Rheinuferpromenade and Burgplatz steps

The Rheinuferpromenade and the Burgplatz steps form the best-known riverfront of Düsseldorf, in the Altstadt of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. This is not a beach in the sand-and-swimming sense: the surface is paved promenade and wide stone steps leading down towards the Rhine, and the water is a fast, brown-green river with heavy barge and cruise traffic where swimming is dangerous and should be avoided. What it offers is the city's most popular place to sit beside the water. The long, straight, open promenade runs along the old town with the Rhine on one side and the beer gardens, cafés and restaurants of the Altstadt on the other, and the Burgplatz steps act as an informal grandstand where visitors sit with a drink, watch ships pass and look towards the Rheinturm and the Rheinkniebrücke. The atmosphere is lively and sociable, with strollers, tourists, office workers on summer evenings and groups gathering as the sun sets across the river towards Oberkassel. There are no lifeguards or loungers. Amenities come from the surrounding city: Altstadt beer gardens and cafés, public toilets nearby, and boat landing stages from which Rhine cruises depart. Access is free and easy. The U-Bahn lines U70 and U74 to U77 stop at Heinrich-Heine-Allee, from where the Rhine is a walk of about five minutes, and the Deutschlandticket is valid on these services. The promenade is flat and paved, and it also serves cyclists and walkers heading north or south along the river. Cars are best left outside the old town, because streets are narrow and parking is scarce and expensive. The steps and promenade are especially busy on warm evenings and weekends, and during events and festivals held on the riverfront. For visitors wanting a beach-style afternoon without bathing, this stretch pairs easily with a cruise, a drink in the old town and a walk to the Rheinwiesen across the river.