Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Churches & monasteries
Steingaden
The Wieskirche (Pilgrimage Church of Wies) near Steingaden in Upper Bavaria is often called the most perfect Rococo church in the world, and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1983. From the outside it looks like a modest white…
Churches & monasteries
Maulbronn
Maulbronn Monastery in Baden-Württemberg is considered the best-preserved medieval monastery complex north of the Alps and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Behind its fortified walls lies a complete Cistercian abbey, with…
Mountains & peaks
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The Partnach Gorge (Partnachklamm) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is one of the most dramatic natural sights in the Bavarian Alps. For about 700 meters, the Partnach River squeezes through a limestone chasm up to 80 meters deep, and a walkway c…
Waterfalls
Triberg im Schwarzwald
The Triberg Waterfalls in the heart of Germany's Black Forest are among the country's most famous waterfalls. In the small town of Triberg, the Gutach River tumbles a total of 163 meters in a chain of cascades through a steep fir forest, w…
Castles
Cochem
Reichsburg Cochem (Cochem Imperial Castle) is the fairy-tale castle that crowns the hill above Cochem, one of the prettiest wine towns on Germany's Moselle River. With its slender octagonal keep, pointed turrets and battlements rising abov…
Gardens & parks
Konstanz
Mainau Island in Lake Constance, part of the city of Konstanz, is Germany's famous "Flower Island" and one of the top day trips in the south of the country. Its roughly 111 acres (45 hectares) hold rose and dahlia gardens, an arboretum beg…
Monuments
Detmold
The Hermannsdenkmal (Hermann Monument) near Detmold is a colossal copper statue of the Germanic chieftain Arminius, standing 53.46 meters (175 feet) tall on a forested hill in the Teutoburg Forest. Unveiled in 1875, it commemorates the amb…
Monuments
Leipzig
The Monument to the Battle of the Nations (Völkerschlachtdenkmal) in Leipzig is a colossal stone memorial, 91 meters (299 feet) tall, built to mark the centenary of Napoleon's decisive defeat near Leipzig in October 1813. With its brooding…
Churches & monasteries
Leipzig
St. Thomas Church (Thomaskirche) in Leipzig is where Johann Sebastian Bach worked as cantor for the last 27 years of his life, and where he is buried today. Home of the famous St. Thomas Boys Choir (Thomanerchor), founded in 1212, this lat…
Churches & monasteries
Hamburg
St. Michael's Church (Hauptkirche St. Michaelis), known to locals simply as the "Michel," is Hamburg's most famous landmark and the most important Baroque church in northern Germany. Its 132-meter (433-foot) green copper tower rises above…
Gardens & parks
München
The English Garden (Englischer Garten) in Munich is one of the largest urban parks in the world, covering 376 hectares (about 930 acres) between the old town and the Schwabing district. Locals come here to sunbathe on vast meadows, drink b…
Gardens & parks
Hannover
The Herrenhausen Gardens (Herrenhäuser Gärten) in Hanover are among the most important historic gardens in Europe. Their centerpiece, the roughly 50-hectare (124-acre) Great Garden, is a perfectly symmetrical Baroque masterpiece of hedges,…
Museums
München
The BMW Museum in Munich is one of the top things to do in the Bavarian capital for anyone who loves cars, motorcycles or bold architecture. Housed in a silver "bowl" next to BMW's four-cylinder headquarters tower and opposite BMW Welt, it…
Museums
Stuttgart
The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart is one of Germany's great car museums and a must for anyone interested in how the automobile was born. It sits in the Bad Cannstatt district beside the company's Untertürkheim plant and tells the brand…
Zoos
Stuttgart
The Wilhelma in Stuttgart is a rare combination of zoo and botanical garden, and one of the most popular things to do in southwest Germany. Set in the Bad Cannstatt district, it houses around 11,000 animals of about 1,200 species among Moo…
Zoos
Leipzig
Leipzig Zoo is one of the most highly rated zoos in Europe and one of the best things to do in Leipzig, Saxony. Just a short walk from the main train station, it swaps old-fashioned cages for immersive themed worlds, including the giant tr…
Zoos
Berlin
Berlin Zoo (Zoologischer Garten Berlin) is Germany's oldest zoo that is still operating and one of the most species-rich zoos in the world. Set in the heart of West Berlin, right next to Zoologischer Garten station, it is home to more than…
Zoos
Hamburg
Tierpark Hagenbeck in Hamburg is one of the most historic zoos in the world. Opened in 1907 by animal dealer Carl Hagenbeck, it was the first zoo to show animals in open, bar-free enclosures, a concept later copied around the globe. Today…
Theme parks
Brühl
Phantasialand in Brühl, between Cologne and Bonn, is one of Germany's most popular theme parks and is famous for its richly themed worlds. Instead of rides lined up in open fields, roller coasters like Taron, Black Mamba and F.L.Y. weave t…
Theme parks
Soltau
Heide Park Resort in Soltau is the biggest amusement park in northern Germany, set in the Lüneburg Heath roughly halfway between Hamburg and Hanover. Spread over about 85 hectares, it is known for record-breaking roller coasters such as th…
Theme parks
Günzburg
Legoland Deutschland Resort in Günzburg, Bavaria, is one of Germany's most visited theme parks and a top day trip for families with young children. Located right off the A8 highway between Munich and Stuttgart, it combines rides, shows and…
Palaces
Berlin
Charlottenburg Palace (Schloss Charlottenburg) is the largest and most important palace complex of the Prussian kings and German emperors in Berlin. With its green dome, lavish baroque and rococo rooms and a sprawling palace garden, it is…
Industrial heritage
Goslar
The Rammelsberg Mine in Goslar is one of the most remarkable industrial sites in Germany: a mountain that was mined for more than a thousand years and is now a UNESCO World Heritage museum and show mine. You can ride a mine train into the…
Old towns & squares
Quedlinburg
The old town of Quedlinburg is one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Germany and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. More than 2,100 half-timbered houses spanning eight centuries line its cobbled lanes, watched over by a castle…