Tonhalle, home to the 'Düsseldorfer Symphoniker', also hosts many international guest performances. The city's orchestra consists of 130 musicians, and with its many tours in this country and abroad has made an excellent name for itself far beyond the city borders.

Added in early 2002 as the second main pillar of the Kunstsammlung and accommodating contemporary art was the Ständehaus am Kaiserteich, until 1988 the seat of the Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia. Four wings with continuous arcades surround the building’s central public area, a spacious plaza. The creative treatment of this representative building in the Historicist style (1876-80) by the Munich architectural office of Kiessler + Partner created a modern museum building with a striking glaze domed roof which shapes the building’s aesthetic and at the same time spans an expansive sculpture garden located on the uppermost level. Together, a flexible hall for temporary exhibitions in the ground floor level and the upper galleries comprise more than 5300 m² of surface area. Installations and artist’s rooms are an important focus of the Kunstsammlung, an area which has been expanded continuously in recent years.

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”.

Gain fascinating insight into the production process of Blackpool rock - the hard and soft stick candy sold at every corner of the city. Visitors will get the chance to observe the factory line from above, sample fresh candy and purchase some to bring home at the very place of its origins.