b'DESTINATION A day in the DorfA DAY IN THEDORFEven as the seventh largest city in Germany, Dsseldorf packs a punch far above its ranking when it comes to a true European experience.WORDS Bruce NelsonPHOTOS Liza SprattWHENYOUTHINKOFGERMANCITIES,THELIKESOFBERLIN,And if shopping is high on your list then the Knigsallee, known to the Munich and Frankfurt readily spring to mind, but not so often the capitallocals as the K (pronounced koo), provides a leafy urban boulevard of the most populous German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia,alongside a landscaped canal where youll find a roll call of international Dsseldorf. fashionlabelsandspursofalleysandstreetsleadingtoshopping Hugging the Rhine River and within an easy drive to the borders ofcentres and malls. Belgium and the Netherlands, the compact yet culturally consciousDsseldorf doesnt rise at dawn, in fact if youre looking for an early metropolis confidently walks the line between old and new, with areasmorning coffee to start then your choices will be limited, but by 9am the easily identifiable for their history or cutting-edge architecture. wheels of the city start to turn and one of the many cafs in Altstadt will KaiserwerthanditsKaiserpfalzcastle,thewindingcobblestoneprovide you with the heart starter you need. streets of Altstadt (literally old town), and the Benrath Palace and ParkBest known as the historical town or city centre, it features a labyrinth for example, wont disappoint if youre looking for something ancientofstreetsandalleyscontainingcafes,restaurantsandbarsanda and authentic. growing presence of well-known clothing labels and some very unique TheredevelopeddocksofDsseldorf-Hafen,knownastheMediahomeware boutiques.Harbour, feature buildings designed by nationally and internationally- Jam packed into just one square kilometre and lined with centuries old renownedarchitectsandishometocompaniesinmediaandbuildings, the borough changes dramatically throughout the day from a communication, fashion and architecture, art and culture. shopping and arts centre (its where most of the state capitals art and Dsseldorf also has one of the largest number of Japanese diasporacultural venues can be found) to what the city calls the longest bar in in Europe, with a defined district where youll find some of the bestthe world at night when the 260-plus licenced establishments come noodles and ramen outside of Japan. to life.URBANDRIVER19'