Self-Guided Tours in Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf's Altstadt calls itself home to the world's longest bar, a nickname for the sheer density of taverns packed into a few blocks, and both walks use that same compact grid as their stage. Martin-Luther-Platz and the Tritonenbrunnen fountain sit near one end, Burgplatz and the Marktplatz near the other, with the Kirche St Lambertus and its visibly twisted spire — the result of a historic roof fire rather than a design choice — marking the middle. The Kunsthalle and the Stadterhebungsmonument round out a route short enough to finish before the taverns get busy.

The two games trace nearly the same ground with different rules. One takes a ten-digit World City Trail number at the start; punch it into the app and GPS handles the routing, with an optional spoken clue at every stop, finishing near the Old Town Hall. The other drops the number entirely: Explorial's free download pins the Tritonenbrunnen and the Basilika St Lambertus on its own map as you walk, and keeps a running score between players if more than one of you is competing. Both take about two hours, start whenever suits, and pause without losing progress.

Practical. Düsseldorf runs close to 24C in July and 3C in January, with the Rhine adding a damp chill to winter walks that a scarf handles better than a heavy coat. An Altbier stop in the Altstadt is the local ritual either game is happy to pause for, though the taverns get loud after early evening. A VRR day ticket covers trams and buses across the city, though the entire route fits inside a short walk from the Hauptbahnhof. Königsallee's boutiques sit one street over from the old town, worth a detour only if shopping outranks the puzzle.