Few cities balance precision and personality like Düsseldorf. Corporate confidence remains high, with Rheinmetall – a top systems supplier for defense – enjoying record orders in 2025, spurring local supplier growth and anchoring the city’s Top 10 ranking for Economic Output. Messe Düsseldorf’s local glow-up and new brand has gone hand in hand with ambitious international connections with Türkiye and Mexico and through its new Gulf office in Dubai.
Urban investment is visible along the Rhine. The MedienHafen (Media Harbor) district is home to more than 800 companies and keeps layering new builds onto an architectural postcard. This year brought the completion of more residential and a boutique hotel targeting design-savvy business travelers. North of the city, the sculptural Tadao Ando Campus & Tower hopes to open by the end of the decade with a hotel, museum, food hall, offices and brewery, adding a new designforward destination. Tourism and culture are riding the same wave. The Kunstsammlung NRW’s 2025 program features expanded Japanese contemporary art, deepening ties with Düsseldorf’s 8,400-strong Japanese community. Retail streets like Königsallee are seeing refreshed flagships and dining concepts, while luxury residential launches in Oberkassel and Pempelfort are setting per-square-foot sales records.