Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Caves
Sonnenbühl
The Nebelhöhle ("Fog Cave") near Sonnenbühl is one of the best-known show caves of the Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb) in southwestern Germany, just a few kilometers from fairy-tale Lichtenstein Castle. You descend 141 steps about 25 meters…
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…
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…
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…
Palaces
Bruchsal
Bruchsal Palace (Schloss Bruchsal) was the residence of the prince-bishops of Speyer and is billed as the oldest ecclesiastical Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. Its pink-and-yellow facades, forecourt and gardens make a rewarding stop…
Castles
Lichtenstein
Lichtenstein Castle in the village of Honau, part of Lichtenstein in Baden-Württemberg, is one of the most photogenic castles in Germany. Perched on a narrow limestone pillar at the edge of the Swabian Alb, about 800 feet above the Echaz v…
Castles
Sigmaringen
Sigmaringen Castle (Schloss Sigmaringen) sits on a limestone rock high above the Danube and is one of the most striking castles in Baden-Württemberg. Once the seat of the Princes of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, it combines a huge hall of arms…
Palaces
Schwetzingen
Schwetzingen Palace and its gardens, the former summer residence of the Electors Palatine, rank among the finest historic gardens in Europe. Set between Heidelberg and Mannheim in Baden-Württemberg, the roughly 70-hectare (170-acre) park b…
Palaces
Weikersheim
Weikersheim Palace (Schloss Weikersheim) is a Renaissance palace in the Tauber Valley of northern Baden-Württemberg and the ancestral seat of the Hohenlohe family. Its highlights are a splendid knights' hall with a painted coffered ceiling…
Museums
Gutach (Schwarzwaldbahn)
The Black Forest Open Air Museum Vogtsbauernhof in Gutach is the best-known open-air museum in the Black Forest and one of the most rewarding things to do in this part of southwest Germany. Historic farmhouses, mills and workshops were mov…
Viewpoints
Stuttgart
The Stuttgart TV Tower (Fernsehturm Stuttgart) is a city landmark and a milestone in engineering history: completed in 1956, it was the world's first TV tower built of reinforced concrete with an observation pod, and it became the model fo…
Museums
Mannheim
The Technoseum in Mannheim is Baden-Württemberg's state museum of technology and work, and one of Germany's major science and technology museums. Spread over six levels, it tells the story of industrialization and everyday technology throu…
Churches & monasteries
Bad Schussenried
The pilgrimage church of Steinhausen near Bad Schussenried in Upper Swabia is often called the most beautiful village church in the world. Between 1728 and 1733 the architect Dominikus Zimmermann created an oval interior that his brother J…
Other
Hayingen
The Wimsener Höhle (Wimsen Cave) near Hayingen in the Swabian Jura is the only cave in Germany you can explore by boat. A boatman guides a small punt across crystal-clear, turquoise water into the mountain while explaining how the cave for…
Museums
Friedrichshafen
The Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen holds the world's most important collection on the history of airships and is one of the top things to do on Lake Constance. Housed in a listed 1930s harbor station right on the waterfront, it tells t…