Carnival in Düsseldorf: children’s parade, Kö street party, & Rosenmontag floats
From a children’s parade to the Rosenmontag parade with famously satirical floats, this photo essay takes you inside the final wild, candy-filled, sharp-tongued carnival weekend in Düsseldorf.
Carnival in Düsseldorf doesn’t just happen over a weekend—it hits like a tidal wave that has been building momentum for months. Locals call it the “fifth season,” a period that officially begins when the jester Hoppeditz pops out of a mustard pot on November 11. The season doesn’t truly end until he is ceremoniously “put away” on Ash Wednesday, two days after the Shrove Monday parade finale. By the time the week before Lent starts, the city on the Rhine is fully in party mode: streets turn into celebration corridors, trams run alongside marching bands, and carnival cries of “Helau!” bounce off building facades.
This photo essay follows the final whirlwind week leading up to Rosenmontag, Shrove Monday, when up to a million people fill Düsseldorf’s seven-kilometer (nearly 4.5-mile) parade route. The party starts with Saturday’s Kinderzug -- a children’s parade, where little lions, princesses, pirates, and unicorns on the sidelines clutch oversized bags hoping to gather lots of candy from pint-sized marchers just as eager to toss it. Families line the stylish Königsallee – “Kö” to locals – showing that this is as much a family-friendly multigenerational folk festival as it is a street party.
Sunday on the Kö looks completely different, however: The boulevard becomes a huge tailgate party. Friends set up folding tables, coolers, and sound systems; strangers twirl together in sequined capes; and makeshift bars balance on trash cans or kegs hang from lampposts. Somewhere in the crowd, Hoppeditz reappears for selfies, and any hope of an early night fades away in a whirlwind of rockin’ hits, Killepitsch liqueur shots, and glittery festivities.
And then to cap off the weekend comes Rosenmontag or Shrove Monday: From ground level, it’s a frenzy of anticipation: crowds 10 deep, hands raised, bags open, umbrellas upturned, and everyone shouting out “Kamelle!” (the call for candy to be tossed) and “Helau!” (the local carnival greeting) as the first floats finally roll into view. From atop a parade float – our lucky vantage point this year – the perspective shifts. You look directly into second-story windows, tossing chocolates toward balconies while wave after wave of color passes beneath you. Highly anticipated political satire floats roll along the parade route between marching bands, choirs, and cultural groups. Their giant paper-mâché figures and creations are Jacques Tilly’s bold creations skewering Putin, Trump, Germany’s far-right AfD party, social media, and the world’s latest crises, and remind everyone that carnival here isn’t just about partying but also sharp-edged commentary.
Our photos below carry you through all of these worlds: the earnest faces of children in costumes, the bubbling joy of marching groups, crowds hungry for candy stretching arms skyward, and the daring floats that make Düsseldorf’s carnival so renowned. Together, they tell the story of a city that, for one wild week, laughs loudly at authority, showers strangers with sweets, and celebrates the joy of being silly with a feeling of community that makes people shout “Helau!” until they are hoarse and the last float rolls out of sight.
Kinderzug
The kids and their families get their turns to march in costumes, yell the traditional “Helau” greeting, and toss (or gather) sweets.
Sunday on the Kö
After an innocent kid’s parade comes the rockin’ party that transforms the widest boulevard in Germany into a huge dance and drinking celebration.
Rosenmontag - Shrove Monday
Getting ready for fun and political satire
As Tilly political floats are rolled out and revealed for the first time along the pre-parade staging area, participants and spectators can get a first peek – or maybe start drinking and dancing for the day.
On parade
Once the first float rolls over the start line, it can take several hours for the latter ones to bump into a start as the tractors pulling them all rev into gear. We were on the Düsseldorf Tourist Bureau float – dressed as German-inspired “hippies” – and were at the back of the parade lineup.
The day after … cleaning up
After days of glitter, candy wrappers, beverage containers, and confetti all over the streets (not to mention a few uber-partied celebrants), the city looks almost like nothing happened by the next morning – except perhaps in the party zone of Old Town, where the last traces are still being swept up mid-morning. The city settles back into its normal rhythm, and everybody is already eyeing the following year’s fest – only nine months til Hoppeditz kicks off the fifth season again! Helau!
