Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
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
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…
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…
Mountains & peaks
Wernigerode
The Brocken is the highest mountain in northern Germany at 1,141 meters (3,743 feet) and the best-known peak of the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt. Most visitors ride a historic steam train to the summit, where wild granite moorland, swee…
National parks
Neuschönau
Bavarian Forest National Park is Germany's oldest national park and one of the wildest woodlands in Central Europe. Stretching along the Czech border in eastern Bavaria, it protects mountain forests around the peaks of Rachel, Lusen and Fa…
Mountains & peaks
Feldberg (Schwarzwald)
The Feldberg is the highest mountain in Germany's Black Forest and in the state of Baden-Württemberg, rising to about 1,494 meters (4,902 feet). Its bald, grassy summit offers views that on clear days stretch from the Vosges in France to t…
Lakes
Titisee-Neustadt
Lake Titisee in Germany's Black Forest is one of the country's most famous lakes and a favorite day trip from Freiburg. Carved by an Ice Age glacier and surrounded by dark fir forests at about 845 meters (2,770 feet) above sea level, it of…
Landmarks
Erfurt
The Krämerbrücke (Merchants' Bridge) in Erfurt is a medieval stone bridge lined on both sides with half-timbered houses, still lived in and filled with small shops. Erfurt bills it as the longest continuously built-up and inhabited bridge…
Theme parks
Krausnick-Groß Wasserburg
Tropical Islands near Krausnick, south of Berlin, is Europe's largest tropical resort: a gigantic dome housing a sandy beach, a warm lagoon, a rainforest and water slides, all kept at summer temperatures year-round. The resort fills a form…
National parks
Tönning
The Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park is Germany's largest national park by far, covering about 4,400 square kilometers (1,700 square miles) of tidal flats, salt marshes and sandbanks along the North Sea coast. Part of the Wadden…
Coast & islands
Helgoland
Heligoland (Helgoland) is Germany's only offshore island in the open North Sea, a tiny outcrop of red sandstone about 48 km (30 miles) from the mainland. Visitors come for the dramatic cliffs and the 47-meter Lange Anna sea stack, nesting…