I went to Cigar World in Dusseldorf, Germany

Now and again, I see people post on their social media about their cigar experiences from different cigar venues across the globe. Sometimes, I bookmark those venues to add to a ‘wishlist’ of places I want to visit.

People that follow this blog probably know my ambition to visit all of the cigar bars, terraces, and smoking lounges in London and in cities up and down the U.K., but I’m now starting to venture outside of that across Europe. Yep this is turning into a bit of an obsession 🙈😂

I came across a social media post taken at Cigar World in Dusseldorf, Germany, during the summer. After some research, I found out this venue is one of Europe’s largest combined cigar shops and lounges.

It was founded in 2005 by siblings Marc & Patricia Benden, who have created an oasis for lovers of a good cigar. The place looked amazing! I knew I HAD to visit this place.

So last month, I took the plunge, booked an Airbnb and some cheap flights, and headed to Dusseldorf. I planned a full itinerary of things to do and places to see during my 5-day trip, the first stop, of course, being Cigar World.

Before I went, I contacted the venue via their website and Instagram page to see if I could make a reservation. The last thing I wanted was to fly to Germany to find no room at the inn. I have yet to get a response via my email, but someone did message me via their Instagram and said I needed to call the store to make a reservation. I logged onto the website, found the store’s telephone number and called them. I don’t often make international phone calls like that, but this felt important.

I made two reservations – the day I arrived in Dusseldorf, which happened to fall on a Wednesday afternoon, and a second booking for a Friday evening. Once that was complete, I felt set and ready to go.

The flight from the UK was super quick, 55 minutes in total via British Airways CityFlyer from London City Airport. Upon landing and checking into my accommodation, I went straight to Burghofstrasse 28, 40223 Düsseldorf, approximately a 15-minute walk from my Airbnb.

Finding the venue was tricky because it’s off the beaten track in a quiet suburban neighbourhood.

From the outside, the venue looks like it’s in some kind of junkyard, but as soon as I saw the sign for Cigar World, I knew I was at the right place. I arrived just after midday.

A little apprehensive, I walked to the entrance and pushed the frosted glass door open.

I walked through a hallway, where I entered the main cigar lounge area.

My jaw dropped. The place was huge. A couple of punters were already smoking in the lounge, and several staff members were walking around. I told them I had a booking, and they handed me a business card with a number on it – this was my tab for the afternoon.

The staff directed me towards the walk-in humidor. My jaw dropped again. The largest walk-in humidor I have EVER seen!

I immediately thought it would take ages to get around it. On every corner I looked, there were cigars, predominately non-Cuban cigars, and my oh my, the prices of these cigars were much lower than UK prices.

I was in there for ages analysing all the different cigar brands. I even stumbled across a Santa Damiana cigar, one of the cigar brands I could not find during last year’s cigar challenge that I set myself.

After 15 to 20 minutes, I selected a couple of cigars and took them to the cashier – he charged them to my tab and explained that I could help myself to drinks in the kitchen area, including several alcoholic beverages. It was a help-your-self service – and they added what you selected to your tab.

Once explained, I collected a cigar cutter and headed over to the black leather cigar lounge chairs.

I lit my cigar, took a few puffs, and relaxed. Whilst a bit of Jazz music was playing in the background 👌

I didn’t just smoke one cigar; I went on to smoke three cigars! In hindsight, that was probably not the best thing to do, but I wanted to spend as much time as possible at this venue and enjoy the selection of available cigars.

Throughout the afternoon, more punters came to purchase and smoke their cigars. It gets very busy, so it’s wise to book beforehand. They also have some tables with chairs where you can work on a laptop and smoke. As the World Cup was on, the staff had set up a TV in the room next door where cigar smokers could watch the game too.

Around 5 pm, I decided it was time to leave and explore the rest of Dusseldorf. I walked up to the cashier and showed my business card with a reference number as my tab to pay for everything I smoked and drank. I paid up and then headed out.

My rating: 10 out of 10 – Cigar World is THE BEST cigar venue I have EVER been to!

I cannot recommend this place enough – it 100% had the wow factor. I wish the UK would have somewhere like this. I enjoyed it so much that I went back an additional two times before I flew home to the UK. They do close at 10pm though, so if you do visit, do get there early to make the most of your experience. There’s also another floor that opens on the Saturday night as the place gets packed. Definitely a place I like to return to in the future!

If you are interested in visiting Cigar World, the details are below:

Cigar World Lounge
Burghofstrasse 28
40223 Düsseldorf
Phone: +49 (0)211 1593 985
Fax: +49 (0)211 3106 373 19
https://www.cigarworld.de/en