Düsseldorf 2026

Rheinturm, Rheinkniebrücke and Oberkasseler Brücke - panorama from Düsseldorf 

We arrived at Düsseldorf Hbf on Wednesday 5 August after travelling from Leuven (Belgium) on five trains. 

The main body of this post will give a few details of the breweries / bars we visited in the same order. For details of travel to Düsseldorf, accommodation, cafes, places of interest and a side trip to Wuppertal see the appendices that follow.

Brauerei Im Füchschen

Im Füchschen 'Little Fox' at 28 Ratinger Strasse was rebuilt after WWII, reopening in 1950. The red and white banner can be seen from some distance, hanging above the cobbled street.

On a Wednesday in August it was easy to find a table inside with many regular customers away on holiday.

The beer menu only offers two alcoholic choices - Alt or Pils. A Radler and non-alcoholic Alt are the other two choices. The top-fermented Altbier is only served in 25cl straight glasses and a waiter may bring another glass once a glass is empty unless a beer mat is placed on top.

The food menu is more extensive with daily specials. Tim enjoyed bratwurst with mashed potato and pale root vegetable with gravy. 

Hausbrauerei Zum Schlussel

Zum Schlussel 'At the key', Bolkerstraße 41-47, features a giant green neon key, protruding from the first floor. The traditional text above first floor level: Iss was gar ist, Trink was klar ist, Sag was wahr ist translates as Eat what is cooked, Drink what is clear, Speak what is true. This proverb may also be found adorning other German inns and breweries.

In common with Im Füchschen, the interior features wooden tables, ceramic cutlery holders, ornate overhead lamps and interesting decorative features on the walls.

A limited range of two draught beers included Original Schlüssel Alt. Our waiter allowed us to sit in an area behind the bar but dissuaded anyone else from sitting further back as the large space was fairly empty.

The beer garden for Zum Schlussel is across the street, under the clock tower of the baroque Neanderkirche. 

Brauhaus Alter Bahnhof

Brauhaus Alter Bahnhof 'Old railway station' at Belsenplatz 2, Oberkassel, was the first brewery visited on Thursday.

The easiest way to travel to Oberkassel from Düsseldorf Hbf is on routes U75/U76/U77 from underground at the station. The trams emerge from a tunnel before crossing the Rhein on the Oberkasseler Brücke.

On a warm afternoon, we sat at an outside table in the west-facing walled beer garden which is shaded by trees.

The current Alt brewed and served here is Belsen Alt.

A wider variety of draught beers is available here than at most Düsseldorf breweries.

The building includes several large rooms and copper brewing vessels stand behind railings in one of these.

An old brewery control panel is displayed on the wall of another room.

Uerige

Uerige is at Berger Strasse 1, the corner with Rheinstrasse.

The rear part of Uerige extends along Rheinstrasse with buildings in mixed styles.

Uerige is a word used locally for a grumpy person and this was the reputation of landlord and brewmaster Wilhelm Cürten who acquired the building in 1862 and installed a brewery in the cellar.

Nearly all of the customers were outside.

The front room with an angled corner has windows with stained glass.

We found a table in a large room further back with copper lampshades and windows onto Rheinstrasse.

A large painting at the back of the wood-pannelled room features a Düsseldorf Altstadt waterfront scene which apparently dates from around 1890.

There's an English menu card that lists three beers - Alt (dat leckere Dröppke 'that delicious little drop'), Radler and Hosen Hell.

Hosen Hell, brewed in Bavaria, was introduced in 2026 and is named after Düsseldorf-based band Die Toten Hosen (the dead trousers) who have a longstanding relationship with Uerige.

Im Goldenen Kessel

Sandwiched between McDonald's and KFC, Im Goldenen Kessel (In the Golden Cauldron) also had plenty of customers at standing tables outside. Brewing at Bolkerstraße 44 stopped around 1925 after Brauerei Schumacher completed a major expansion of its main brewery on Oststraße.

We found a scrubbed wooden table in one of the several areas on two levels inside.

There are paintings, stained glass and decorative items in other areas.

The beer menu includes Alt and 1838er 'Alt 2.0', introduced in 2013. The restaurant menus, including monthly 'Specials' are available in English.

With his Alt, Tim enjoyed an August special dish - Pork shashlik in tomato sauce, served with French fries and coleslaw (€16).

All of the above establishments are recommended. If you want to see them at a quiet time then visit Düsseldorf in August! If you haven't tried Altbier before then you will have plenty of opportunities to get used to the taste and the tradition of serving it in 25cl glasses.

APPENDICES

Transport to Düsseldorf  etc

Leuven > Welkenraedt, Welkenraedt > Aachen, Aachen > Düren, Düren > Köln, Köln > Düsseldorf.

For transport from Leuven to Aachen we obtained the cheapest fare by using SNCB Train+ fare and changing at Welkenraedt instead of a direct ICE train.

Aachen Hbf

Because of maintenance work on the German rail network we were unable to take the usual direct train from Aachen to Düsseldorf. In Germany we used the monthly DB Deutschland-Ticket (€63) which allows unlimited travel on regional trains (not ICE), local U-Bahn, tram and bus services.

Düsseldorf Hbf is at the edge of the commercial centre of the city which lies between the station and the river Rhein. The railway station includes many food outlets and other shops. Trams stop outside and U-Bahn services can be accessed from escalators. Payment is required to use toilet facilities.

Accommodation

We stayed at Holiday Inn - the niu 'Düsseldorf main station' which is about 1km from Düsseldorf Hbf. A walk through residential streets and a corner of IHZ-Park makes it fairly convenient. The balcony of the hotel bar overlooks the park.

Coffee bars / breakfast

Hotel breakfasts are usually expensive and we enjoyed visits to a couple of independent places near Düsseldorf Hbf for coffee and pastries. Omonia is a Greek cafe / bistro just outside the station on the eastern (residential) side.

KYTO coffee Hauptbahnhof at the corner of Konrad-Adenauer-Platz and Immermannstrasse, is on the city side of Düsseldorf Hbf.

Landmarks and places of interest

We passed motifs relating to steel on the way from Düsseldorf Hbf to the niu hotel and this area was once the base of Paul Kahle Rohrleitungsbau, a pipeline and industrial construction company.

The city has several art galleries and there is a Max Ernst sculpture (Habakuk) outside the Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen.

Unfortunately the Pegeluhr, by the Rhein promenade, that usually shows the river water level on two faces and the time on the upstream and downstream faces was completely covered up for maintenance.

A day trip to Wuppertal

Scenes featuring the Schwebebahn in 'Alice in the Cities' a 1974 film directed by Wim Wenders were the inspiration for a day trip to Wuppertal.

We took a direct train from Düsseldorf Hbf to Wuppertal-Vohwinkel, walked to the western terminus of the Schwebebahn at Vohwinkel and boarded a coach of the suspension railway.

We travelled above roads and the curving Wupper river, the full 13 km length to the eastern terminus at Oberbarmen. The coaches sway slightly as they are hanging from a central point.

We got off here and walked to Wuppertal-Oberbarmen for a direct train back to Düsseldorf Hbf via Wuppertal Hbf.

Hannover

We travelled by train to Hannover on Friday. See separate blog post. (Work in Progress)

Recommended articles about Düsseldorf and Altbier:

A Tempest in a Tankard (Franz D. Hofer) - Altbier all day in Düsseldorf  (2024)

Boak & Bailey - We're idiots: of course we hadn't dün Düsseldorf (2022)

John Westlake - Coming to a complete Alt - published in BEER - issue 72 / Autumn 2026