In NRW, art worth seeing is not only to be found in museums: large-scale works and small eye-catchers can be found outside in the streets of large metropolises and smaller towns. A wide variety of artists, art forms and design techniques transform public space into an open-air gallery. Guided street art tours not only guarantee the discovery of ever new works, which often also depict socially relevant themes, but also introduce less well-known corners of Düsseldorf, Cologne, Paderborn and Dortmund.
Tip 1Düsseldorf
Anyone visiting the state capital encounters art everywhere they go, on foot, by bike or on the underground. The artistically designed stations on the Wehrhahn line or the large "Hornet" mural at the Kunstsammlung NRW K20 are just two examples of how art has long since become part of public life in Düsseldorf. Another legendary example: the colourful Kiefernstraße in the Flingern district, which inspired us on an urban hiking tour, was once notorious for its left-wing alternative squatter scene and is now considered the city's largest coherent urban art work with its variously designed facades.
Regular Urban Art Walks through the city centre provide an up-to-date overview of Düsseldorf's street art, as well as background information on the creation of the works, the artists and brief insights into Düsseldorf's city history. If you would also like to see the murals in the outer city districts, you can go on guided urban art rides by bike.
Tip 2Cologne
There is creative street art on every corner in Cologne. This is not least thanks to the biennial CityLeaks Urban Art Festival, the most renowned festival of its kind in NRW, which constantly produces new works, some of which have long since become photogenic landmarks. Certain neighbourhoods have developed into true street art hotspots, Ehrenfeld for example, which has the highest density of large-scale murals in Cologne. In Nippes, graffiti fans in particular get their money's worth and Mülheim on the right bank of the Rhine is sometimes compared to a well-known trendy neighbourhood in Berlin: "The Mülheim of tomorrow is the Prenzlauer Berg of yesterday," says Cologne street artist Tim Ossege, alias seiLeise, who grew up in Mülheim.
Regular street art tours lead through the particularly creative neighbourhoods of the cathedral city and introduce artists and works of art. If you want to do a longer tour on your own, you can go on a 20-kilometre street & urban art tour by bike.
Tip 3Paderborn
Street art and the Catholic Church come very close in Paderborn: graffiti artists have designed a monastery wall on the initiative of the Superior General of the Vincentian Sisters in Paderborn. Over 100 metres of graffiti art have now ensured that the wall has become one of the city's most photogenic sights as the "Busdorf Gallery". Since 2021, the Secret City Festival has ensured that more works are added every year: National and international painters then redesign facades in the city during the summer. In Paderborn, even science is involved with graffiti: the "Informationssystem Graffiti in Deutschland" (INGRID), which is based at the university, is responsible for systematic research into graffiti images in Germany. Those interested can get an up-to-date overview of Paderborn's street art on two different tours, on which an expert on the scene guides you through various parts of the city. A photo reportage gives a vivid impression of the scene.
Tip 4Dortmund
Colourful urban jungles thrive in many places in the Ruhr region, but street art is particularly colourful in Dortmund. Dortmund's Unionviertel district is a colourful hotspot with many large-format murals. Right in the centre: The 44309 Street Art Gallery, which not only offers urban art for the living room at home, but has also repeatedly invited graffiti artists from all over the world to design the city's façades. The Dortmunder U, cultural centre, observation tower and landmark of the city, is the start and finish of guided street art tours. It also lends its name to the Union Quarter: until the 1990s, the Dortmunder U was the fermentation and storage cellar of the Union brewery.
