Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Nature parks
Thale
The Bode Gorge (Bodetal) near Thale is the most dramatic canyon in Germany's Harz Mountains and one of the country's classic hikes. Over roughly 6 miles (10 km) between Thale and Treseburg, the Bode River has carved deep into granite, leav…
Churches & monasteries
Bonn
Bonn Minster is the main church of Bonn, the former West German capital on the Rhine, and one of the city's oldest landmarks. The Romanesque basilica with its 81-meter crossing tower has dominated Münsterplatz for nearly a thousand years.…
Lakes
Nohfelden
Lake Bostal (Bostalsee) near Nohfelden is Saarland's largest leisure lake and a favorite for anyone who wants water, forest and open views in one trip. The reservoir lies in the Saar-Hunsrück Nature Park and offers sailing, stand-up paddli…
Gardens & parks
Berlin
The Berlin Botanical Garden (Botanischer Garten Berlin) in the Dahlem district covers more than 43 hectares (about 106 acres) and grows around 22,000 plant species, making it one of the largest and most important botanical gardens in the w…
Gardens & parks
Leipzig
The Leipzig University Botanical Garden is a calm green pocket close to the city center. On about 3.5 hectares you will find roughly 10,000 plant species, from medicinal herbs and water lilies to tropical greenhouse plants. If you are look…
Gardens & parks
München
The Botanical Garden Munich-Nymphenburg covers 21.2 hectares and is one of the larger botanical gardens in Germany. It lies just north of the Nymphenburg palace park and grows about 16,000 plant species, from alpine flowers and rhododendro…
Landmarks
Bremen
Böttcherstraße in Bremen is a short lane of barely 100 yards that ranks among the most unusual streets in Germany. Rebuilt in the 1920s by a coffee magnate as a "city within the city," it is a rare piece of German Expressionist architectur…
Churches & monasteries
Brandenburg an der Havel
Brandenburg Cathedral (Dom St. Peter und Paul) stands on its own island between the Havel River and Beetzsee lake in the city of Brandenburg an der Havel. It is one of the oldest brick cathedrals in northern Germany and the mother church o…
Churches & monasteries
Braunschweig
When Henry the Lion returned from his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1173, he had a church built opposite his castle, Dankwarderode, to serve as a burial place for himself and his wife. Brunswick Cathedral, officially the Cathedral of St B…
Waterfalls
Oberstdorf
The Breitachklamm near Oberstdorf in Bavaria's Allgäu Alps is one of the most dramatic gorges in the Alps. Over about 1.5 miles (2.5 km), the Breitach River has cut up to 490 feet (150 m) deep into the rock, and a secured walkway leads you…
Monuments
Bremen
The Town Musicians of Bremen statue by Gerhard Marcks is the city's most photographed landmark: a bronze donkey, dog, cat and rooster stacked on top of each other beside Bremen's Town Hall, just off the Market Square. Inspired by the Broth…
Nature
Olsberg
Above the village of Bruchhausen four grey rock towers rise out of the forest on the Istenberg, so striking that you can see them from all over the valley. The Bruchhausen Rocks are among the most striking rock formations in the Sauerland…
Historic sites & memorials
Zossen
In the pine forest south of Berlin lies one of the strangest places in Brandenburg. In Wünsdorf-Waldstadt near Zossen, the German Army High Command sat in camouflaged bunkers during the Second World War, followed until 1994 by the headquar…
Castles
Altena
Altena Castle (Burg Altena) towers on a rocky spur above the Lenne River in Germany's Sauerland region. It is famous as the birthplace of the world's first permanent youth hostel, opened here in 1914, and today combines free museums, prese…
Castles
Erlenbach bei Dahn
From a distance, Berwartstein looks like a storybook castle: turrets, a keep and red roofs above the forest near Erlenbach. The more exciting part, though, is inside the rock below. Stairs, passages and chambers are cut straight into the r…
Castles
Lennestadt
Bilstein Castle (Burg Bilstein) in Lennestadt is a striking medieval hilltop castle perched on a steep rock spur above the Veischede valley in the Sauerland, the wooded upland region of southern Westphalia. It has been a youth hostel since…
Castles
Falkenstein/Harz
Falkenstein Castle in the Harz Mountains is one of the most atmospheric medieval castles in Saxony-Anhalt. It stands on a rocky ridge high above the Selke Valley, surrounded by forest and a nature reserve. According to tradition, Eike von…
Castles
Falkenstein
Falkenstein Castle (Burg Falkenstein) crowns a granite cone about 60 m (200 ft) above the small spa town of Falkenstein in the Upper Palatinate, on the edge of the Bavarian Forest. Surrounded by a wooded park full of huge granite boulders,…
Castles
Haßmersheim
Guttenberg Castle (Burg Guttenberg) rises above the Neckar valley near Haßmersheim, between Heidelberg and Heilbronn. It is one of the few castles in Germany that was never destroyed and has been lived in for almost 800 years. The main att…
Castles
Harburg (Schwaben)
Harburg Castle sits on a steep rocky spur above the Wörnitz river at the south-eastern entrance to the Nördlinger Ries. It is considered one of the largest, oldest and best-preserved castles in southern Germany, covering more ground even t…
Castles
Heimbach
Burg Hengebach (Hengebach Castle) in Heimbach is a reddish-brown stone hilltop castle above the Rur valley in the northern Eifel region of North Rhine-Westphalia. Its keep offers a wide view over the small town of Heimbach and the hills of…
Castles
Neuffen
Hohenneuffen Castle (Burg Hohenneuffen) is a large fortress ruin high above the town of Neuffen on the Swabian Jura escarpment in Baden-Württemberg. From its white-limestone rock in the Esslingen district you get wide views over the Alb fo…
Castles
Havixbeck
Red brick walls, tall stepped gables and a moat that reflects it all: Hülshoff Castle is about as typical a Münsterland moated castle as you can find. Above all, though, it is known as the birthplace of the poet Annette von Droste-Hülshoff…
Castles
Sankt Goarshausen
Katz Castle (Burg Katz) in Sankt Goarshausen is one of the landmark castles of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it sits on a rocky spur right above the river. Built in the 14th century as a rival to nearby M…