Germany is a fascinating country with fantastic medieval attractions, especially castles, fortifications and temples, which coexist with modern attractions, the product of the creative work of the nation that is considered the engine of Europe.
Join us on this tour of the best tourist spots in Germany.
1. Brandenburg Gate
The most famous gate in Berlin and Germany was completed in 1791. It was built during the reign of Frederick II of Prussia by the architect Carl Gotthard Langhans at one of the 18 entrances to the Berlin Wall, taking the entrance to the Acropolis as a model from Athens.
It is a sandstone monument, in early neoclassical style, with a width of 65.5 meters and a height of 26 meters. It has an imposing Doric colonnade and a set of reliefs on the top, with representations of Heracles, Minerva and Mars. It is crowned by a 5 meter high copper chariot, the work of the Berlin sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow.
The quadriga is a representation of the Roman goddess Victoria mounted on a chariot pulled by four horses. In 1806 Napoleon took it to Paris as a war trophy after the Battle of Jena and the monumental sculpture was recovered by the Germans in 1814.
2. Reichstag building
The current German parliament building, built in Berlin (1894) in a neo-Renaissance style, is famous for having been burned down in 1933 by order of Adolf Hitler to blame the Jews. Its appearance changed in the 1990s, when work was carried out to rebuild it after it was seriously damaged during the Battle of Berlin in 1945.
The reconstruction was carried out by the famous English architect Sir Norman Foster, who added a dome, which is the main distinctive element of the building and one of the symbols of Berlin. The Reichstag houses numerous works of art by German artists and creators of the four powers that occupied Berlin after the war.
Contrary to what many people believe, Hitler never made speeches in the Reichstag. However, the plenary hall of the parliament witnessed rhetorical duels between the most important Nazi speakers (Joseph Goebbels, Hermann Göring) and their political opponents.
3. Cologne Cathedral
The imposing Gothic cathedral is overwhelming and provokes admiration towards the builders who were able to build it with the architectural resources of past times.
It was started in 1248 and finished in 1880, a period of more than 500 years crossed by various architectural styles, although the temple maintained its Gothic concept as a recognition of an art of Germanic heritage.
It is the most visited monument in Germany and its height of 157 meters set the world record, until the Washington Monument was completed in 1884.
It has 11 bells, of which four come from medieval times. The monumental Bell of San Pedro weighs 24 tons and is affectionately called “El Gordo Pedro” by the coloneses.
The cathedral suffered damage during the bombing of the Second World War, although its basic structure was preserved. After the war and before the reconstruction of Cologne, the images of the immense cathedral standing out over the city in ruins were shocking.
4. Neuschwanstein Castle
This castle was built in 1869 by Ludwig II of Bavaria. It is one of the most frequented places of tourism in Germany. It is located near the Bavarian city of Füssen and is the most photographed property in the country. Walt Disney took it as a model for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Park.
It is a set of towers, turrets, battlements and gables that harmonize various architectural styles, in a more aesthetic than functional concept, born as a romantic daydream in the mind of the eccentric king when the castles had already lost importance as a strategic element.
Inside it has 200 rooms, superbly decorated and furnished, including the throne room, the singers’ room and the guest rooms. The throne room is in the western sector of the palace and features murals and an impressive chandelier. The singers’ hall is inspired by Lohengrin and the legend of Parzival.
5. Museum Island
It is an island located in the center of Berlin, in the course of the River Spree, which houses six spaces: the Old Museum, the New Museum, the Pergamon Museum, the Bode Museum, the Old National Gallery and the James Simon Gallery.
The Old Museum, built in 1830, was the first of the enclosures on the island. It houses part of a collection of antiquities put on display by Frederick William III.
The New Museum opened in 1859 and contains prehistoric and Egyptian artifacts, including the famous bust of Nefertiti, dating from 1330 BC The Pergamon Museum exhibits the Pergamon Altar (2nd century BC), the Miletus Market Gate and the Gate from Ishtar of Babylon (6th century BC).
The Old National Gallery opened in 1876 and contains one of the largest collections of 19th-century painting and sculpture in Germany. The Bode Museum was opened in 1904 and specializes in art from the Late Antique Age and the Byzantine era. The Simon Gallery, completed in 2018, is the entrance to the island.
6. Berlin TV Tower
This 1969 tower was one of the most important engineering works in East Germany, a satellite country of the USSR during the Soviet era. Its original height was 365 meters, reaching 368 meters with the new antenna installed in the 1990s.
It is one of the main and tallest of Berlin’s landmarks, along with the Brandenburg Gate and the Reichstag. Apart from the headquarters of radio and TV stations, it has a bar, a restaurant and a viewpoint at 203 meters high, from which you have the most spectacular views of the German capital.
It was declared a national monument in times of East Germany, a status it retained with the reunified German nation.
In its upper part it has a stainless steel dome in which the reflections of the sun form a cross, an effect that arose without being sought in the design. This effect was called the “Revenge of the Pope” during the period when this part of Germany was a communist state.
7. Marienplatz
The “Maria’s Square” is the most important in Munich and dates back to the time of the city’s foundation in 1168. It is the central square of Munich and houses emblematic buildings of the Bavarian capital, connecting with its main shopping streets.
Opposite Marienplatz are the Old and New Town Halls. The Old Town Hall building is a 15th-century building that preserves a tower from the year 1200 and which obtained its current neo-Gothic appearance in a 19th-century reconstruction.
The New Town Hall, also in neo-Gothic style, is the municipal seat and has a splendid façade.
In the center of the square is the Column of Mary, built in 1638 to celebrate the city’s salvation from being destroyed during the 30 Years’ War. It is a marble column crowned with the images of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus. At the base there are sculptural ensembles of angels with a dragon, a basilisk, a lion and a serpent.
8. East Side Gallery
In 1989, the German people tore down the wall built in 1961 by the East German government to separate East and West Berlin.
From the demolition of the Berlin Wall, a 1.3-kilometer sector was saved, converted into an open-air painting museum, especially murals, considered the longest of its kind in the world. It is located on the Mühlenstrabe street, facing the banks of the Spree River, and has 103 murals.
The works were made by artists from all over the world and among the most famous is the mural My God, help me to survive this mortal love , by the Russian artist Dmitri Vrúbel, a satire of the famous kiss between the Soviet Leonid Brezhnev and the German Eastern Erich Honecker in 1979.
Another well-known work is Danke, Andrej Sacharow , in homage to the Russian human rights activist Andrei Sakharov.
9. Linderhof Palace
It is located near the town of Oberammergau, in the state of Bavaria. It is one of the three palaces built by King Louis II and the only one completed while he was alive.
It was built on the former hunting ground of Maximilian II of Bavaria, father of Louis II, and the influence of the Palace of Versailles on the building is visible.
Its main spaces are the mirror room, the tapestry rooms, the audience chamber, the king’s bedroom, the dining room, the Moorish kiosk, the grotto of Venus, the temple of Venus, the Moroccan house, the Hunding hut, the hermitage of Gurnemanz and its extensive and splendid gardens.
The mirror room was the king’s favorite place to read and its carpet was made from ostrich feathers.
The dining room had the peculiarity that the table was lowered from the kitchen by means of a mechanical system, with the food served, since the eccentric Luis II could not stand contact with the servants. The cooks served at least four people, since the deranged king talked to imaginary diners when he ate alone.
10. Romantic Road
It is a thematic route promoted in the 1950s by tourist organizations and runs 350 kilometers from Würzburg, in the Franconia region, to Füssen, a Bavarian city on the border with Austria.
The route passes through more than 30 cities and picturesque towns and castles in southern Germany, especially in the states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg.
In medieval times it was an important road connecting the German center with the south. The beauty of the landscapes, the architecture of the residences and buildings and the idiosyncrasy of the inhabitants make the visitor feel in the most authentic Germany.
The route passes through the city of Augsburg, where the famous Confession, the founding document of the Protestant Reformation, was published in 1530. Other places of interest are the castles of Neuschwanstein and Burg Harburg and the cities of Dinkelsbühl, Nordlingen and Rothenburg ob der Tauber.
11. Nymphenburg Palace
It is a palace in the city of Munich that was the summer residence of the kings of Bavaria. It is in the Baroque style and was built in 1664 on behalf of the Elector and Duke of Bavaria, Fernando María de Wittelsbach, and his wife, Enriqueta Adelaida de Saboya.
It was the birthplace of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the place of death of his great-grandfather, Maximilian I. Although it is open to the public, it is the seat and residence of the head of the Royal House of Wittelsbach, currently headed by Duke Franz of Bavaria.
Among its spaces, the Stone Hall stands out, with baroque, rococo and neoclassical decoration and impressive frescoes.
The stables house one of the most splendid collections of carriages in Europe and in the immense park of 80 hectares and English style the gardens, lakes, sculptures of Roman gods and pavilions stand out.
12. Checkpoint Charlie
Checkpoint Charlie is one of the icons of the Cold War. It was the most famous of the border crossings between East Berlin and West Berlin, first between the Soviet and American sectors of the city and later between East Germany and the wall, and West Germany.
Passage through Checkpoint Charlie was restricted to authorized military and diplomatic personnel, but it was the scene of spectacular escapes from communist to capitalist Germany, some with tragic endings. Several of these escapes have been recreated in literature and cinema, such as the one recounted in the novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, by the British author John le Carré.
Although the checkpoint was demolished in 1990, the site is now a tourist attraction with a museum dedicated to the Berlin Wall and Cold War episodes. James Bond (and every great fictional spy worth his salt) must have passed through Checkpoint Charlie.
13. Alexanderplatz
Berliners call it Plaza Alex and it is one of the core centers of the German capital, located near the River Spee and lined with symbolic buildings such as the Royal Palace and the Berlin Telecommunications Tower.
In Alexanderplatz there is also the World Clock, a rotating metal structure that indicates the time in different parts of the world.
It was originally a cattle market and began to be called Alexanderplatz in 1805, after a visit by the Russian Tsar Alexander I. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th it gained importance for the construction of a Berlin subway station and for the installation of the Berolina statue , the Latinized name for Berlin and the city’s allegorical female figure.
It has been redesigned several times since it opened, the last major one in the 1960s, when it was enlarged by the East German government. After German reunification it was retouched. In 2007, workers carrying out sewage work found the largest Berlin bunker in Nazi Germany under the square.
14. Sanssouci Palace
It is a complex of buildings and gardens that includes the summer palace of the Prussian King Frederick II the Great. It is located in the city of Potsdam and is one of the masterpieces of the Rococo style in Germany and Europe. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 1990.
Completed in 1747, it is surprisingly small by royal and contemporary standards, having only 10 main rooms and looking more like a grand villa than a royal palace. The park that surrounds the complex has several pavilions and pavilions and the façade of the garden is decorated with caryatids and Atlanteans.
Frederick William IV remodeled it in the 1840s, turning it into a country house in the style of the time. After World War II, it was opened to the public, becoming one of the main tourist attractions in East Germany. After his death in 1786, the remains of Frederick II the Great were in various places. In 1991 his wish to be buried in Sanssouci was granted.
15. The Munich Residence
It is the largest German city palace and currently houses one of Europe’s leading museums for decorative arts. It was a palace of the Bavarian kings in the center of Munich and its first buildings date back to the 14th century.
One of its main attractions is the antiquarium or antiquities room, completed in 1571 in Renaissance style to house the collection of Albert V, the Magnanimous. It is the largest Renaissance hall north of the Alps.
The Residence was almost totally destroyed during World War II and rebuilt with Marshall Plan funds.
It houses the treasury of the House of Wittelsbach (Bavarian royal house) in 10 rooms in the east wing. The collection includes royal regalia and spans more than a millennium, from the early Middle Ages to modern classicism. This makes it one of the most impressive European exhibitions of its kind.
16. Charlottenburg Palace
This Prussian castle was erected in Berlin during the last decade of the 17th century by order of the Elector of Brandenburg and future King Frederick I of Prussia. It is baroque in style and was named Charlottenburg as a tribute from the king to his deceased wife, Sofia Carlota.
The palace’s beautiful dome was added in 1712. Frederick II of Prussia made the palace his main residence in 1740 and incorporated the rococo-style nave called the Knobelsdorf-Flügel or Knobelsdorf Nave. It has impressive gardens in which the English style predominates.
The theater was added by Frederick William II and played a fundamental role in German theatrical history, since from the end of the 18th century it was the place for the performance of the works of renowned playwrights such as Goethe and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing.
The castle has magnificent wood carvings that survived the last world war and of which the Old Oak gallery stands out.
17. Hofbrauhaus am Platzl
If you want to drink beer in Germany with maximum glamour, you must go to this Munich brewery where they serve foamy according to the recipes handed down by William V of Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria 1579-1597 and illustrious beer drinker.
It is located in the old part of Munich and began to gain fame at the end of the 16th century, when Duke William V made it the official supplier of Weibbier beer to the royal house. Weibbier is a type of Bavarian beer made from barley malt and wheat malt.
The brewery saved Munich from destruction in 1632 during the Thirty Years’ War, when the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus, who was occupying the city, threatened to raze it to the ground if he was not given 600,000 barrels of beer.
Another important milestone occurred in 1920, when Hitler and the Nazi Party made their 25-point proclamation at the brewery. It is one of the most visited places in Munich, especially during Oktoberfest.
18. King’s Lake
It is a Bavarian lake with a water mirror of 5.2 km 2 , located in the extreme south of Germany. It is located between high mountains, so it has the appearance of a fjord and its maximum depth is 190 meters, which makes it the third deepest in the country.
It is fed by the Saletbach Creek, which comes from Lake Superior, and is rich in trout, making it a great attraction for anglers. It borders on its west side with Mount Watzmann, the third highest peak in Germany.
It has a small rocky island called Christlieger, which offers privileged views of the lake in all directions and is frequented by landscape artists who paint the body of water and its surroundings.
In Lago del Rey there is a tourist and recreational company that operates electric boats for tours. The boats work with electricity so as not to use fuels that pollute waters reputed to be the purest in Germany.
19. Zwinger Palace
It is a beautiful Baroque palace built in Dresden between 1711 and 1728 by Augustus II, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland. During the terrible bombings that devastated the so-called Florence on the Elbe in 1945, the building was destroyed. It was rebuilt between 1951 and 1963.
Among its main elements are the crown gate ( kronentor ), the nymphs’ bath ( nynphenbad ), and the chime clock ( glockenspiel ). The crown door is the most famous element of the complex and its upper part is adorned with a replica of the Polish royal crown.
The Bath of the Nymphs is a beautiful baroque-style fountain, the work of the sculptor Balthasar Permoser. The chime clock is a unique Meissen porcelain piece.
The palace is also a museum, with a Mathematics and Physics room, a porcelain collection, a zoology museum, an art gallery with works by old masters and an armory.
20. Romantic Rin
The 65 km route of the most navigated river in Europe, in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley, between Bingen am Rhein and Koblenz, is called the Romantic Rhine for its natural, architectural, cultural, historical, geological and industrial heritage.
The river flows through a canyon that reaches 200 meters deep in certain sectors, one of them in front of the Lorelei cliff, a steep promontory linked to several legends of Germanic folklore.
The picturesque towns and cities located along the route have not changed much over time, due to lack of space to grow, which has favored their typical and romantic atmosphere.
This part of the Rhine basin is rich in traditions and legends. The legendary castle in which Wagner set his opera The Twilight of the Gods is located on the route. In the town of Sankt Goar and others in the Upper Valley, the Burning Rhine festival is held in summer , a spectacular pyrotechnic event.
21. Hohenzollern Castle
Among the many German medieval castles, this one stands out for being linked to the origin of the Hohenzollern dynasty, a family that ruled vast Germanic territories between the 11th century and the end of the First World War.
It is located on Mount Hohenzollern, at the top of an elevation of 855 meters, near the city of Hechingen in the El Jura de Saubia mountain range.
The first castle was built in the 11th century and destroyed in the 15th century during a siege of almost a year. The second castle, completed in 1461, was the refuge of the royal family during the Thirty Years’ War and ended up abandoned, with only its chapel surviving. The third and current castle was erected in 1867 by order of Frederick William IV of Prussia.
It is an imposing neo-Gothic building designed by the architect Friedrich August Stüler, who was inspired by English and Loire castles. This popular tourist attraction houses the Hohenzollern crown, personal items of Frederick II the Great, and a letter of thanks from George Washington to the royal house for his contribution to American Independence.
22. BMW Museum
The museum of the iconic German car and motorcycle manufacturer is one of the places to visit in Germany that car fans will appreciate the most.
It works in a unique circular building, located about 300 meters from the BMW Factory in Munich, and takes a journey through the historical evolution of the brand.
The futuristic building resembling a racing tire features a spiral entrance and showcases the evolution of the automobile, the major technological advances of BMW cars, and a vision for the future of the brand.
On display are old racing cars, model cars and motorcycles, prototypes, engines, turbines, planes and other items created by the famous brand.
The public can also take a tour of the nearby factory to see how BMW cars are assembled. Another cool place next to the museum is BMW Welt, a dealership with an impressive display of cars housed in another state-of-the-art building.
23. Speicherstadt
The “warehouse city” is a section or neighborhood of Hamburg built on wooden stilts; It is the largest in the world of its kind. It has a length of 1.5 km and is crossed by canals and populated with warehouses. It was built between 1883 and 1927 as a free zone for the transfer of goods without tax charges.
The warehouses have different structures and were designed by the architect Andreas Meyer with attractive neo-Gothic brick facades, which turned the neighborhood into a tourist attraction while retaining its original function as a merchandise storage center.
Much of the tea, cocoa, coffee, spices, electronic devices, carpets and other goods that move through the port of Hamburg, one of the largest on the planet, passes through the Speicherstadt.
In the neighborhood there are some museums, such as the German Customs Museum, the Afghan Museum, dedicated to the culture of Afghanistan; and the Miniatur-Wunderland, the largest model railway construction in the world.
24. Goethe House
The birthplace and family residence of the famous German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is another of the tourist attractions in Germany. It is located on Grosser Hirschgraben Street in the Innenstadt district, in the city of Frankfurt.
Goethe was born in the house in 1749 and lived there until he was 16 with his sister Cornelia. After moving to Leipzig to start his law studies, the famous author of Faust returned to the house sporadically and visitors can see the studio where the precocious poet, novelist and playwright began his first works.
From the end of the 18th century, the house passed through various owners and changed its structure and appearance, until it was bought in 1863 by the geologist Otto Volger, a great admirer of Goethe, who restored it to its original state when it was the residence of the writer .
This house was destroyed in 1944 by the bombing of the war and restored in 1951.
25. Gendarmes Market
The Gendarmenmarkt or Gendarmes Market is considered the most beautiful square in Berlin. It was conceived at the end of the 17th century as a market, a period from which its name comes from for having housed the stables of a cuirassier regiment.
The main attraction of the square is the Berlin Concert Hall ( Konzerthaus ), a building completed in 1821, which is currently the headquarters of the Berlin Symphony Orchestra.
It is a building inspired by classical Greek architecture and in its hall Beethoven’s ninth symphony was premiered in the German capital and Niccolo Paganini gave several of his legendary violin concerts.
Other buildings located in front of the Gendarmenmarkt are the French Cathedral and the German Cathedral. The Franzosischer Dom is neoclassical in style and was built in the early 18th century for Berlin’s large Calvinist Huguenot community. The Deutscher Dom is a neo-baroque Lutheran temple.
26. Church of Our Lady
The Frauenkirche or Church of Our Lady is a baroque-style Lutheran temple that represents the greatest architectural and religious symbol of the city of Dresden.
Its sandstone dome crowned by a cross reaches a height of 91.23 meters, making it, in terms of structure made of this material, the largest north of the Alps and one of the largest in the world.
The first church was completed in 1743 and destroyed by fires sparked by the bombing of Dresden in 1945. East Germany, a communist country that had no interest in rebuilding a Christian temple, kept it in ruins as a war memorial. After the German reunification it was rebuilt, works that concluded in 2005.
An element that caused controversy during the reconstruction was the installation of an elevator that allows access to a panoramic balcony located above the dome. The cross that crowns the dome was rescued from the rubble of the old cathedral.
27. Tiergarten
It is located in the center of Berlin and is the main park in the city. Its name “tiergarten” (animal garden) comes from when it was a large green area that the Prussian aristocracy used as a hunting ground for deer and wild boar.
It has 210 hectares and is the main green lung and landscape space in the center of the German capital. It is framed by various architectural and historical landmarks of Berlin, such as the Brandenburg Gate, Potsdamer Platz, the Reichstag building, Bellevue Palace and the Chancellery.
It houses the Victory Column, a monument from 1874 erected to celebrate the Prussian and Austrian empire’s triumph in the War of the Duchies against Denmark. It has a height of 69 meters and is located on a roundabout where five major Berlin avenues converge. Inside there is a spiral staircase with 285 steps that leads to a viewpoint.
28. Bellevue Palace
This Berlin palace is located in the Tiergarten park, on the banks of the Spree, and its name comes from the beautiful views of the river. It was built in 1786 on behalf of Prince Frederick Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia and became the official residence of the heir to the German crown. It is currently the official residence of the President of Germany.
It has been the venue for important protocol events, such as the signing of the peace treaty after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Hitler made it the official residence of the guests of the Third Reich and the military high command of Nazi Germany used it as a meeting place, for which it was the target of Allied bombing.
It was seriously damaged by the bombs, with only the exterior facade being saved. After the war it was the object of three reconstruction processes, the last one in 2004-2005.
29. Munich Cathedral of Our Lady
This Catholic cathedral is one of Munich’s main attractions, especially for its amazing 99-meter-high Renaissance domes.
These elements were questioned for breaking with the late Gothic design of the temple, although they have become its main attraction, to the point that the city government prohibited buildings that exceed its height.
The two towers were completed in 1488 and the domes were added in 1525, in a design inspired by the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. The church was severely damaged during World War II and its reconstruction was completed in 1994.
At the entrance there is a footprint popularly called the “Footprint of the Devil”. According to legend, satan peeked into the temple to mock its curious design, leaving his mark on the floor.
The cathedral houses the remains of more than 10 Bavarian kings and an important collection of art from the 14th to 18th centuries.
30. Mainau
It is a German island located in Lake Constance and is connected to the mainland by a bridge. It is also called the Island of Flowers for its floral wealth and during spring and summer its spaces are covered by millions of flowers of all colors.
The city of Konstanz is 10 km south of Mainau and its public transport drops passengers at a stop located on the access bridge to the island. Mainau has an unusually mild climate for its location in Germany, and subtropical and even tropical species thrive in its environment.
The island is also a huge wild butterfly farm, with colorful large species flying freely. There is also a wildlife reserve and areas for children’s games.
At the entrance to Mainau is the so-called Cross of the Swedes, a large metal cross that the Scandinavians took as a trophy during the 30 Years’ War, although they later decided to throw it into the lake.
31. Unter den Linden
Going to Berlin and not walking through Unter den Linden is like visiting New York and not knowing Fifth Avenue or traveling to Paris without going through the Avenue des Champs-Élysées.
The name of the most emblematic Berlin boulevard means “under the lime trees”. It was opened on a path used in the 16th century by the Elector of Brandenburg and Duke of Prussia, John George I of Hohenzollern, to go to his hunting ground.
In 1647, Frederick William I of Brandenburg had the first lime trees planted, which are still the natural emblem of the boulevard.
It was the heart of Berlin life until the Second World War and, after the conflict, it was left in ruins in East German territory and the lime trees were replanted in 1950.
After German reunification, it was recovered, once again becoming a symbol of the city and a favorite street for Berliners, along with the Kurfürstendamm.
It is a meeting and recreation space and houses places of interest such as the Berlin State Opera, the German Historical Museum, Humboldt University, the Academy of Art and several embassies.
32. Nuremberg Castle
Nuremberg is a Bavarian city with one of the most beautiful old towns in Europe. Its well-preserved medieval wall, built in the 14th century, gave it the necessary protection, since it housed the jewels and symbols of the Holy Roman Empire.
It gained fame after the end of World War II for being the scene of the trials against the Nazis. Nuremberg Castle is one of Europe’s main medieval jewels and was started in 1140 by Conrad III, the first Holy Roman Emperor belonging to the Ghibelline dynasty.
During the war it was seriously damaged and only the sin tower ( Sinwellturm ) and the Romanesque chapel remained intact. It was restored and in one of its rooms there is a youth hostel. There is a legend that in 1372 the aristocrat and bandit Eppelein von Gailingen escaped from the castle on horseback by jumping the moat, avoiding being hanged.
33. Lake Chiem
It is a Bavarian meltwater lake located between the town of Rosenheim and the Austrian state of Salzburg. Its main tributaries are the Prien and Tiroler Achen rivers, while the Alz rises in the body of water. It is also called the Bavarian Sea.
The lake and its surroundings form a popular recreational area. There are two large islands, Herrenchiemsee (Knight’s Island) and Frauenchiemsee (Lady’s Island), plus some smaller islands and islets. At Herrenchiemsee is an unfinished palace open to the public, built by Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 1870s and planned as a replica of Versailles.
Frauenchiemsee is home to a Benedictine convent known for the delicious cloister liqueur ( Klosterlikor ) and marzipan made by the nuns. The lake, with its islands, was declared a Ramsar Site in 1976 due to its importance as a habitat for migratory birds during the winter.
34. Saxon Switzerland National Park
It is a 93.5 km 2 protected area located in the German state of Saxony, near Dresden. It is located in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains and borders the Czech Switzerland National Park, belonging to the Czech Republic.
It was created in 1990 and one of its main attractions is the Bastei, some curious rock formations, with the highest being 305 meters above sea level. The natural structure was created by the erosion of the waters more than a million years ago. It is a popular destination for rock climbing and hiking.
The rocks are a magnificent viewpoint of the landscape and the Elbe River, which runs alongside. In 1824 a wooden bridge was built to join several rocks, which was replaced by the current one, made of sandstone. The best way to get to Bastei is by boarding one of the picturesque steamboats that ply the Elbe from the spa town of Rathen.
35. Wurzburg Residency
It is one of the great jewels of European baroque, comparable to the Palace of Versailles in France and the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna.
It was built between 1719 and 1780 in the Bavarian city of Wurzburg as the residence of the city’s bishops. The complex (formed by the building, the Plaza de la Residencia and the splendid gardens that surround the buildings) was declared a World Heritage Site in 1981.
The interior was decorated with frescoes by the Baroque masters Giovanni Battista Tiepolo and Johannes Zick and other notable artists. One of Tiepolo’s works, made on the ceiling of the access to the Residence, measures 670 m 2 , which made it the largest mural in the world.
The palace has 400 rooms, highlighting the emperor’s room, the cabinet of mirrors, the white room, the Venetian room, the green cabinet and the church.
In the gardens, the rose bushes stand out and are dotted with sculptures, pots, vases and figures.
36. Reeperbahn
Hamburg’s red light district, the most famous in the world, is the center of the city’s nightlife.
It began as a playground for the thousands of eager sailors arriving daily at one of the world’s major ports, and became a mainstream tourist attraction.
It is a sector of the San Pauli neighborhood that Hamburgers call the Mile of Sin. The word “Reeperbahn” means “rope makers’ street”, since in the 17th and 18th centuries it was the place where ropes were made to moor ships, an unexciting occupation compared to today.
Reeperbahn is full of sex shops, strip clubs, brothels, bars, restaurants and hotels. Before they were famous, The Beatles were regular musical entertainers in the red light district and John Lennon played in his underpants, while George Harrison used a toilet seat as a percussion instrument.
37. Semperoper
The magnificence of the Saxon State Opera building in the city of Dresden rivals its celebrated musical history. It is an architectural gem of nineteenth-century neo-baroque style, which was left in ruins after the 1945 bombings and was meticulously rebuilt in 1985.
The romantic composer Carl Maria von Weber was its musical director, a position also held by the iconic Richard Wagner. Wagner’s operas Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes (1842), The Flying Dutchman (1843, also called The Ghost Ship ) and Tannhäuser (1845) premiered at the Semperoper.
Likewise, it was the premiere place for several works by Richard Strauss and other famous composers.
At the 1985 reopening, Von Weber’s opera The Poacher was presented , precisely the last work to be performed before the building was closed in 1944 during the war.
On the main facade and at the entrance there are sculptures of Goethe, Schiller, Shakespeare, Sophocles and Euripides.
38. Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp
It is located in the city of Oranienburg, in the state of Brandenburg, and was one of the nearly 25,000 extermination camps designed by the Nazis to confine and kill Jews, gypsies, members of religious congregations, homosexuals and the political enemies of the Third Reich.
It was opened in 1936 and it is estimated that some 30,000 prisoners perished in the camp, apart from those who were taken from the place to die in other places and those who, even surviving, were marked for life by the inhuman experience.
After World War II, the Soviets turned it into an internment camp for political prisoners in which around 60,000 people, civilians and soldiers, linked to Nazism, were held, and more than 12,000 died there.
The camp has a site museum and there are plaques alluding to the 34 nations to which the deceased belonged.
39. Imhoff Chocolate Museum
It is a museum located in the district of Colonia, which covers the history of chocolate from the use of cocoa by pre-Hispanic Mexican peoples to today’s products and their manufacturing processes.
One of the museum’s partners is the Swiss company Lindt & Sprüngli, a manufacturer of luxury chocolates founded in 1845.
Among the museum’s attractions is a tropiarium in a glass cube, with cacao plants of the species Theobroma cacao , native to Mexico, and Theobroma grandiflorum or white cacao, native to the Amazon.
Several production processes were miniaturized so that visitors can appreciate the methods of making chocolate in a short space.
Another attraction is the large liquid chocolate fountain three meters high, where an employee introduces wafers and offers them to the public. The museum has an interesting collection of cups used in the past to drink chocolate, including pre-Columbian Mesoamerican pieces.
40. Berchtesgaden National Park
This 213.6 km 2 park is located in the state of Bavaria, on the border with the Austrian province of Salzburg, and is one of the best tourist spots in Germany for outdoor activities. It is part of the Berchtesgaden Biosphere Reserve and is the only German alpine national park.
It is nestled in the eastern pre-Alpine massif and was established in 1978. In Berchtesgaden, Hitler built the Eagle’s Nest, his famous Bavarian alpine residence where he met with his generals and trusted men during World War II.
The Hitler chalet was saved from destruction during the war and converted into a restaurant that attracts many visitors for its spectacular views of mountains, lakes and valleys and its historical content.
In the park there is a funicular that reaches the top of Mount Jenner, with impressive views of the protected natural area.
41. German Wine Route
The “wine road” is the oldest of the wine tourist routes in Germany and is located in the Rhineland-Palatinate state. It was inaugurated in 1935 during the Nazi period, beginning in the town of Schweigen-Rechtenbach, next to the border with France.
It heads north on a 85 km journey between vineyards, wineries and picturesque towns and cities such as Bad Bergzabern, Neustadt an der Weinstrabe, Edenkoben, Deidesheim, Grünstadt and Bad Dürkheim, among others, ending in Bockenheim an der Weinstrabe. The vintages and wine festivals along the route attract large numbers of people.
This region is the warmest in Germany and receives more than 1,800 hours of sunshine per year, making it ideal for growing the vines that produce the country’s delicious yellow-tinted white wine.
The area is also populated with almond trees, which dress the landscape with their beautiful pink colors in spring and summer.
42. Zugspitze
At 2,962 meters above sea level, the Zugspitze is Germany’s highest peak. It is located in the Northern Limestone Alps, in the state of Bavaria, marking the border with Austria and is traveled by a cable car that goes from the base to the peak and offers wonderful views of the landscape.
The first recorded summit was made by Josef Naus, a sub-lieutenant who climbed, in 1820, by order of the Royal Bavarian Topographical Institute, accompanied by an assistant and a guide. However, due to previous cartographic work, it is believed that he was crowned earlier.
The summit of the mountain has changed drastically since World War II, when the western summit was dynamited for strategic reasons. In 1936 the intermediate peak had been dynamited for the construction of the first cable car. On the peak there is a meteorological station opened in 1899.
43. Allianz Arena
The most footballing city in Germany is Munich, home of Bayern, the most successful team in German football, with 5 titles in the European Champions League and 29 in the Bundesliga, the German first division league.
Bayern Munich currently plays in the Allianz Arena, a modern stadium for 75,000 spectators, opened in 2005.
Because of its shape, it is colloquially called the “inflatable boat”. It hosted the opening match of the 2006 World Cup (won by Italy) and the 2012 Champions League final (won by Chelsea over the local team). It is also home to the German national team, winner of 4 world championships.
On the outside it is made up of 2,874 rhomboid panels made of a copolymer and each unit can be lit independently in red, blue and white. This allows the stadium to be illuminated in the characteristic colors of Bayern Munich (red) and the German national team (white).
44. Deutsches Museum
This Munich museum is considered the largest in the world for science and technology and one of the most visited. It occupies an area of 47,000 m 2 on an island located on one of the banks of the Isar River and it is estimated that it takes about eight days to cover its 50 sections.
It has exhibits on agricultural and food manufacturing techniques from the origin of agriculture to the present day, ceramics, glass, astronomy, mining, physics, chemistry, mathematics, weights and measures, oil and natural gas, computing, motors, aviation, metals and microelectronics, among others.
It also recreates experiments and offers scientific demonstrations, such as the Faraday cage and the Foucault pendulum, invented in 1851 by the French physicist Léon Foucault to experimentally test the rotation of the Earth.
45. Kaufhaus des Westens
It is a shopping center with a useful area of 60,000 m 2 , located in Berlin. It is the largest and most famous in Germany and the second largest in Europe after Harrods (London). It offers about 380,000 items and receives daily views of about 50,000 people.
It is located on the Tauentzienstrabe, a busy Berlin shopping street, and has departments for beauty accessories, luxury goods, men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, footwear, leather, lingerie, weddings, gifts, interior design items, books, electronics, entertainment, office supplies and toys. Two floors are intended for food.
It was inaugurated in 1907, with 24,000 m 2 and the bombing of the war almost completely destroyed it, which is why it was closed in 1943.
Its reconstruction was completed in 1956 and it became a symbol of the “German miracle”. It was expanded in 1976-1978 to 44,000 m2 and in 1996 to its current size.
Tourist places in Germany : Europa Park
It is the largest German theme park and the most popular in Europe after Disneyland Paris, receiving almost 6 million visitors annually.
It is located in the municipality of Rust, state of Baden-Württemberg, and has 16 roller coasters, including one for children and another that goes through a diamond mine. His most popular pet and character is the Euroraton.
It was the first European park in the style of the great American theme parks, after opening in 1975.
It has 15 thematic areas dedicated to European countries or regions. Another of its attractions is Grimm’s Enchanted Forest, a tribute to the German brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, compilers of Cinderella , Hansel and Gretel , Sleeping Beauty , Snow White and other famous fairy tales in the 19th century.
In 2017, Parque Europa opened the Voletarium, the largest European flight simulator. At the end of 2019, a water park with 25 attractions including 17 slides, a surf simulator, a wave pool and a wild river is scheduled to open.
What are the most beautiful cities in Germany?
Hamburg is considered by many to be the most beautiful city in Germany, with its architecture in various styles, from ancient to modern, including temples, historic buildings, theaters, and museums. Berlin is home to iconic German attractions such as the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, and the Unter den Linden boulevard. Nuremberg (with its historic old town) and Dusseldorf (with its old town) are superb examples of German medieval beauty.
Where is Germany located?
Germany is located in north-central Europe, bordering Denmark, the North Sea, and the Baltic Sea to the north, Austria and Switzerland to the south, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, and Germany to the west. France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. A German curiosity is that the small town of Büsingen am Hochrhein, completely surrounded by Swiss territory, belongs to Germany.
What is the prevailing climate in Germany?
Germany has several climatic zones, although in general it is a country of cold winters and cool summers. The north and northwest have a temperate and rainy climate. In the center and south, the climatic environment is more moderate, with warm areas in summer. The Levante region has very cold winter seasons, with temperatures below zero, and hot summers. In the southern alpine part, the climate is mountainous.
What language is spoken in Germany?
German is the only official language and the most widely spoken language in Germany. It is also one of the official languages of the European Union. There are two groups of dialects of the German language: High-Middle German and Low German. The first group encompasses some 15 dialects, including Bavarian, Rhineland-Francois, Moselle Frankish, and High Saxon. Low German includes about 10 dialects, including Low Saxon, Low Franconian, and Low Prussian.
We hope that you will get to know many of these places on your next trip through German territory. Share the post with your friends on the networks so that they also find out about the places of tourism in Germany that cannot be missed.
See also:
- Read our guide on the 10 most beautiful castles in Germany that you must visit sometime in your life
- Click to know the 30 most beautiful villages in France
- We leave you our guide on the 50 best tourist places in the world that you have to visit sometime
