museum. They have an amazing spread of flavored mustard. Some of the flavors were gluhwein, various herbs as well as beer.

Lindt Chocolate Store

You have to visit the Lindt store – I can promise if you are a chocoholic like myself, you will be in heaven. Your family and friends will thank you for bringing back some goodies. I found these amazing chocolate advent calendars. Imagine being able to enjoy a special treat every day leading up to Christmas.

Restaurants

When visiting the most amazing Christmas markets & more in Dusseldorf, one of the highlights is to try the various street food, Christmas market food, coffeehouses, and restaurants. We were not disappointed.

Das Hausbraueri Zum Schlussel

Dusseldorf also has amazing restaurants. We only had time to visit a few. The first evening we went to a brewery located on the Rhein Promenade. We had the first official Gluhwein. I ordered a Flammkuchen – something between a pizza and a flatbread. It was super thin, crunchy and so delicious.

Aldstadt Restaurant

The Altstadt restaurant is a typical German restaurant, located on Berger Strasse. The aroma of pork, sauerkraut, and other German spices welcomed you in. The food, as well as the service, was very good. It felt so good to come inside as it was cold outside. I ordered a Schnitzel with mushrooms. They had an interesting wine list with wines from eastern European countries. For dessert, we ordered vanilla ice cream with raspberry jam. It was delicious.

Cafe Bretagne

My favorite restaurant was Cafe’ Bretagne, a french restaurant located across the street from the hotel. The aromas that meet you as you step inside are amazing. I started with an amazing fish soup. It was accompanied with aioli, croutons, and a rouille. I chose Moules mariniere . They were served with French Fries. The taste was amazing. The rest of my party ordered this amazing seafood. I have never seen so much seafood over pasta. For dessert, we had a lemon cake. Simple. Sweet. Tart. Delicious.

Dusseldorf Christmas Markets

There are 6-7 different Christmas markets in Dusseldorf.

• Altstadt-markt – Old town market. This one had been minimized this year and only consisted of a few stalls.
• Handverker-markt – by the City hall. They used the 2G rule, and everyone was checked before entering. You could find the usual Gluhwein, bratwurst, amazing sweets, Christmas ornaments, etc.

• Schadow-markt – along Schadow strasse. This was very small this year. A few huts selling candles, jewlery and lebkuchen.
• Kö-Bogen-markt – located on Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz. You can find a little bit of everything here. We bought a Nativity set in wood from one of the artisans. Simply beautiful.
• Sternchen-markt – The little star market is located in the courtyard of the Wilhelm Marx house. All the huts are decorated with stars, snows and it is glimmering.
• Engelchen-markt – This little angel market is located between the old town and the shopping street Königstrasse. Angels are to be found everywhere.

• Märchen-markt – The fairytale market is located between Schadow Strasse and the Königs allee. Amazing lights, amazing gluhwein. An atmosphere that simply has to be experienced.
• Kö-Lichter-markt – This is Dusseldorfs newest Christmas market that is set up on the classiest shopping street Königs Allee. Midway down you have this amazing lit arch that is stretching across the Stadtgraben (small river).

To sum it all up…

Dusseldorf is a city I would love to come back to and explore more. It has a very nice atmosphere, lots of amazing restaurants, great shopping and there is so much to see. When we were planning this trip to visit the most amazing Christmas markets & more in Dusseldorf, we were not quite sure what to expect when it came to restrictions. Would there even be Christmas markets? Dusseldorf was the one city with the least restrictions that we visited during this trip. You had to show the vaccination certificate to enter the Christmas markets, as well as wear face masks in all public areas.

After spending 3 days in Dusseldorf it was time to move on to the next city. You can read more here.

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