Dusseldorf is one of ten German cities hosting this year’s European Football Championship. Fans from Austria, France, the Ukraine, Slovakia, Albania and Spain will watch their teams' matches there. A round of 16 and a quarter-final will also be held in Dusseldorf.
But whether you're in Dusseldorf for just one of the matches or for the whole championship, there's plenty for fans to see and do. Where can you soak up the tournament atmosphere away from the stadium? And what else is on offer besides football?
1. Public screenings:
A stage will be set up outside the theatre or Schauspielhaus on Gustav-Gründgens-Platz, where the play “Faith, Love, Football” will be performed on 18 days during the European Championships. The play centres on legendary moments in football history and forms the basis of a “theatrical spectacle”, as UEFA’s official Dusseldorf events guide puts it.
Matches will be screened outside the Schauspielhaus on days when the play is not being performed. Admission is free on those days.
The fan zone on Burgplatz in the Old Town, where all the European Championship matches will be screened, can accommodate up to 5,000 people. The public viewing area on the banks of the Rhine River is even bigger, but not all matches except for those of the German national team, the semi-finals and final will be shown there. A maximum of 8,000 people can watch the matches there near Burgplatz, right on the banks of the Rhine.
2. Stadium:
The European Championship stadium, where Fortuna Dusseldorf usually plays, is near the Rhine and the airport in the north-west of the city. It can hold 47,000 spectators during the European Championships. The underground line U78 runs from the main railway station to the Merkur Spiel-Arena/Messe Nord stop.
While the stadium’s official name is “Merkur Spiel-Arena”, UEFA lists it as Arena Dusseldorf for the tournament.
During the European Championship matches, only ticket holders can use the car parks near the stadium. Match-goers must also purchase parking tickets online (€24) beforehand, as it will not be possible on site. You can continue your journey by bus or train from a number of park-and-ride car parks in and around the city.
3. Pilgrimage sites for football fans:
Flingern Broich in the east of the Dusseldorf is the main football artery, as it were. Fortuna was founded in the former working-class district of Flingern. The club's offices can now be found in the Toni Turek House named after Germany's 1954 World Cup-winning goalkeeper. Turek played 133 matches for Dusseldorf in the 1950s. Flinger Broich is also home to Fortuna's longstanding home ground, the Paul-Janes-Stadion, which was built in 1930.
4. Non-football related sites:
Dusseldorf's old town boasts the "world’s longest bar". Although the tourist office backs up this claim, it is hard to verify. Some 260 pubs, restaurants and bars can be found on just half a square kilometre.
The local copper-coloured altbier with its maltier flavour is, of course, the preferred tipple in Dusseldorf. Six breweries alone produce this dark, top-fermented beer. Fans can also tour local breweries like Uerige, Gulasch and Füchschen.
If you want to clear your head afterwards, go to the banks of the Rhine and stroll along Germany's longest river. Then head straight to the Media Harbour, which was once home to silos and warehouses, and is now dotted with modern office blocks designed by international star architects such as David Chipperfield and Frank O. Gehry.
Fifth Avenue is to New York what the Königsallee is to Dusseldorf. This shop-lined street is known throughout Germany as the "Kö". Even if you don't want to or can't afford to shop in luxury stores like Gucci or Dior, it's still worth a visit. The street itself is a catwalk for anyone who wants to see and be seen.
You would be forgiven for thinking you're in Japan just one kilometre from the Kö. Welcome to “Little Tokyo” where street signs are in both German and Japanese. The area around Immermannstrasse is dotted with Japanese shops, hotels, cultural institutions and restaurants. Dusseldorf is home to around 8,300 people of Japanese heritage, Europe's third-largest Japanese community after London and Paris.
