
A walk through Ackerstraße
A walk through Ackerstraße
Around 1.3 kilometers long, the center of Flingern inspires with its very own, little-adapted charm and a multitude of extraordinary places to visit
Graffiti, front gardens with palm trees, stores that rival the size of any garden shed: Ackerstraße in Flingern is one of the rare corners not only in Düsseldorf, but in every major city, where individuality still prevails. Where no large chains dominate, where café owners and guests greet each other by name and where world-renowned galleries and art spaces with local artists exhibit their work.
The tour we suggest starts at "Café Hüftgold" and leads north to the "Cucina Vitale" restaurant; it then leads back in the opposite direction on the same side of the street to the "Studio for Artistic Research" in the south of Ackerstraße. The entire route takes around 75 to 90 minutes with plenty of time for browsing and looking around.
Café Hüftgold, Ackerstraße 113
One of the surest signs that it's a good restaurant - or in this case, café? When you can't make a reservation! The same goes for "Hüftgold", which nevertheless - or precisely because of this - hardly knows how to save itself from guests. But when the aroma of homemade cakes, bagels and tarte flambée wafts towards you from afar, how on earth can you resist? So you'd better give in to the café's motto, namely "indulgence without remorse", and enjoy the coffee, one of the many teas and pastries (also available to go) that are celebrated far beyond the neighborhood. In summer, the terrace is the perfect place to watch the passing public. Win-win, we say: You discover the latest trends and pick up interesting snippets of conversation, while women, men and children's mouths water at the sight of the desserts - and so the next guests join the queue straight away. By the way, great idea: the café offers a "suspended coffee", which you pay for, but someone who can't afford it drinks it themselves.


After you have walked past electricity boxes covered with advertising posters, bicycles parked for light years and discarded household goods in cardboard boxes - and this is by no means meant in a negative way, rather this little polish is what makes the district so appealing - the shopping fun begins, at ...
aest, Ackerstrasse 127
Have you heard the slogan "Before it's in fashion, it's in Vogue"? The slogan of the famous fashion magazine, which is aimed at the editors' sense of trends, also applies to this store. At aest, you will mainly find plain-colored fashion from Scandinavia from brands such as H20Fagerholt and Samsoe & Samsoe, but also jeans from the US brand Agolde, for example. A selection of Autry sneakers, which are particularly popular at the moment, will also enrich your wardrobe or shoe cabinet. Twisted candles with a color gradient, nail polish, high spirits, hair clips and greeting cards often end up in customers' bags. In the minimalist store, you'll find something you won't find in every other store. And you won't see it on every other person. And that can only please in a fashion city like Düsseldorf.
Kiddies - Personalized Gifts, Ackerstraße 145
Cradle, pram, diaper pack? The list of potential baby gifts goes on and on, which doesn't make the search for the perfect present any easier - especially as many parents often already have just about everything they could possibly need before the birth. To the rescue: personalized gifts! Dea Spellbrink produces personalized gifts in her store "Stoffwerke/Grottypetz" at Ackerstraße 145 sells particularly cute blankets, cushions and clothing with a child's initial or full name (from around 45 euros). Our highlight: the pennant chain (around 34.90 euros), which will show for many years who rules the children's room (and household). Just a few doors down you'll find the toy store "Klein aber fein" (Ackerstraße 137), where you'll find a huge range of inexpensive and higher-priced gifts for older siblings.
If you are looking for a gift for your mother, father or friends, then be sure to stop by the following store. It is located between a quaint-looking wine store, a boutique for Finnish fashion and close to a store for exclusive garden products.
Moritz Wenz Store & Studio, Ackerstrasse 155
Objects, tools, products of any kind that will last for generations? They can still be found in many a household, yes. But the throwaway society has long since taken over taken. Moritz Wenz wants to counteract this with his "Store & Studio" of the same name. For example, he sells knives, atlases and writing utensils that are reminiscent of "the good old days" without having visually fallen out of them. The store owner also offers high-quality foods such as chocolate that support cooperatives and social enterprises around the world.
At "Out of Alltag" just opposite (Ackerstraße 150), you can find the right furniture to complete your aesthetic and quality living requirements.



Awsum Store, Hermannstraße 24 (at Ackerstraße)
You drag your treasure up five floors. You buy three locks, maybe even a fourth, for security. And you spend many a Sunday evening polishing it to a high gloss. Believe us, if you buy a bike from Awsum, you'll find yourself in the previous lines. The bikes are objects that gleam through the shop windows from afar or, to put it bluntly, almost dazzle with their beauty. In olive green, matt black or elegant sailor blue, set off with chrome, you can cycle through Düsseldorf on "Ludwig", "Frieda" or "Friedrich", with admiring glances following your path. The only thing you shouldn't leave at home during your visit is the money box. The bikes come from an Italian family-run factory, and quality craftsmanship costs money.
Three pedal strokes and you'll be parking your new bike in front of the...
Cucina Vitale, Ackerstraße 168b
If you're feeling a little or a lot peckish, skip the next few lines - or reserve a table at the "Cucina Vitale" in the next minute. After all, how delicious does fried octopus on beluga lentil salad or pasta with pointed cabbage, ginger and parmesan sound? Garlic chicken with orange potatoes wouldn't be out of place either ... Whatever you choose, Birgit and Gianni Vitale have been spoiling their guests for two decades with dishes that will keep you ravenous for a long time to come. Make yourself comfortable in the restaurant, which has just a few tables, and let whole evenings pass with flavors as intense as the conversations. The menu changes weekly, so you'll soon become a regular. No wonder so many "Top Location", "Top Restaurant" or "Recommended by ..." stickers on the window of the restaurant point out its special features.
Dessert is either available on site or you can walk a few doors down to "Nordmanns Eisfabrik" (Hermannstraße 22a, on Ackerstraße, open from the summer months). Their ice cream flavors were crowned the best in the country by a trade magazine. Or you can stock up for breakfast right away at ...
Chicken Crime Department Store, Ackerstrasse 142
Between butter, bread, sausage and chocolate cream, some jams sometimes feel unappreciated. Unless it's a cold cut from the Chicken Crime Department Store! The store with the original name has long since established itself as a haven for unusual foods. Try the raspberry and lavender jam, which melts in your mouth, or the Flingern herbal liqueur, which burns pleasantly in your throat. Also highly recommended: the "Ginsation", a jam composed with gin and blood orange. Rummage through the shelves of the store, which is reminiscent of a modern corner store, so that you never have to stand in front of the fridge in the morning asking questions again.



Beat Retreat" record store, Ackerstraße
Vinyl records have been celebrating a comeback for years that many bands can only dream of hearing on them. Since 2018, you have been getting your money's worth at the small but great Beat Retreat Record Store: at the turntables facing Ackerstraße, you can listen to the highlights collected by owner Marc Taake from - watch out - nothing less than hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, electronic, Afro, Latin and Brazil. On the Instagram channel of the same name, beatretreat, Taake also regularly presents new releases which, as with all records, are always new. Let yourself be inspired by the "Pick of the Day", which will not only get you out of your chairs, but perhaps soon your neighbors too.
To the beat of the song that was played just a few minutes ago, they continue across the Acker-/Gerresheimer Straße intersection in the direction of ...
Transfood, Ackerstrasse 30
Don't be surprised if the smell of this supermarket stays with you for a while. The aroma is too intense in the food store, which focuses on specialties from Asia, Africa and India and is considered the true meltin' pot of Ackerstraße. Both long-time residents and newcomers to Düsseldorf stock up on king cumin, spherical tuna and chikwangue, or manioc bread. The range of rice alone is beyond imagination! Small, white grains, coarse grains in a light pink shade, yellow rice, and all in kilo bags to feed several large families. Embark on a journey through the world of taste and reach boldly into shelves filled to the ceiling and into one of the freezer boxes. It's quite possible that you'll "only" get tuna steaks - or skate. Or maybe it will be fumbua, the vegetable from the Congo also known as wild spinach. As you can see, a visit to "Transfood" will certainly not be boring in the kitchen.
The same applies to the art shown by Stephan Machac. To get to know it, all you have to do is take four big steps across the street and you'll be standing in front of the entrance to his backyard and the ...
Studio for Artistic Research, Ackterstraße 33
Here, Machac takes paintings, objects and sculpture to a new level by inviting colleagues in the industry to take a possible research-based look at their works. He has been encouraging discussions on questions such as "Can artistic research be seen as a scientific discipline?" or "What effect does artistic research have outside the internal art discourse?" since May 2016. You will find a QR code in the entrance gate that allows you to experience the latest exhibition virtually.
Cover picture & galleries: Düsseldorf Tourism