Düsseldorf is home to about 645,000 people and more than 180 nationalities. In fact, almost 1 in 4 people living in Düsseldorf (23.6%) has a passport other than German. Düsseldorf is also a relatively young city: almost one third of the population (30%) is aged 30 or younger. This makes Düsseldorf a lively and vibrant place to be – and wherever you’re from, you’ll surely feel at home straightaway!

International events

There are many opportunities to learn more about the diverse nationalities living in Düsseldorf through one of the many cultural and culinary events that are offered throughout the year. As home of the biggest Japanese community in Germany, it is no surprise that Düsseldorf’s “Japan Day” is a special highlight, attracting more than 600,000 visitors each year. Other events dedicated to celebrating Düsseldorf’s multiculturality are “La Grande Fête Française”, the “German-Italian neighbourhood festival” in Düsseldorf-Gerresheim, the “China Festival” in North Rhine-Westphalia and Düsseldorf’s themed week “Europe in the city”.

The “longest bar in the world” is located in the “Altstadt” (Old Town) of Düsseldorf and will welcome you with open arms all year round. With its density of around 260 bars, pubs, restaurants and breweries located within a relatively small area, it is the perfect place for meeting new people from Düsseldorf and all over the world – and for trying the city’s speciality, “Altbier”! Also, if you’re up for a taste adventure, the Carlsplatz is the place to be: you can tour the world culinarily on this street food market. Even if you have already travelled a lot, there is something new to discover for everyone. After enjoying one of the exquisite meals on offer, you can take a stroll along the “Rheinuferpromenade”, the promenade at the Rhine embankment which covers a distance of 1.5 km and invites you to linger.

One of the biggest highlights in Düsseldorf`s event calendar is the annual carnival season, always starting on the 11th of November and ending on Ash Wednesday. Carnival is also called “the fifth season”. There is a big procession on Shrove Monday, more than 5 km long and consisting of up to 120 carriages! Each year, between 700,000 and 1,000,000 “Narren”, as carnival enthusiasts are called, cheer on the procession as it makes its way across the city. Of course, this extraordinary spectacle is attended by many international visitors as well – alone 15,000 guests from Great Britain join the celebrations in North Rhine-Westphalia’s capital each year. There are about 120 carnival associations in Düsseldorf which carefully plan and prepare each season – be surprised!

Want to see for yourself what life in Düsseldorf is like? You can find many visual impressions here: https://www.youtube.com/user/VisitDusseldorf/videos.

International communities

Wherever you’re from, you will surely find kindred spirits in Düsseldorf. A good place to start are the numerous international associations in town, some of which we have listed below.

Please click here for an overview of different organisations in Düsseldorf focusing on intercultural exchange and dialogue.

Here is a list of online communities you can also join to get to know your new environment.

International institutions

The official “twin cities” of Düsseldorf are Chemnitz (Germany), Chiba (Japan), Chongqing (China), Haifa (Israel), Moscow (Russia), Palermo (Italy), Reading (England) and Warsaw (Poland). Further “partner cities” with which the city of Düsseldorf is amicably connected include Toulouse (France), Puerto de la Cruz (Tenerife/Spain), Montreal (Canada), Guangzhou (China) and Shenyang (China). Additionally, Düsseldorf has an information office dedicated to the European Union (“EUROPE Direct”).

Many consulates are located in Düsseldorf and you can also reach many honorary consuls in the city. You can find an extensive list with all the contact details here.

Consulates general of the USA, France, the United Kingdom, Greece, Kosovo, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Spain, Morocco, the Netherlands, Portugal, China, Turkey, Hungary, Japan and Serbia are located in Düsseldorf, as is the consulate of Canada.

Honorary consuls located in Düsseldorf: Angola, Austria, Congo, Finland, Guatemala, Jordan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, North Macedonia, Mexico, Monaco, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Seychelles. Honorary consuls general located in Düsseldorf: Eswatini, Liberia, Senegal.

Did you know that …

… the pioneers of electronic music, the band Kraftwerk, are from Düsseldorf?

Kindly note that the information given is non-exhaustive and does not represent any type of recommendation from our association’s side. If you notice any broken links or if you know of any additional offers that might be useful to the visitors of our page, please feel free to let us know so that we can amend our list.

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Knowledge Region of Düsseldorf