Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Mountains & peaks
Kochel am See
The Herzogstand is a 1,731-meter mountain in the Bavarian Pre-Alps, rising above the lakes Walchensee and Kochelsee, about 70 kilometers south of Munich. A cable car takes you most of the way up, so you can enjoy sweeping alpine views with…
Viewpoints
Thale
The Hexentanzplatz ("Witches' Dance Floor") near Thale is a rocky plateau 454 meters (about 1,490 feet) above sea level, perched high over the Bode Gorge in Germany's Harz Mountains. It is one of the most popular things to do in the Harz:…
Coast & islands
Insel Hiddensee
Hiddensee is a car-free island in the Baltic Sea off the west coast of Rügen and one of the most charming day-trip destinations in northern Germany. About 17 kilometers long, it offers wide sandy beaches, heathland, a hilltop lighthouse an…
Churches & monasteries
Hildesheim
Hildesheim Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 together with nearby St. Michael's Church. It holds bronze masterpieces made around the year 1000, a gilded Romanesque chandeli…
Museums
Peenemünde
The Peenemünde Historical Technical Museum on the island of Usedom tells one of the most consequential and troubling stories of the 20th century. Here, at Germany's secret weapons research site, engineers developed the world's first cruise…
Old towns & squares
Görlitz
The Görlitz Old Town is one of the best-preserved historic centers in Central Europe and a highlight of any trip to eastern Germany. Its squares and lanes, lined with Late Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings, came throug…
Gardens & parks
München
The Hofgarten in Munich is a Renaissance garden right behind Odeonsplatz and one of the most pleasant green spaces in the old town. Laid out in the early 17th century, it is centered on the Diana Temple and framed by arcades and neat flowe…
Churches & monasteries
Trier
Trier Cathedral (Trierer Dom) in Trier is considered the oldest cathedral in Germany and one of the most remarkable churches in Europe. Its fortress-like Romanesque walls hide masonry from the age of Emperor Constantine, and its story span…
Mountains & peaks
Göppingen
Hohenstaufen is the cone-shaped mountain near Göppingen, east of Stuttgart, that gave its name to the Hohenstaufen dynasty, the medieval emperors who included Frederick Barbarossa. At 684 meters (2,244 feet), it is the westernmost of the "…
Old towns & squares
Potsdam
The Dutch Quarter (Holländisches Viertel) in Potsdam is a compact neighborhood of 134 red-brick gabled houses that looks as if it had been lifted straight out of Amsterdam. Built in the 18th century to lure Dutch craftsmen to Prussia, it i…
Nature parks
Ivenack
The Ivenack Oaks near Stavenhagen in Mecklenburg are among the mightiest oak trees in Europe and stand in Germany's first National Natural Monument. In the Ivenack deer park, an open wood-pasture landscape in the rolling Mecklenburg Switze…
Palaces
Binz
Granitz Hunting Lodge (Jagdschloss Granitz) near Binz on the island of Rügen looks like a fairy-tale castle hidden in a beech forest: four crenellated corner towers, a slender central tower and pale pink walls. Built for the princes of Put…
Mountains & peaks
Winterberg
The Kahler Asten near Winterberg is the best-known mountain in the Sauerland, the hilly, forested region east of Germany's Ruhr cities. At 2,762 feet (841.9 m), it is the second-highest peak in North Rhine-Westphalia, crowned by the stone…
Fortresses
Düsseldorf
The Kaiserpfalz Kaiserswerth (Imperial Palace of Kaiserswerth) is the ruin of a mighty medieval stronghold on the banks of the Rhine in northern Düsseldorf. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa turned an older royal palace into a near-impregnable…
Historic sites & memorials
Trier
The Trier Imperial Baths (Kaiserthermen) are among the most impressive Roman ruins north of the Alps. Begun around 300 AD as a monumental bathhouse for the imperial residence of Trier, they were never finished as baths and later became bar…
Coast & islands
Putgarten
Cape Arkona (Kap Arkona) near the village of Putgarten is the dramatic northern tip of Rügen, Germany's largest island, on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Chalk and clay cliffs rise up to 43 meters above the sea, crowned…
Caves
Sonnenbühl
The Bärenhöhle (Bear's Cave) in Sonnenbühl-Erpfingen is one of the best-known show caves of the Swabian Alb, about an hour south of Stuttgart. It combines two caves: the Karlshöhle, known since 1834, and the Bärenhöhle, discovered in 1949…
Viewpoints
Berchtesgaden
The Kehlsteinhaus, better known as the Eagle's Nest, sits on a rocky ridge high above Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps. Built in the late 1930s for the Nazi party, it is now a mountain restaurant with one of the finest views in Germany,…
Old towns & squares
Frankfurt am Main
The Kleinmarkthalle in Frankfurt is the city's best-known indoor food market, a lively hall in the old town where regional produce, sausages, cheese, spices and international delicacies are sold side by side. If you want a taste of Frankfu…
Museums
Bremerhaven
The Klimahaus Bremerhaven is a climate science center on the harbor front of Bremerhaven, in northern Germany, where you travel around the world in a single afternoon. Following one line of longitude, you walk through desert heat, tropical…
Churches & monasteries
Alpirsbach
Alpirsbach Abbey (Kloster Alpirsbach) is a former Benedictine monastery in the Black Forest, founded in 1095 and famous for its plain Romanesque church built of red sandstone. A Gothic cloister, a museum and a quiet village setting make it…
Churches & monasteries
Andechs
Andechs Abbey (Kloster Andechs) crowns the "Holy Mountain" above the Ammersee lake, about 22 miles (35 km) southwest of Munich, and is one of the most rewarding day trips from the city. Here a dazzling Rococo pilgrimage church, a working B…
Churches & monasteries
Bad Staffelstein
Banz Abbey (Kloster Banz) crowns a hill above the Main valley near Bad Staffelstein in Upper Franconia. Facing the Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen across the valley, the former Benedictine monastery forms the heart of the scenic area known as…
Churches & monasteries
Tübingen
Bebenhausen Abbey (Kloster Bebenhausen), just north of Tübingen, is one of the best-preserved medieval monasteries in Germany. The former Cistercian house sits in a forest clearing inside the Schönbuch Nature Park, with a late Gothic clois…