the EKO haus is the Japanese house of Culture and Buddhist Understanding. In it, the Japanese…read moreliving in the area are able to practice and cultivate their customs and culture. But also locals can have an opportunity to learn about Japanese culture and actively participate in it. Among the events of the centre there are: Buddhist festivals, tea ceremonies, garden parties with musical or theatrical performances, music events, reading circles for Buddhist texts, exhibitions, courses in traditional Japanese arts, lectures , film presentations, etc. Anyhow, they have this beautiful Japanese garden in the Temple grounds, a peaceful oasis and a must visit in Düsseldorf, makes you think you're in Japan. To get there you can take the U-bahn to Heerdter Sandberg and walk for about 10 minutes. Otherwise you can take a bus to Niederkasseler Kirchweg and walk for 3 minutes (I saw the City tour hop-on hop-off bus also stops here).

A beautiful and serene patch of Japan in Oberkassel - perfectly manicured lawn, landscaped and well…read moreproportioned garden with water features and a temple in the background (which you have to pay to get in but can enjoy from outside). A very peaceful place most of the time, great for a bit of stillness and meditation

The Chaosdorf is a hackerspace, a place where hackers, tinkerers and creative individuals come…read moretogether to work on their stuff and talk with each other. If you fit in one of those categories you should defiantly visit the Chaosdorf, either to bring your laptop to work on your own stuff and/or to talk with like-minded people. There is also a fully equipped room for soldering. There is basically always somebody around and guests are welcome most of the time. But if you haven't been there before, I recommend to attend one of their public events first. A regular event is the Freitagsfoo, which is every Friday evening. There are talks, discussions and they cook vegan meals. In exchange for a small donation you get Club-Mate, Flora-Mate and other non-alcoholic drinks. Unfortunately they don't offer beer anymore, but you can bring your own or get beer at the kiosk, which is just two doors away.

Dear tourists, if interested in modern art and architecture, this is your place to go!…read moreGreat old-modern-combination, probably one of the best architectural highlights in town. Art showed is truly modern (21st century, got it?) And rooms are dedicated to a huge range of different artists. This eclectic concept plus room in the basement for bigger expositions make this museum a good example of its kind. Not to talk of the tomas saraceno installation which can be entered (right.) Until end of 2014.

Go for the In Orbit installation. After donning a special suit and shoes, climb in to the exhibit…read morebut be forewarned : trying to walk on three layers of nets suspended 90 feet in the air isn't for the faint of heart. You can always take a break and lounge on the clear plastic orbs. Afterwards, come back to earth and visit the crazy spider exhibit: intricate webs are suspended from sheet glass. A guard is positioned in the room that visitors don't sneak in a can or two of Raid. Another exhibit featured rows of suspended fabric for the visitor to weave in and out of. After winding through, be rewarded with a highly unusual film short. This museum doesn't have as much art as the sister museum, K20, but it's well worth a visit. We were there in January and it wasn't busy- only a few minute wait to go up "In Orbit" The building is beautiful and spacious; we didn't even see the entire museum but would consider returning next time in Düsseldorf. Quite a few of the exhibits are admittedly unusual but it's still and enjoyable way to spend an afternoon doing something a bit out of the ordinary- especially if you've got painting and sculpture overload.

This French Festival completely exceeded my expectations and is worth more than one visit. I almost…read moredidn't go because I thought France was close enough to Germany and there was no reason to see an imitation. I was wrong! This festival is basically a German Christmas market with delicious French food. Situated right on the Rheinpromenade, the Frankreichfest offers stalls upon stalls of French street food (I had no idea this was a thing), limitless wine options, desserts, French goods, and even a mini Eiffel Tower. The entire promenade was packed with people on a warm summer Saturday evening, but the lines move relatively quickly for each stall. You can't miss the huge pork on a stick, topped with a fresh baguette, for 5 Euro. Other must-haves include the macarons and regional wine. Even if all the tables are full, the festival is directly on the Rhine, so it's even better to take your French treat and sit near the water with a view. The Frankreichfest is only one weekend a year in July and is a must-see if you're in Dusseldorf.

This place is just WOW. Calling it a museum doesn't really do it justice - it's an experience…read more The concept is combining nature and art. There are 12 giant, windowless brick structures spread across a huge forest area, each housing different types of art. You just wander around a crazy German forest, find the houses and shock your eyes with whatever is inside. Three houses in particular really stood out as incredible, but every house is worth a visit. Besides the art inside, there's art bursting in the wild as well, including living areas where artists work and chat with visitors. When we were there, a Joseph Beuys protégé was casually hanging out. AND, there's a gorgeous cafe that goes by the honor system. Like, what?! Another thing to note is the fact that I saw 0 employees. Just... no one. You can touch the art, take pics, whatever without judging eyes. There's also no names, descriptions or anything next to the art. Tickets are 15 EUR full / 7 EUR student, and maps are available at the front. They come in handy because the forest can feel like a maze. I'm usually a fast walker through museums, but I needed 3 hours to take in this magical place. Everything is just beautiful, and I don't know if there's anywhere else quite like it. Go here!

Maybe the best museum in Germany, as far as I remember, it has been the first one to combine art…read moreand nature in such a consequent way.