Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
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…
Churches & monasteries
Limburg an der Lahn
Limburg Cathedral (Limburger Dom) in Limburg an der Lahn, Hesse, is one of Germany's most photogenic churches: seven towers and a white-and-red painted facade rise from a limestone cliff above the Lahn River. Consecrated in 1235, the Cathe…
Museums
Aalen
Where a residential area now borders Aalen's civic hall, the stables and barracks of a Roman cavalry regiment stood some 1,800 years ago. Covering about 6 hectares, Aalen Fort was the largest cavalry fort north of the Alps and home to the…
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…
Churches & monasteries
Lübeck
At the southern tip of Lübeck's old town island, between the Trave and the Mühlenteich pond, stands the city's oldest church. Lübeck Cathedral was founded by Henry the Lion in 1173, making it one of the duke's four "lion cathedrals". At al…
Landmarks
Lübeck
Lübeck Town Hall on the city's market square is one of the largest medieval town halls in Germany and a showpiece of the Brick Gothic style that defined the Baltic trading cities. From here the merchants of the "Queen of the Hanseatic Leag…
Churches & monasteries
Saarbrücken
The Ludwigskirche (Ludwig's Church) in Saarbrücken is the landmark of the Saarland's capital and one of the most important Protestant Baroque churches in Germany. Designed by architect Friedrich Joachim Stengel as the centerpiece of Ludwig…
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…
Museums
Detmold
On the edge of Detmold stands a whole village that never existed in this form: half-timbered houses, a church, a school and a fire station from the Paderborn region, taken down piece by piece and rebuilt here. The LWL-Museum Hellerlecht, k…
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…
Nature parks
Pirna
The Malerweg ("Painters' Way") is a long-distance hiking trail through Saxon Switzerland and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains, southeast of Dresden. In eight stages and about 112 to 116 km (70 to 72 miles), it leads from Liebethal near Pirna t…
Castles
Marburg
Marburg Castle (Landgrafenschloss) crowns the hill above the medieval old town of Marburg in Hesse, about an hour north of Frankfurt by train. Begun in the 11th century, it became the first seat of the Landgraves of Hesse and hosted the 15…
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,…
Landmarks
Bayreuth
The Margravial Opera House in Bayreuth is one of very few Baroque theatres that survive almost exactly as they were built. Its auditorium of painted and gilded wood was designed by Giuseppe and Carlo Galli Bibiena, the most sought-after th…
Churches & monasteries
Hannover
Walk through Hanover's old town and you will end up in front of this tower sooner or later. The Market Church of St George and St James is the oldest of the three old-town churches, and its 97-metre west tower is one of the city's landmark…
Palaces
Potsdam
Red brick walls, bands of grey and white marble, a small round temple with a gilded fruit basket on the roof and the waters of the Heiliger See in front: the Marmorpalais in the New Garden may be Potsdam's most romantic palace. King Freder…
Museums
Berlin
From 1961 to 1989 the Berlin Wall ran right in front of its main entrance, and visitors had to go in through the back. Today the Martin-Gropius-Bau, or Gropius Bau for short, is one of Berlin's most important exhibition venues. The Renaiss…