The tripto catalogue lists 12 fortresses and citadels – hilltop fortresses high above rivers, Baroque fortified towns and ruins on volcanic cones. All of them work well for families.
Königstein Fortress stands 240 metres above the Elbe in Saxon Switzerland and is one of the largest hilltop fortresses in Europe, with a well 152 metres deep. Ehrenbreitstein Fortress towers over the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz; a cable car carries you over the Rhine to the top. Marienberg Fortress above the Main is Würzburg's landmark; the grounds are free and tours cost €5. The Hohentwiel ruins sit on a volcanic cone in the Hegau, with views across Lake Constance to the Alps. Saarlouis is a fortified town designed by Vauban, with casemates and the Vauban Island, and the Kaiserswerth Imperial Palace in Düsseldorf is a freely accessible ruin on the Rhine.
The catalogue's fortresses are spread over eight states – one each in Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saarland, North Rhine-Westphalia, Thuringia (Petersberg Citadel in Erfurt) and Berlin (Spandau Citadel).
In practice: allow two to four hours. Tickets range from €5 (Hohentwiel) to €17 (Königstein in high season); the grounds of Marienberg, Petersberg and Kaiserswerth are free. Wear sturdy shoes, as paths and ramparts can be steep and uneven. Views are best on clear autumn days.
Fortresses
Königstein (Sächsische Schweiz)
Königstein Fortress in Saxon Switzerland is one of the largest hilltop fortresses in Europe. Perched on a flat-topped sandstone mountain 240 meters (790 ft) above the Elbe River, it combines more than 50 historic buildings, a well cut over…
Fortresses
Koblenz
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress towers above the Rhine in Koblenz and is one of the largest surviving fortresses in Europe. From its walls you look straight down on the Deutsches Eck, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, and far across the hills of…
Fortresses
Würzburg
Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg crowns a hill about 100 m above the Main River and is the city's most famous landmark. For nearly five centuries it was the seat of Würzburg's prince-bishops, before they moved into the grand Residence in to…
Fortresses
Singen (Hohentwiel)
The Hohentwiel in Singen is an extinct volcanic cone in the Hegau region near Lake Constance, crowned by the ruins of one of Germany's largest fortresses. Spread over about 9 hectares (22 acres), the ruins offer sweeping views across the H…
Fortresses
Saarlouis
Saarlouis Fortress is a fortified town on the Saar River designed by the French military engineer Vauban, and its hexagonal outline still shapes the city center today. King Louis XIV had it founded in 1680 to secure France's eastern border…
Fortresses
Düsseldorf
The Kaiserpfalz Kaiserswerth (Imperial Palace of Kaiserswerth) is the ruin of a mighty medieval stronghold on the banks of the Rhine in northern Düsseldorf. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa turned an older royal palace into a near-impregnable…
Fortresses
Königstein (Sächsische Schweiz)
Königstein Fortress in Saxon Switzerland is one of the largest hilltop fortresses in Europe. Perched on a flat-topped sandstone mountain 240 meters (790 ft) above the Elbe River, it combines more than 50 historic buildings, a well cut over…
Fortresses
Koblenz
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress towers above the Rhine in Koblenz and is one of the largest surviving fortresses in Europe. From its walls you look straight down on the Deutsches Eck, where the Moselle meets the Rhine, and far across the hills of…
Fortresses
Würzburg
Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg crowns a hill about 100 m above the Main River and is the city's most famous landmark. For nearly five centuries it was the seat of Würzburg's prince-bishops, before they moved into the grand Residence in to…
Fortresses
Kronach
Rosenberg Fortress rises steeply above the old town of Kronach in the Franconian Forest and in its long history was never taken by force. It is one of the best-preserved fortresses in Bavaria and shows within a compact area how military ar…
Fortresses
Saarlouis
Saarlouis Fortress is a fortified town on the Saar River designed by the French military engineer Vauban, and its hexagonal outline still shapes the city center today. King Louis XIV had it founded in 1680 to secure France's eastern border…
Fortresses
Singen (Hohentwiel)
The Hohentwiel in Singen is an extinct volcanic cone in the Hegau region near Lake Constance, crowned by the ruins of one of Germany's largest fortresses. Spread over about 9 hectares (22 acres), the ruins offer sweeping views across the H…
Fortresses
Wunstorf
From the shore at Steinhude, Wilhelmstein looks like a small green islet with a few houses, but it hides one of Europe's most unusual fortresses. Count Wilhelm of Schaumburg-Lippe had an island built in the middle of Lake Steinhude from 17…
Fortresses
Düsseldorf
The Kaiserpfalz Kaiserswerth (Imperial Palace of Kaiserswerth) is the ruin of a mighty medieval stronghold on the banks of the Rhine in northern Düsseldorf. Emperor Frederick Barbarossa turned an older royal palace into a near-impregnable…
Fortresses
Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg calls itself the Town of Four Gates, and with good reason. An almost complete medieval wall still rings the old town, with four brick gates whose ornate gables are among the finest examples of north German Brick Gothic. The…
Fortresses
Mainz
On the Jakobsberg hill, right above Mainz Römisches Theater station, the city's history is stacked up in one place: a Roman monument at the bottom layer, traces of a medieval monastery, Baroque bastions all around and 19th-century barracks…
Fortresses
Erfurt
The Petersberg Citadel (Zitadelle Petersberg) in Erfurt is one of the largest and best-preserved Baroque city fortresses in Europe. Rising directly above Cathedral Square, its bastions offer the classic view of Erfurt Cathedral and St. Sev…
Fortresses
Berlin
The Spandau Citadel (Zitadelle Spandau) is one of the best-preserved Italian Renaissance fortresses in Europe and a rewarding day trip within Berlin. It sits at the confluence of the Havel and Spree rivers in the city's west, far from the…
Königstein Fortress in Saxon Switzerland is one of the largest hilltop fortresses in Europe. It stands 240 metres above the Elbe and has a well 152 metres deep.
The grounds of Marienberg Fortress in Würzburg, Petersberg Citadel in Erfurt and the Kaiserswerth Imperial Palace in Düsseldorf. Museums and tours cost extra.
In high season €17, reduced €13, families €42; from November €15, reduced €11. Children up to 6 go free.
Updated: · Opening hours and prices can change — check the attraction page before you go.