Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Theme parks
Sierksdorf
Hansa-Park in Sierksdorf, on the Bay of Lübeck in northern Germany, calls itself the country's only theme park by the sea, and from several rides you can look straight out over the Baltic. Its roughly 46 hectares (114 acres) are split into…
Nature parks
Osterode am Harz
The Harzer-Hexen-Stieg (Harz Witches' Trail) is a long-distance hiking trail of about 100 km (62 miles) through the Harz mountains. It runs from Osterode am Harz in Lower Saxony over the Brocken to Thale in Saxony-Anhalt, linking half-timb…
Old towns & squares
Nürnberg
The Hauptmarkt in Nuremberg is the main square of the Old Town and one of the most famous market squares in Germany. Two of the city's icons, the Gothic Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche) and the gilded Beautiful Fountain (Schöner Brunnen),…
Old towns & squares
Trier
The Hauptmarkt in Trier is the main market square of Germany's oldest city and one of the most photogenic squares in the Moselle region. Gabled houses from the Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque eras frame a market cross from the 10th centur…
Old towns & squares
Heidelberg
The Hauptstrasse in Heidelberg is the long, car-free main street of one of Germany's most romantic old towns. Running from Bismarckplatz almost to the Karlstor gate, parallel to the Neckar River, it links baroque mansions, churches, museum…
Museums
Bonn
The Haus der Geschichte (House of History) in Bonn is Germany's national museum of contemporary history, telling the story of the country from the end of World War II to today. Located in the former government quarter of the West German ca…
Museums
München
Few museum buildings in Germany carry their origins as heavily as the Haus der Kunst on Prinzregentenstraße. Hitler had it built from 1933 to 1937 as the "House of German Art", a temple for the art the regime approved of. Today, without a…
Palaces
Rudolstadt
Heidecksburg Palace (Residenzschloss Heidecksburg) in Rudolstadt is a Baroque palace that stands about 200 feet (60 m) above the old town, on a ridge above the Saale river in Thuringia. It was the residence of the counts and princes of Sch…
Churches & monasteries
Heidelberg
The Church of the Holy Spirit (Heiliggeistkirche) in Heidelberg is the red sandstone Gothic church that anchors the Market Square in the heart of the Old Town. It was the burial church of the Electors Palatine, once housed the legendary Bi…
Museums
Weimar
The Duchess Anna Amalia Library in Weimar is home to one of the most beautiful library halls in the world: the oval, three-story Rococo Hall, lined with books, portraits, and marble busts. Goethe ran the library for more than three decades…
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…
Historic sites & memorials
Sigmaringen
White mud-brick walls, a timber wall-walk on top and thatched half-timbered houses behind: what stands on the Heuneburg above the upper Danube looks more Mediterranean than Swabian, and that is exactly what makes it special. In the 6th cen…
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…
Lakes
Berchtesgaden
Little rocky islets with a few spruces, clear green water and the walls of the Hochkalter behind: Lake Hintersee in Ramsau is one of the most photographed lakes in the Bavarian Alps. Right next to it lies the Zauberwald ("magic forest"), a…
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…
Museums
Regensburg
If you want to understand why Regensburg is a UNESCO World Heritage city, the Historical Museum on Dachauplatz tells the backstory. Housed in a former 13th-century Minorite friary, the city museum covers the history of Regensburg and easte…
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 "…
Castles
Füssen
The High Castle of the Prince-Bishops of Augsburg stands on a hill above Füssen's old town and is regarded as one of the best-preserved medieval castles in Bavaria. Stand in the courtyard and you notice what makes it special: many of the o…
Caves
Schelklingen
From outside, Hohle Fels looks unremarkable: a pale limestone crag at the edge of the Ach valley, with a gated entrance at its foot. Yet this cave near Schelklingen has yielded some of the oldest artworks and musical instruments known. In…