Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Coast & islands
Binz
Binz is the largest and best-known seaside resort on Rügen, Germany's biggest island, on the Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It's famous for a fine, white sand beach about 5 kilometers long, a promenade lined with ornate whi…
Coast & islands
Hamburg
Övelgönne is a small riverside district in Hamburg-Othmarschen with a wide sandy beach, a museum harbor and captains' houses right on the water. Here you can watch huge container ships glide past, stroll along the Elbe beach and look at hi…
Museums
Dresden
The Panometer Dresden is a former gasometer in the Reick district where artist Yadegar Asisi shows enormous 360-degree panoramas. The name blends "panorama" and "gasometer." If you are looking for unusual things to do in Dresden, this imme…
Gardens & parks
Weimar
Park an der Ilm in Weimar is the landscape park that Johann Wolfgang von Goethe helped design, and one of the loveliest places to experience Germany's classical age. Stretching for about 120 acres (48 ha) along the Ilm River right next to…
Museums
Uhldingen-Mühlhofen
The Pfahlbaumuseum Unteruhldingen (Lake Dwellings Museum) on the northern shore of Lake Constance is one of the most memorable things to do in southern Germany: wooden boardwalks lead you through reconstructed Stone Age and Bronze Age vill…
Gardens & parks
Berlin
Pfaueninsel (Peacock Island) in Berlin is a car-free island in the Havel River on the city's southwestern edge, reached only by a short ferry ride. It feels worlds away from the capital: a whimsical white palace, centuries-old oaks, open m…
Landmarks
Dresden
Pfunds Molkerei (Pfund's Dairy) in Dresden's Neustadt district has been called the most beautiful dairy shop in the world. The small sales room on Bautzner Straße is covered from floor to ceiling in hand-painted Villeroy & Boch tiles, maki…
Viewpoints
Heidelberg
The Philosophers' Walk in Heidelberg (Philosophenweg) is a hillside path on the north bank of the Neckar that offers the most famous view of the city. From the slopes of the Heiligenberg, you look straight across the river at the Old Bridg…
Landmarks
Krummhörn
Pilsum Lighthouse near Krummhörn in East Frisia is one of the most photographed landmarks on Germany's North Sea coast. The small tower with red and yellow rings stands on top of the sea dike and looks almost painted against the flat marsh…
Museums
München
The Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich's Maxvorstadt district is one of Germany's largest museums for modern art, architecture, graphic art and design. Opened in 2002 and designed by Stephan Braunfels, it houses four independent museums unde…
Museums
Hamburg
The Hamburg Planetarium sits in a striking brick water tower in the city's Stadtpark, and it has been showing the night sky since 1930. Under a dome more than 20 meters wide you can watch live star shows, 3D journeys through space, music s…
Castles
Kulmbach
Plassenburg is a massive hilltop castle above the town of Kulmbach in northern Bavaria, and one of the most impressive Renaissance fortresses in southern Germany. Once a stronghold of the Hohenzollern dynasty, the family that later ruled P…
Theme parks
Haßloch
Plopsaland Deutschland in Haßloch, known as Holiday Park until June 2025, is a theme park in the Palatinate region of southwest Germany, a short drive from Mannheim and about an hour from Frankfurt Airport. Its roughly 40 hectares (100 acr…
Museums
Stuttgart
The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart stands right next to the sports car maker's main factory in the Zuffenhausen district and tells the story of the brand through around 80 cars, from the very first Porsche to Le Mans winners. The futuristic w…
Old towns & squares
Münster
The Prinzipalmarkt in Münster is one of the most photogenic old-town streets in northern Germany: a curving row of tall sandstone gabled houses above a continuous arcade, framed by the Gothic tower of St. Lambert's Church. It is also a key…
Churches & monasteries
Ratzeburg
Ratzeburg Cathedral (Ratzeburger Dom) stands on the cathedral island in the town of Ratzeburg and is one of the best preserved Romanesque brick churches in northern Germany. It is the oldest of the four "Lion Cathedrals" founded by Henry t…
Waterfalls
Breitnau
The Ravenna Gorge (Ravennaschlucht) near Breitnau in the southern Black Forest is one of the region's most beautiful short hikes, framed by a soaring stone railroad viaduct at its entrance. Wooden walkways and stairs lead you past rushing…
Theme parks
Meckenbeuren
Ravensburger Spieleland in Meckenbeuren, between Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen near Lake Constance, is a theme park built around the games and characters of the famous German puzzle and board game maker Ravensburger. It is aimed squarely…
Churches & monasteries
Regensburg
Regensburg Cathedral (Dom St. Peter) is the finest Gothic church in Bavaria and the centerpiece of Regensburg's UNESCO-listed Old Town on the Danube. Its twin spires rise 105 m above the medieval rooftops, and inside you will find one of t…
Castles
Annweiler am Trifels
Trifels Castle (Reichsburg Trifels) near Annweiler am Trifels is one of the most storied castles in southwestern Germany. Perched on a sandstone summit in the Palatinate Forest, it served the Salian and Hohenstaufen emperors as a stronghol…
Palaces
Rastatt
Rastatt Palace (Residenzschloss Rastatt) is the oldest Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine, built in the style of Versailles for the Margraves of Baden-Baden. Its pink facade and huge forecourt make a good stop for anyone looking for thin…
Gardens & parks
Köln
Rheinpark is the large park on the east bank of the Rhine in Cologne's Deutz district, and it offers some of the best views of the cathedral and old town. Lawns, flower gardens with waterfalls, an open-air stage and the cable car station s…
Viewpoints
Düsseldorf
The Rheinturm in Düsseldorf is the city's tallest structure at 240.5 m (789 ft) and its best-known landmark. This telecommunications tower rises right on the Rhine between the state parliament and the MedienHafen, and its observation deck…
Museums
Hamburg
The Rickmer Rickmers is a green three-masted sailing ship from 1896 that now serves as a museum ship at the St. Pauli Landungsbrücken in Hamburg. It is one of the best things to do in Hamburg's harbor: you can go aboard, explore an exhibit…