Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Industrial heritage
Leipzig
The Leipzig Cotton Mill (Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei) in the Plagwitz district is an industrial monument that now thrives as an art district. On about ten hectares of red-brick halls, artists work in studios while galleries and workshops o…
Waterfalls
Sebnitz
The Lichtenhain Waterfall in the Kirnitzsch Valley near Sebnitz is one of the oldest visitor attractions in Saxon Switzerland, the sandstone region southeast of Dresden. It is a small cascade with a twist: a weir holds the stream back and…
Old towns & squares
Lindau (Bodensee)
Lindau harbor, with its stone lion and white lighthouse guarding the entrance, is one of the most photographed sights on Lake Constance. It sits on Lindau Island in Germany's far southwestern corner of Bavaria, where Germany, Austria and S…
Castles
Kassel
Löwenburg Castle in Kassel looks like a crumbling medieval fortress, but it is actually a romantic fantasy built at the end of the 18th century. Set in Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013, this artificial ruin wa…
Nature parks
Undeloh
Lüneburg Heath (Lüneburger Heide) is Germany's best-known heathland, a landscape of purple heather, juniper, birch trees and grazing Heidschnucken sheep south of Hamburg. At its heart lies a car-free nature reserve around the village of Wi…
Mountains & peaks
Neuschönau
Lusen is one of the most distinctive peaks in the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany's oldest national park, on the border with the Czech Republic. Instead of trees, its 1,373-meter (4,505-foot) summit is capped by a vast field of gran…
Museums
Eisenach
The Luther House in Eisenach (Lutherhaus Eisenach) is one of the oldest surviving half-timbered houses in Thuringia and one of Europe's most important Reformation sites. According to tradition, young Martin Luther lived here as a schoolboy…
Historic sites & memorials
Xanten
The LVR Archaeological Park Xanten on the Lower Rhine is an open-air museum built on the site of the Roman city of Colonia Ulpia Traiana. You can walk Roman streets, climb into a rebuilt amphitheater, admire a reconstructed harbor temple a…
Industrial heritage
Dortmund
Zollern Colliery (Zeche Zollern) in Dortmund is often called the "Palace of Work," and with good reason. Its brick buildings with gables and turrets, two winding towers and an Art Nouveau machine hall make it one of the most beautiful form…
Landmarks
Leipzig
The Mädler Passage (Mädlerpassage) is one of the most beautiful shopping arcades in Germany and a highlight of any walk through central Leipzig. Between Grimmaische Straße and Neumarkt, boutiques, cafes and restaurants line a glass-roofed…
Churches & monasteries
Magdeburg
Magdeburg Cathedral (Magdeburger Dom), dedicated to Saints Maurice and Catherine, is the landmark of Magdeburg, the capital of Saxony-Anhalt, and the first cathedral in Germany designed in the Gothic style from the start. It is also the bu…
Churches & monasteries
Mainz
Mainz Cathedral (Mainzer Dom, officially the Hoher Dom St. Martin) is the landmark of Mainz, the Rhineland-Palatinate capital on the Rhine River. Together with the cathedrals of Speyer and Worms, it is one of the three great Romanesque "im…
Monuments
Laboe
The Laboe Naval Memorial (Marine-Ehrenmal Laboe) is a memorial to sailors of all nations lost at sea and, with its 72-meter (236-foot) brick tower, the landmark of the Kiel Fjord. From the viewing platform you look out over the Baltic Sea,…
Lakes
Hannover
Maschsee is the lakeside heart of Hannover: an artificial lake just south of the city center, ringed by a shoreline path, sailing clubs, a beach bathing area and beer gardens. Locals jog, cycle and stroll the roughly 6-kilometer loop, ride…
Gardens & parks
Berlin
Mauerpark (Wall Park) in Berlin lies on the former border strip between the districts of Prenzlauer Berg and Gesundbrunnen. Today it is a lively public park with grassy hills, a graffiti wall, and an amphitheater, famous for its Sunday fle…
Museums
Stralsund
The Meeresmuseum (Sea Museum) in Stralsund is the original home of the German Oceanographic Museum foundation and a favorite stop on Germany's Baltic coast. It sits in the heart of Stralsund's UNESCO-listed old town inside a former medieva…
Churches & monasteries
Merseburg
Merseburg Cathedral, dedicated to St. John and St. Lawrence, rises above the Saale River in Merseburg, between Halle and Leipzig. Joined directly to Merseburg Palace, it is a highlight of Germany's Romanesque Road and holds remarkable trea…
Landmarks
Frankfurt am Main
The Messeturm (Trade Fair Tower) in Frankfurt is one of the city's most recognizable skyscrapers: a red granite tower topped by a pyramid, standing beside the exhibition grounds on Friedrich-Ebert-Anlage. At about 257 meters (843 feet) it…
Theme parks
Bottrop
Movie Park Germany in Bottrop-Kirchhellen is a movie-themed amusement park on the northern edge of Germany's Ruhr region, about an hour's drive from Cologne and Düsseldorf. Spread over roughly 45 hectares (110 acres), it mixes roller coast…
Viewpoints
Berlin
The Müggelturm is an observation tower in Berlin's Köpenick district, set on a wooded hill in the Müggelberge, the city's highest natural hills. Climb 126 steps and you get a sweeping view over Lake Müggelsee, the Dahme River and miles of…
Lakes
Seebach
Mummelsee is the best-known mountain lake in the northern Black Forest, set right on the Black Forest High Road at more than 3,300 feet above sea level. This small, dark glacial lake, ringed by spruce forest beneath the Hornisgrinde, is wr…
Industrial heritage
Solingen
The Müngsten Bridge between Solingen and Remscheid is the tallest railway bridge in Germany, rising 107 meters above the Wupper valley. The delicate steel arch, finished in 1897, is a landmark of the Bergisches Land and a popular day trip…
National parks
Kargow
Müritz National Park in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is Germany's largest national park on land and one of the best places in the country to see wild nature without mountains or crowds. Spread out east of Lake Müritz, it is a mosaic of mo…
Museums
Hamburg
The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (the Museum of Arts and Crafts, or MK&G) is one of Europe's major design museums, and it sits right next to Hamburg's main train station. It is an easy first stop when you arrive by train, or a good…