Kaiserswerth

Kaiserswerth is a historic quarter of Düsseldorf on the right bank of the Rhine, about 10 km north of the Altstadt, and feels like a small riverside town of its own. The Rheinbahn U79 runs from Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof or Heinrich-Heine-Allee towards Duisburg and reaches the Klemensplatz stop in about 25 to 30 minutes; the Deutschlandticket or a Rheinbahn single ticket covers the ride. Cyclists can follow the Rheinradweg for roughly 12 km from the Burgplatz, about an hour each way, with bicycle hire from city shops typically costing EUR 15 to 25 per day. The main sight is the Kaiserpfalz ruin near the Rhine, the remains of a Hohenstaufen imperial palace begun under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in the 12th century, where the walls and the river-facing arches give wide views. The nearby Basilika St. Suitbertus, a Romanesque and Gothic church holding the shrine of Saint Suitbert, who founded a monastery on the island that once lay here, is the historic centre of the village. Cobbled lanes around Kaiserswerther Markt hold half-timbered houses, cafés and restaurants, while the Fliedner-Kulturstiftung and the Theodor Fliedner museum recall that the first training for deaconesses and the Kaiserswerth Diakonie began here in 1836, a legacy later linked to Florence Nightingale's studies. A riverside promenade along the Rhine is ideal for a slow afternoon walk, with views of passing barges and the opposite bank's meadows. A sensible plan is a morning visit to the ruin and church, a lunch of Rhenish fare or fish at a Markt restaurant, then a stroll along the dyke and the Rhine meadows before returning by U79 in the late afternoon. The trip suits any day with fair weather, and spring to early autumn is best; the cafés fill up at weekends, so mid-week visits are quieter. The ruin is usually accessible without a ticket, but opening arrangements vary, so a check with the Düsseldorf tourism office is advisable.