museum kunstpalast

Somehow we managed to see the glass exhibits for free and some of the modern pieces were interesting. However we did not feel like paying to see the other exhibits but the shhop was nice and had a good range of gifts.

It's Split into 2 buildings and you pay at either entrance for both. One side has a pleasant cafe and houses temporary exhibitions usually and the other building usually has the permanent collection including a large glass collection

i really enjoyed my visit here my kids didnt tho, must have more translation as language was a issue

If you are in Düsseldorf and you want to see a Museum showing classic paintings, you must go to the Kunstpalast. Although the statement may look preposterous, it is not easy to discover this fact. I love classic German painting and, when I arrived in Düsseldorf, I immediately searched for a museum showing it. From Internet a got a list of museums whose names begin by “Kunst”, but don’t make any reference to what they are supposed to show: in fact there are a Kunsthall, a Kunstpalast, a Kunstsammlung and other Kunst-something, but nothing like a ”Museum of Modern Art” or an “Alte Pinakothek”. As a next step, I took a look at the Tourist Office's web site (www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de), and - wow! – the banner of the home page showed the picture of a beautiful Gallery of classic paintings, just the type of museum I was looking for. I diligently browsed through the site, but, alas, the name of this beautiful Gallery didn’t pop up. My obvious next move was rushing to the Tourist Office and asking where the Gallery shown in their web site is located. Their candid confession was: “we don’t know !”; and when I asked where I could find a Museum with “old German masters”, they appeared baffled and repeatedly tried to steer me towards various ongoing temporary exhibitions instead. I was growing irritated, but I didn’t give-up. I stubbornly decided to go all round the various institution of Düsseldorf whose name begins by “Kunst” and, by showing them the picture published by the Tourist Office, I asked them whether, by chance, this was their museum; you can bet, their unanimous answer was: “it is not”; and then they prompted me to visit their show (mostly a temporary exhibition). I was nearly ready to give-up when a kind and aged gentleman - whom I met in the hall of one of these museums - told me that the picture published in the Tourist Office’s web probably referred to a temporary exhibition held long time ago, and now fallen into oblivion. And he added that “classic” paintings were on display at the Kunstpalast.And finally there a went. And here are my comments.The museum is very composite and hosts at least three permanent collections. i) A “Museum of the glass” on the ground floor, where a very large collection of glass artifacts, spanning from the Roman age to the contemporary period, is displayed. There is also a limited collection of modern glass sculptures. They claim that this is the largest glass museum in Europe and I acknowledge that it is a good one. But I was not so interested in the subject, which is more apt to captivate the attention of the specialists.ii) A gallery of ancient and classical art on the first floor. There is also an interesting exhibit of medieval sacred art. The paintings are mainly dated from the 15th to the 17th century, with many Flemish and Dutch authors. There are some “big names” (for example Cranach, van Ostade, van Mieris), but most authors are less important and not excessively interesting. I was scarcely attracted, due to the fact that I was unable to find a theme - or a “narration” - connecting the paintings exposed.iii) a gallery of modern art on the third floor. Although there are some interesting pieces (Macke, Kandinsky, Nolde, Otto Dix), I was not excessively moved. The above remark on the lack of “narration” apply also here.The Museum is located about one kilometer north of the Town Hall, near the banks of the Rhine river. It sits in an uninspiring building, which reminded me the garment factories of the 19th century in Manhattan. It is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., except on Monday. For the admission I was asked the hefty price of 12 €; but the day after, when I browsed through their web site, I discovered that admission actually costs 5 € only; I suppose that I was asked to pay for some extra service which I didn’t ask for. Infrastructures include: toilets, cloak-room (but it was unguarded), lockable boxes for storing bags, a very basic cafeteria on the first floor, a large bookshop, lifts, many seats in the exhibition area. It is allowed to take pictures. At least a couple of hours are needed for a diligent visit, but I had my fill very soon, and I left without completing the visit. Afterwards, I went to drink a beer at the nearby fisherman quay: and, although my statement may look preposterous, I got the impression that booze is more easily traceable than museums, here in Düsseldorf.

There is a convenient shuttle between the two museums. and you can buy a combined ticket as well. Nice cafe serving Flammekuchen.

I visited when there was a change in exhibitions - basically one wing closed. I watched the "Alten Meister" - bit too much for me. Maybe because I saw the George Grosz exhibit first - many drawings - nice overview. Then a smaller wing with modern art ... some weird pieces. A lot of glass in this glass museum - not so much my piece of cake but I consider it a systematic and good overview of the history of glass making. Then there was something from a Duesseldorf local artist ... Altogether a bit too broadly spread. I found the building iconic - not beautiful but part of history. Would something like this be erected for a heath exhibition today ...

We arrived amid a jazz concert in front of the museum complex and enjoyed the music inside as well. The glass exhibit is quite magnificent. The museum has some Rubens as well as interesting 19th and 20th century art.

current show "Art & Alchemy" not to be missed. Main collection covers all centuries, so something for everyone. Huge glass collection interesting. Allow an hour at least to pick & choose from entire collection.

After visiting this place, I re-read some comments posted by other recent reviewers, and had to nod my head in agreement : "very officious attendants"; "depressing exterior hides a truly fantastic museum." So true. Then again, it seems to me that these descriptions apply to a lot of things that I saw in Germany! In my experience, many of their unassuming structures turn out to hold impressive treasures -- after I took my time to explore their contents. Come to think of it, the German people themselves seem that way to me also!At first blush and to American eyes, the buildings of this museum looked drab and uninviting. But heeding the comments of some reviewers, I ventured in. Alas, I made the mistake of arriving too early -- the place does not open until 11AM. As the museum is located right by the River Rhine, a nice walk along the river took care of the wait nicely.The staff here, like the hotel receptionists or store clerks that I encountered on this trip, were not the ingratiating type, but on the other hand the facilities are well kept and spotlessly clean. At the time of my travel, there was a special exhibition called "Art and Alchemy", which I highly recommend. You won't see big-name masterpieces, but the displays were well chosen and provided an engaging, coherent and informative look on an unusal subject (alchemy). The audio guide, which came with the ticket and could be had in English, was also excellent. I must thank the reviewer who alerted me to the Glasmuseum Hentrich ( glass museum) housed in the building across the fountain from the main museum. I am not a glass aficionado, and the displays did become repetitious after a while, but there were some spectacular objects on display. I only wish there were more artifacts from Asia in the collection. On my visit the glass lab was not in action. I was practically the only visitor in this museum.The downside of the entire museum is its lack of food service. There is a small cafeteria in the main building, which also houses a concert hall underground. Perhaps there might be better offerings at other times, but on this particular day there were only sandwiches and a hot soup available. And the few other customers at the tables seem to be there only for tea or coffee.The concert hall Tonhalle is right next door. If I come to Dusseldorf again, I would make a point of visiting this museum before attending a concert.

Very disjointed with very officious attendants. I was asked to show my ticket 5 times and told that I could not carry my coat - hence visitors tying their coats around their waists. The girl at the ticket desk said the Cream Cheese was open but it was not. The glass is fantastic but the lighting was broken on many of the displays. Is this a museum in trouble???

Depressing exterior hides a truly fantastic museum. Even with part of it closed for a new installation it was worth several hours. The Glass section alone was worth the modest admission. That area was amazing! If you are a fan of glass you must see it. Rest of the museum was good too.

I was in the area with time so I headed into this museum. There are some nice parts, particularly the glass museum. We rarely get a lot of glass in other museums. But overall I was not impressed. There are some nice works here but no extensive sampling of any period. I also felt the layout was a little odd, up this stairs, through that door, around that corner. To get really picky, it did bother me that a lot of the better pictures had the lights positioned in such a way that the viewer could not view the picture from the front without a lot of glare. So this museum did not do it for me.

Have been there there for different occaions/ exhibtions. Always great. Its worth going there especially if they have a dedicated exhibition. It was enjoyable everytime we went there! Check it out and if you you are interested in the exhibition go in!

Highly recommended. not many people there and we were able to look at any display we wanted for as long as we wanted.

We had already had a long walk through town and had no idea that the museum/art gallery was so vast, so we started in the cafe on the top floor, overlooking the fantasy tree in the huge atrium, and then worked our way down and around via many interesting galleries. The fee was 5€ per person, which didn't include entry to the current special exhibition. there were Six in our party, and we all had different views about "best bits", for me it was the glass gallery, the truly wondrous forms and colours including a life sized, seated goat made from glass shards. It opened my eyes to the variety and technical brilliance within glass making. The gallery staff, many of whom spoke good English, were eager to assist with explanations and information. One visit was not enough!