Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Viewpoints
Königswinter
The Drachenfels ("Dragon's Rock") near Königswinter is the most famous hill in the Siebengebirge range and one of the classic viewpoints on the Rhine. Its summit, about 321 m (1,053 ft) high, is crowned by the ruins of a medieval castle, w…
Nature parks
Dresden
The Dresdner Heide (Dresden Heath) is the large forest northeast of central Dresden: roughly 50 square kilometers of pine and mixed woodland with streams, meadows and a dense network of hiking trails. Despite its English nickname it is a f…
Lakes
Edertal
Lake Edersee in northern Hesse is one of Germany's largest reservoirs, winding for almost 18 miles (28.5 km) through the wooded hills of the Kellerwald-Edersee National Park. Its massive stone dam at Hemfurth became world famous in May 194…
Lakes
Grainau
Eibsee is an emerald-green mountain lake near Grainau in the Bavarian Alps, set directly beneath the north face of the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain. Its clear water, a scatter of small wooded islands and the wall of rock rising al…
Churches & monasteries
Erfurt
Erfurt Cathedral (Erfurter Dom, St. Mary's Cathedral) and the neighboring Church of St. Severus rise side by side above Erfurt's vast Domplatz square, forming one of Germany's most striking city skylines. A broad flight of 70 steps leads u…
Zoos
Hannover
Hanover Zoo (Erlebnis-Zoo Hannover) is one of Germany's most popular zoos and a top day out in Lower Saxony. Instead of rows of cages, it is built around immersive themed worlds: you glide by boat through an African river landscape, watch…
Theme parks
Cleebronn
Erlebnispark Tripsdrill in Cleebronn, between Stuttgart and Heilbronn in southwest Germany, is widely described as the country's oldest amusement park. Instead of movie sets, it recreates a Swabian village of around 1880, complete with hal…
Historic sites & memorials
Gersheim
The European Archaeological Park of Bliesbruck-Reinheim straddles the German-French border in southeastern Saarland and Lorraine, and lets you step from Celtic times into Roman Germany within a single day. Across roughly 700,000 square met…
Museums
Lübeck
The European Hansemuseum in Lübeck is considered the world's largest museum devoted to the Hanseatic League, the medieval trading network that once dominated northern Europe. Set at the northern tip of Lübeck's UNESCO-listed old town, it t…
Palaces
Eutin
Eutin Castle (Eutiner Schloss) is a four-winged brick palace on a moated island in the Großer Eutiner See in Schleswig-Holstein, in the region known as Holstein Switzerland. Once a residence of the prince-bishops of Lübeck and later a summ…
Historic sites & memorials
Horn-Bad Meinberg
The Externsteine near Horn-Bad Meinberg are a striking group of sandstone pillars rising up to 130 feet (40 meters) from the Teutoburg Forest in northwestern Germany. With a medieval rock relief, carved grottoes and a viewing platform reac…
Gardens & parks
Wonsees
The Sanspareil Rock Garden (Felsengarten Sanspareil) in Wonsees, near Bayreuth in northern Bavaria, is one of the most unusual 18th-century gardens in Europe. Instead of clipped hedges and fountains, Margravine Wilhelmine of Bayreuth turne…
Fortresses
Koblenz
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress towers above the Rhine in Koblenz and is one of the largest surviving fortresses in Europe. From its walls you look straight down on the Deutsches Eck, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, and far across the hills of…
Fortresses
Würzburg
Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg crowns a hill about 100 m above the Main River and is the city's most famous landmark. For nearly five centuries it was the seat of Würzburg's prince-bishops, before they moved into the grand Residence in to…
Fortresses
Saarlouis
Saarlouis Fortress is a fortified town on the Saar River designed by the French military engineer Vauban, and its hexagonal outline still shapes the city center today. King Louis XIV had it founded in 1680 to secure France's eastern border…
Fortresses
Singen (Hohentwiel)
The Hohentwiel in Singen is an extinct volcanic cone in the Hegau region near Lake Constance, crowned by the ruins of one of Germany's largest fortresses. Spread over about 9 hectares (22 acres), the ruins offer sweeping views across the H…
Mountains & peaks
Oberwiesenthal
The Fichtelberg above Oberwiesenthal is the highest mountain in Saxony at 3,986 feet (1,214.88 m), and in Cold War times it was the highest peak in East Germany. Its summit, crowned by the Fichtelberghaus with its lookout tower and a centu…
Theme parks
Potsdam
Filmpark Babelsberg in Potsdam is a movie-themed amusement park next to Studio Babelsberg, where films have been made since 1912. Instead of roller coasters, it offers live stunt shows with fire and explosions, original film sets, fairy-ta…
Old towns & squares
Flensburg
Flensburg Harbor and the old town around it are the maritime heart of Flensburg, Germany's border city on the Baltic Sea just south of Denmark. At the head of the Flensburg Fjord, historic sailing ships, the steamship Alexandra and old mer…
Gardens & parks
Köln
Flora and the Botanical Garden in Cologne's Riehl district make up one of the city's loveliest free green spaces: a historic park with a grand festival hall, flower parterres and greenhouses, right beside Cologne Zoo. If you want a calm wa…
Coast & islands
Wyk auf Föhr
Föhr is Germany's largest island that can only be reached by boat or plane, and its mild climate has earned it the nickname "Frisian Caribbean". This green North Sea island offers a long sandy beach at Wyk, thatched Frisian villages, medie…
Lakes
Schwangau
Lake Forggensee near Füssen in the Bavarian Allgäu is Bavaria's largest reservoir, with the Alps as a backdrop and Neuschwanstein Castle just beyond its shore. It is a lovely add-on to a visit to the castle: you can take a boat trip, walk…
Museums
Bad Windsheim
The Franconian Open-Air Museum in Bad Windsheim (Fränkisches Freilandmuseum) is the largest open-air museum in Bavaria and shows how people in Franconia once lived and worked. Across 45 hectares, more than 120 historic buildings from all o…
Churches & monasteries
Chiemsee
Fraueninsel (Frauenchiemsee) is a tiny, car-free island on Lake Chiemsee in Bavaria, about an hour southeast of Munich, and home to one of the oldest convents in the German-speaking world. Fishermen's cottages, flower gardens and a white B…