Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K20/K21)

The Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf is one of Germany's leading museums of 20th- and 21st-century art, spread across two buildings: K20 on Grabbeplatz in the Old Town, home to modern classics from Paul Klee to Jackson Pollock, and K21 in the historic Ständehaus, devoted to international contemporary art. For anyone interested in modern art, it is one of the top things to do in Düsseldorf and an easy addition to a trip along the Rhine.

How the collection began

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia founded the museum in 1961. A year earlier it had bought 88 works by Paul Klee in one stroke, and today the museum holds nearly 120 of them, one of the most important Klee collections anywhere. The K20 building, with its curving, polished dark granite facade, opened in 1986 and was extended in 2010. In 2002 the museum added K21 in the Ständehaus, the former state parliament building on a park lake, with more than 5,300 square meters of galleries under a glass dome.

What to see

K20 is the place for modern masters: Klee, twelve works by Picasso, more than 60 works of postwar American art including Jackson Pollock's Number 32 (1950), and an important group of works by Joseph Beuys.

K21 focuses on contemporary art, with installations, video and photography, and since 2023 has awarded the K21 Global Art Award.

Note that Tomás Saraceno's famous walk-in net installation in orbit, once suspended high under the K21 dome, has been closed and dismantled for technical reasons after more than a decade and almost a million visitors.

Exhibitions in fall 2026 include Franz Marc: The Search for a Better World (since September 12), the 2026 Global Art Award winner Julia Phillips at K21 (from October 9) and a Thomas Schütte show from November 14. Families can try Playground, an art play space by Sonia Kazovsky.

Opening hours and tickets

As of October 2026, per the official website:

• Tuesday to Sunday and holidays, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.; closed Mondays.
• First Wednesday of the month open until 10 p.m., with free entry from 6 p.m.
• Closed December 24, 25 and 31 and during the main Carnival days.
• Combined ticket for both buildings, collections and exhibitions: 21 EUR, valid for a year.
• K20 collection 10 EUR, K21 collection 9 EUR; under 18 free.

How to get there

Düsseldorf is about 25 minutes by train from Cologne, and Düsseldorf Airport has fast S-Bahn and regional train links to the city's main station. For K20 (Grabbeplatz 5), take any subway line U70–U79 or U83 to Heinrich-Heine-Allee. For K21 (Ständehausstrasse 1), ride trams 706, 708, 709 or U71, U72, U73, U83 to Graf-Adolf-Platz. The two buildings are 2–3 minutes apart by subway or a 15–20 minute walk. Both are largely wheelchair accessible, with free loan wheelchairs at the cloakroom.

Is it worth visiting?

Yes, if modern art is on your list. Allow about two hours per building. Nearby, you can explore Düsseldorf's Old Town and the Rhine promenade from K20, or the Ständehaus park and the elegant Königsallee shopping boulevard from K21.