Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Churches & monasteries
Calw
Among the half-timbered houses of the Nagold valley, a single Romanesque tower rises above red sandstone walls, and behind it empty traceried arches open to the sky. That is all that stands of the Abbey of St Peter and Paul in Hirsau, yet…
Palaces
Salem
Salem Abbey (Kloster und Schloss Salem) on Lake Constance is one of the most important baroque monastery complexes in southern Germany. This former imperial Cistercian abbey blends a Gothic minster with baroque state rooms, and in the 19th…
Churches & monasteries
Ulm
Marbled columns in pink and green, gilded capitals, a gallery running all the way round and above it a huge ceiling fresco: the library hall of Wiblingen Abbey is one of the most striking Rococo rooms in southern Germany. The former Benedi…
Churches & monasteries
Reichenau
Reichenau Island, the "Monastic Island" in Lake Constance near Konstanz, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000. It preserves three Romanesque churches whose origins reach back to a Benedictine abbey founded in the 8th century, s…
Viewpoints
Heidelberg
The Königstuhl in Heidelberg is the city's local mountain, rising 567.8 m (1,863 ft) directly behind Heidelberg Castle. A historic funicular climbs to the summit, where you'll find sweeping views over the Old Town, the Neckar Valley and th…
Churches & monasteries
Konstanz
Konstanz Minster (Konstanzer Münster) in Konstanz on Lake Constance served for more than a thousand years as the cathedral of one of the largest dioceses in the German-speaking world. Today, the Basilica of Our Lady is the landmark of the…
Landmarks
Baden-Baden
The Kurhaus of Baden-Baden is the grand neoclassical centerpiece of Germany's most famous spa town, on the edge of the Black Forest. Behind its white columned facade lies the legendary Casino Baden-Baden, which Marlene Dietrich called the…
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…
Lakes
Seebach
Mummelsee is the best-known mountain lake in the northern Black Forest, set right on the Black Forest High Road at more than 3,300 feet above sea level. This small, dark glacial lake, ringed by spruce forest beneath the Hornisgrinde, is wr…
National parks
Baiersbronn
Black Forest National Park at Ruhestein, on the scenic Black Forest High Road between Baden-Baden and Freudenstadt, is the first national park in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Here the dark fir and spruce forests of the northern B…
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…
Viewpoints
Heidelberg
The Philosophers' Walk in Heidelberg (Philosophenweg) is a hillside path on the north bank of the Neckar that offers the most famous view of the city. From the slopes of the Heiligenberg, you look straight across the river at the Old Bridg…
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…
Waterfalls
Breitnau
The Ravenna Gorge (Ravennaschlucht) near Breitnau in the southern Black Forest is one of the region's most beautiful short hikes, framed by a soaring stone railroad viaduct at its entrance. Wooden walkways and stairs lead you past rushing…
Theme parks
Meckenbeuren
Ravensburger Spieleland in Meckenbeuren, between Ravensburg and Friedrichshafen near Lake Constance, is a theme park built around the games and characters of the famous German puzzle and board game maker Ravensburger. It is aimed squarely…
Palaces
Bad Mergentheim
In the middle of the spa town of Bad Mergentheim on the river Tauber stands a palace from which one of Europe's most powerful religious orders was governed for almost 300 years. From 1527 to 1809, Mergentheim Residential Palace was the hea…
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…
Theme parks
Rust
Outside lie the fields of the Upper Rhine plain; inside is an island in the North Atlantic, home to trolls, mermaids and a blue octopus in a horned helmet. Rulantica is the water park of Europa-Park in Rust, its name a blend of Rust and At…
Industrial heritage
Blumberg
The Sauschwänzlebahn near Blumberg is a historic heritage railway in the southern Black Forest that runs about 25 kilometers (15 miles) through the Wutach valley. The nickname, roughly "piglet's tail railway," comes from the curly route an…
Mountains & peaks
Freiburg im Breisgau
Schauinsland is Freiburg's own mountain and one of the best viewpoints in the southern Black Forest. Rising to 4,213 feet (1,284 m) about six miles southeast of the old town, it is reached by Germany's longest circulating cable car. At the…
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…