Tours · Düsseldorf · promenade
Rheinuferpromenade
A sweeping riverside esplanade shaded by hundreds of plane trees, where the whole city comes to stroll, sip and watch the Rhine slide past. On sunny days its cafe terraces give Düsseldorf an almost Mediterranean glow.
About this place
Stretching for roughly one and a half kilometres between Burgplatz and the state parliament, the Rheinuferpromenade is Düsseldorf's beloved living room on the water. Until the early 1990s a roaring federal highway ran right here, walling the old town off from its own river. Then the city took one of the boldest urban decisions in its history and buried that road inside the nearly two kilometre Rheinufer tunnel, freeing the surface for people. Architect Niklaus Fritschi turned the reclaimed embankment into a broad two level esplanade planted with a double avenue of plane trees, wide stone steps easing down toward the water. Since it opened in the mid 1990s the promenade has become the city's stage for cyclists, joggers, ice cream lovers and evening crowds, all framed by the twisted spire of the old town behind and the modern skyline downstream.
Key facts
- 600 trees — Plane trees planted in a double avenue shading the upper esplanade
- 1.5 km — Length of the promenade curving from Burgplatz to the Landtag
- 1995 year — The finished promenade was celebrated by a million visitors at a riverside festival
📍 Rathausufer, 40213, Düsseldorf