After the Cologne Marathon: Düsseldorf

The Route: Cologne → Düsseldorf → Cologne Logistics: Direct regional or InterCity rail from Köln Hauptbahnhof, roughly 25 minutes, several times an hour. Marathon Month: October Duration: 2 nights

Köln Hauptbahnhof ──(25 mins direct rail)──> Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof ──(15 min walk/tram)──> Altstadt & Rhine promenade
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                                                    Köln Hbf ◄──(25 mins direct rail)────────────────────┘

Cologne and Düsseldorf share a rivalry that runs through beer, football and civic pride in roughly equal measure, and spending two nights in Düsseldorf after finishing beside Cologne Cathedral gives a runner the chance to see what the fuss is about first-hand. October on the Rhine here means the same changeable, cool-damp conditions as Cologne, with the added benefit of a longer, more open riverside promenade to walk it off on. The direct train from Köln Hauptbahnhof takes around 25 minutes and runs several times an hour, making same-day or next-day travel equally easy to plan around.

Nights One and Two: Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf grew rich on trade and later on Germany's postwar economic recovery, and its wealth shows in a city that pairs a compact, beer-hall-heavy Altstadt with a genuinely serious contemporary art scene, an unusual combination for a city its size. The rivalry with Cologne is mostly good-natured: Düsseldorf drinks Altbier, a darker, more bitter style than Cologne's pale Kölsch, served in small glasses that get replaced rather than emptied slowly.

The primary recovery asset is the Rheinuferpromenade, a flat, paved riverside walk that runs for several kilometres along the western edge of the Altstadt and the government quarter, wider and more open than Cologne's equivalent stretch, with river traffic and, on a clear evening, sunset views back across the water. At a recovery pace, the full promenade takes over an hour end to end, though it can be joined and left at any point.

Secondary attractions include K20 and K21, Düsseldorf's twin modern art museums (entry approximately €12 each, joint tickets available), covering the twentieth century through to contemporary work across flat, indoor gallery space, a solid choice for an October day that turns wet. The MedienHafen, a redeveloped harbour district a short tram ride south of the centre, holds architecture by Frank Gehry among other contemporary buildings, worth a slow wander rather than a fixed itinerary.

Where to stay: The Hyatt Regency Düsseldorf, in the MedienHafen, suits a quieter, more contemporary base with the harbour architecture on the doorstep. The Boutique Hotel Villa am Rhein, closer to the old town, trades some of that quiet for direct access to the Altstadt's brewhouses on foot.

Where to eat: Zum Uerige, one of the Altstadt's oldest Altbier breweries, serves its own beer straight from the cask alongside a heavy, traditional menu, best approached with the appetite two marathon-adjacent days tend to produce. Bäckerei Hinkel, for a slower morning after, does the kind of pastry-and-coffee breakfast that suits recovery pace better than a rushed one.

Getting Home

Direct rail back to Köln Hauptbahnhof from Düsseldorf takes around 25 minutes, running frequently enough through the day that a specific train rarely needs planning around. Runners flying home from Düsseldorf Airport, rather than routing back through Cologne, can reach it directly by S-Bahn from Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof in about 15 minutes, worth considering if Cologne was only ever the marathon stop rather than the departure point.