The Museum Kunstpalast, which was redesigned by Oswald Matthias Ungers and opened in 2001, is located in the centre of Düsseldorf, right on the Rhine river. Ever since it reopened, the house has gained a splendid international reputation with its high-quality exhibitions, such as Miró, Dalí, Warhol, Caravaggio, "Bonjour Russia", "Diana and Actaeon" and Per Kirkeby. The permanent exhibit too, whose spectrum ranges from medieval sculptures to an outstanding assortment of Baroque graphic works up to paintings of the Düsseldorf School of Painting and Expressionism, as well as contemporary photography, is held in great esteem all over the world. The Hentrich Glass Collection is also found in the Museum Kunstpalast, and is the most comprehensive glass collection in Europe, tracing the development of glass artistry without interruption from luxury glass objects of the pre-Roman period up to glass art from contemporary studios. The Robert Schumann Hall, a multifunctional hall offering a sophisticated program running from chamber music to cabaret, is also integrated into the museum.

The Rhine tower, the North Rhine-Westphalia parliament, the Gehry Buildings, the city gate or Colorium – MedienHafen is a hotspot for creative architecture in Düsseldorf. Several international architects played a creative role in the reconstruction of the old Rhine port area. Frank O. Gehry, David Chipperfield, Joe Coenen, Steven Holl and Claude Vasconi were among those who made a creative contribution to make it what it is today. Those goods depots which were protected by a preservation order had to be renovated with hi-tech engineering and creative interior design. The ancient storerooms have been recreated with a new style and grace. However, you can still feel the old port atmosphere everywhere despite all the reconstruction. Just a decade ago the warehouses were nothing but immense empty spaces inside. Today, various television channels and radio stations, and advertising and media agencies, design bureaus and suchlike have all set up shop inside. So that’s where the name came from: MedienHafen, which means media harbour. The MedienHafen also plays in the premier league where hospitality is concerned. From the exquisite “Berens am Kai”, with a Michelin star, through the “most golden” curry sausage in Düsseldorf, to a cosy cocktail in the evening – the restaurateurs here have adapted to their heterogeneous clientele, which is composed of business customers during the day and the funky in-crowd in the evening, who all meet up to party at the stylish “Rudas Studios” advertising film venue or at the “Port Seven”.

The Church of El Salvador is simply beautiful and full of wonderful small details that you can go and look at for ages. A tip to avoid the queue is to first visit this church and then the cathedral, both of which can be visited with the same ticket.