The tripto catalogue lists 9 caves and grottoes – dripstone caves in the Sauerland, the Swabian Jura and Franconian Switzerland, plus a former mine with colourful grottoes. All are suitable for children.
Atta Cave in Attendorn is one of the largest dripstone caves in Germany; the 40-minute tour shows sinter curtains and stalactites at a constant 9 degrees. Dechen Cave in Iserlohn has its own railway stop at the entrance and the German Cave Museum. The Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes are a former alum slate mine with, according to Guinness, the most colourful show grottoes in the world. On the Swabian Jura you will find the Karls and Bear's Cave, with the skeleton of an Ice Age cave bear, and the Nebelhöhle near Lichtenstein Castle, reached down 141 steps. In Franconian Switzerland, the Devil's Cave near Pottenstein is one of the best-known dripstone caves.
The catalogue's caves are in Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia (two each), and Bavaria and Thuringia (one each).
In practice: a tour usually lasts 40 to 90 minutes. Tickets cost €7–17 for adults, with much lower prices for children and family tickets everywhere. Caves stay around 9 degrees all year – don't forget a jacket. Some caves are seasonal, such as the Nebelhöhle, open from April to October, and Atta and Dechen caves sell tickets only at the ticket office.
Caves
Attendorn
The Atta Cave (Atta-Höhle) in Attendorn is one of the largest and most beautiful show caves in Germany, tucked into the wooded Sauerland hills about 80 km east of Cologne. A guided tour of roughly 40 minutes takes you past rust-tinted flow…
Caves
Iserlohn
The Dechen Cave (Dechenhöhle) in Iserlohn is one of Germany's most beautiful show caves, set in a wooded valley where the Sauerland hills meet the Ruhr area. A guided tour of about 40 minutes leads through winding passages full of stalacti…
Caves
Saalfeld/Saale
The Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes (Saalfelder Feengrotten) in Saalfeld, Thuringia, are a former alum slate mine that has been open to visitors since 1914 and holds the Guinness World Records title of the world's most colorful show grottoes. Unde…
Caves
Sonnenbühl
The Bärenhöhle (Bear's Cave) in Sonnenbühl-Erpfingen is one of the best-known show caves of the Swabian Alb, about an hour south of Stuttgart. It combines two caves: the Karlshöhle, known since 1834, and the Bärenhöhle, discovered in 1949…
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…
Caves
Pottenstein
The Devil's Cave (Teufelshöhle) near Pottenstein is the largest of roughly 1,000 caves in Franconian Switzerland, a craggy hill region in northern Bavaria about an hour's drive from Nuremberg. A guided tour leads through lofty halls filled…
Caves
Attendorn
The Atta Cave (Atta-Höhle) in Attendorn is one of the largest and most beautiful show caves in Germany, tucked into the wooded Sauerland hills about 80 km east of Cologne. A guided tour of roughly 40 minutes takes you past rust-tinted flow…
Caves
Rübeland
According to legend, a miner called Friedrich Baumann stumbled into this cave in the 16th century while looking for ore, lost his light and wandered in the dark for three days. He found his way out but died soon afterwards. The story is no…
Caves
Iserlohn
The Dechen Cave (Dechenhöhle) in Iserlohn is one of Germany's most beautiful show caves, set in a wooded valley where the Sauerland hills meet the Ruhr area. A guided tour of about 40 minutes leads through winding passages full of stalacti…
Caves
Schelklingen
From outside, Hohle Fels looks unremarkable: a pale limestone crag at the edge of the Ach valley, with a gated entrance at its foot. Yet this cave near Schelklingen has yielded some of the oldest artworks and musical instruments known. In…
Caves
Sonnenbühl
The Bärenhöhle (Bear's Cave) in Sonnenbühl-Erpfingen is one of the best-known show caves of the Swabian Alb, about an hour south of Stuttgart. It combines two caves: the Karlshöhle, known since 1834, and the Bärenhöhle, discovered in 1949…
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…
Caves
Saalfeld/Saale
The Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes (Saalfelder Feengrotten) in Saalfeld, Thuringia, are a former alum slate mine that has been open to visitors since 1914 and holds the Guinness World Records title of the world's most colorful show grottoes. Unde…
Caves
Homburg
Yellow, ochre, rust-red: in the Schlossberg Caves in Homburg, coloured bands swirl across walls and ceilings as if someone had pasted marbled paper inside the hill. Yet water did not shape these passages and halls, people did. Over centuri…
Caves
Pottenstein
The Devil's Cave (Teufelshöhle) near Pottenstein is the largest of roughly 1,000 caves in Franconian Switzerland, a craggy hill region in northern Bavaria about an hour's drive from Nuremberg. A guided tour leads through lofty halls filled…
Atta Cave is one of Germany's largest dripstone caves, and the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes are said to be the most colourful show grottoes in the world. Bear's Cave and Dechen Cave with its museum are popular with families.
Between €7 (Bear's Cave, Nebelhöhle) and €17 (Fairy Grottoes including the museum). Atta Cave costs €14.50 and Dechen Cave €10.
A constant 9 degrees in Atta Cave – and similarly cool in the other caves all year round. Bring a jacket even in summer.
Updated: · Opening hours and prices can change — check the attraction page before you go.