Discover places worth seeing — from historic sites to mountain trails.
Landmarks
Dresden
The Semperoper in Dresden is one of the world's great opera houses and the centerpiece of Dresden's Theaterplatz. Home to the Saxon State Opera and the Staatskapelle Dresden orchestra, it saw the world premieres of operas by Richard Wagner…
Historic sites & memorials
Augsburg
The Fuggerei in Augsburg is the world's oldest social housing complex still in use, and one of the most unusual things to do in Bavaria. Founded in 1521 by the merchant banker Jakob Fugger "the Rich," it still houses around 150 people in n…
Castles
Meersburg
Meersburg Castle on Lake Constance is often called the oldest inhabited castle in Germany. Its stocky Dagobert Tower rises above the old town of Meersburg, and inside, more than 35 furnished rooms trace castle life from the dungeon to the…
Castles
Braubach
Marksburg Castle above the town of Braubach is the only medieval hilltop castle on the Middle Rhine that was never destroyed, which makes it a must-see on any trip through the Rhine Gorge. Perched high above the river in the UNESCO-listed…
Monuments
Rüdesheim am Rhein
The Niederwald Monument above Rüdesheim am Rhein is one of Germany's best-known national monuments, crowned by a giant bronze Germania gazing out over the vineyards of the Rheingau. Built to celebrate the founding of the German Empire afte…
Landmarks
Gablenz
The Rakotzbrücke in Kromlau, often called the Devil's Bridge, is one of the most photographed sights in Germany. Its slender stone arch is reflected so perfectly in the still waters of the Rakotzsee lake that bridge and reflection form an…
Viewpoints
Mettlach
The Saarschleife near Mettlach is the symbol of Saarland, Germany's smallest non-city state, and one of the most dramatic river views in the country. Here the Saar River doubles back on itself in a near-perfect hairpin bend through a deep,…
Old towns & squares
Berlin
Gendarmenmarkt in Berlin is widely considered the most beautiful square in the German capital. Framed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel's Konzerthaus and two near-identical domed churches, the French and the German Cathedral, it feels more like a…
Landmarks
Berlin
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin tells the story of the 20th century in a single square. In the 1920s it was one of the busiest traffic hubs in Europe; after World War II it became a no-man's-land cut in two by the Berlin Wall; and since the 1990…
Industrial heritage
Völklingen
The Völklingen Ironworks (Völklinger Hütte) in Völklingen, Saarland, is a vast former ironworks and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1994. It was the first industrial monument from the age of industrialization to receive that status, and…
Museums
Berlin
The Humboldt Forum in Berlin is a vast museum and cultural center housed in the rebuilt Berlin Palace, right across from Museum Island in the historic heart of the city. Behind its reconstructed baroque facades you'll find world cultures c…
Museums
Berlin
The Jewish Museum Berlin in the Kreuzberg district is one of the most visited museums in the German capital and among the largest Jewish museums in Europe. It traces Jewish life in Germany from medieval communities to the present day, insi…
Old towns & squares
Berlin
The Nikolaiviertel (Nikolai Quarter) in Berlin is where the city was born. Around the Nikolaikirche, Berlin's oldest church, a medieval trading settlement grew in the 13th century into what would become the German capital. Today's quarter…
Viewpoints
Berlin
The Berlin Victory Column (Siegessäule) is one of the German capital's great landmarks: a 67-meter column rising from the Grosser Stern roundabout in the middle of the Tiergarten park, topped by a gilded statue of the goddess Victoria that…
Gardens & parks
Berlin
Tempelhofer Feld in Berlin is the former airfield of Tempelhof Airport, now one of the largest inner-city open spaces in the world. Locals come here to skate and cycle down old runways, fly kites, barbecue, and watch the sunset over more t…
Museums
Berlin
The DDR Museum in Berlin brings everyday life in communist East Germany (the GDR, or DDR in German) to life through hands-on exhibits. Sit behind the wheel of a Trabant, open the drawers of a fully furnished prefab apartment, and step into…
Churches & monasteries
München
The Frauenkirche in Munich, officially the Cathedral of Our Dear Lady, is the city's best-known landmark and one of the first things to see on any visit to the Bavarian capital. Its twin brick towers with their rounded green caps have defi…
Palaces
München
The Munich Residenz is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach dynasty and the largest city-center palace in Germany. For more than four centuries, Bavaria's dukes, electors and kings ruled from this sprawling complex in the heart of Mu…
Palaces
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg Palace (Residenzschloss Ludwigsburg), just north of Stuttgart, is one of the largest Baroque palaces in Germany and is often called the "Versailles of Swabia." With about 452 rooms, two churches, an 18th-century theater and a v…
Gardens & parks
Kassel
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe in Kassel is Europe's largest hillside park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2013. A giant copper Hercules statue crowns the hilltop, and below it a chain of cascades, waterfalls and a fountain more than 50 mete…
Gardens & parks
München
The Olympiapark in Munich, built for the 1972 Summer Olympics, is one of the city's most popular green spaces and a landmark of modern architecture. Its sweeping, transparent tent roof, a lake, a hill made from wartime rubble and wide lawn…
Old towns & squares
München
The Viktualienmarkt in Munich is the city's famous open-air food market, set right in the Old Town just a few minutes' walk from Marienplatz. For more than 200 years, locals have shopped here for fruit, vegetables, cheese, meat and flowers…
Viewpoints
München
St. Peter's Church in Munich, known to locals as "Alter Peter" (Old Peter), is the city's oldest parish church and home to one of the best viewpoints in town. Climb the tower right next to Marienplatz and you look straight down on the New…
Landmarks
München
The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl in Munich is probably the most famous beer hall in the world and a must on many first trips to Bavaria. In the heart of the Old Town, a few minutes' walk from Marienplatz, locals, regulars' clubs and visitors from…