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100+ Places to Visit in Germany

These are our picks across Germany, from beer gardens, brewhouses and grand museums to harbour ferries, castles and sandstone mountains. Opening hours change with the seasons and some places close on Sundays or Mondays, so check before you go.

Places to Visit in Berlin

View from Park inn Berlin November 2013
Photo: Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arts and Culture

  • Pergamonmuseum and Museum Island (Mitte)
    Five great museums on one island, from the Nefertiti bust in the Neues Museum to classical antiquities.
  • Reichstag Dome (Tiergarten)
    A glass dome on top of the German parliament with free entry by advance registration and views over the city.
  • Berlin Wall Memorial (Bernauer Strasse)
    The best place to understand how the Wall divided streets, homes and families.
  • Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Mitte)
    A field of concrete stelae with an underground information centre that is quietly overwhelming.
  • Topography of Terror (Kreuzberg)
    A free documentation centre on the site of the former Gestapo headquarters.
  • Hamburger Bahnhof (Mitte)
    A former railway station turned into a contemporary art museum.

Things to Do

  • East Side Gallery (Friedrichshain)
    The longest surviving stretch of the Wall, covered in murals along the Spree.
  • Sanssouci Palace (Potsdam)
    Frederick the Great's rococo summer palace with terraced vineyards and sprawling gardens.

Nature and Outdoors

  • Tempelhofer Feld (Neukölln)
    A former airport turned into a vast park where you can cycle and picnic on the runways.
  • Tiergarten (Tiergarten)
    Berlin's huge central park, linking the Brandenburg Gate with the Victory Column.
  • Spreewald (Lübbenau)
    A forest of canals south of Berlin explored by punt boat, famous for its pickled gherkins.

Shopping and Markets

  • Mauerpark Flea Market (Prenzlauer Berg)
    A Sunday flea market with open-air karaoke in the park's amphitheatre.
  • Markthalle Neun (Kreuzberg)
    A restored market hall known for its Thursday Street Food evening.

Restaurants

  • Curry 36 (Kreuzberg)
    A classic stand for currywurst, Berlin's favourite snack.
  • Mustafa's Gemüse Kebap (Kreuzberg)
    The famous vegetable kebab stall where queues are part of the experience.
  • Café Einstein Stammhaus (Schöneberg)
    A Viennese-style coffeehouse in an old villa, with a leafy summer garden.

Cafés

  • The Barn (Mitte)
    One of the roasters that started Berlin's speciality coffee scene.

Bars and Nightlife

  • Klunkerkranich (Neukölln)
    A rooftop garden bar on top of a shopping centre with sunset views.
  • Prater Garten (Prenzlauer Berg)
    Berlin's oldest beer garden under chestnut trees.
  • Clärchens Ballhaus (Mitte)
    A historic dance hall with a mirrored ballroom and garden.

Events

Stays

Places to Visit in Munich

Maximilianeum Munich at Night, March 2018
Photo: Martin Falbisoner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Things to Do

Arts and Culture

  • Residenz München (Altstadt)
    The vast former royal palace with treasury rooms and a rococo theatre.
  • Deutsches Museum (Museumsinsel)
    One of the world's largest science and technology museums.
  • Alte Pinakothek (Maxvorstadt)
    A great collection of old master paintings from Dürer to Rubens.
  • Nymphenburg Palace (Neuhausen-Nymphenburg)
    The Bavarian royals' summer palace with grand rooms and parkland.
  • Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site (Dachau)
    An important, sobering memorial and museum on the site of the first Nazi camp.
  • Asam Church (Altstadt)
    A tiny, dazzling late-baroque church squeezed between townhouses.

Nature and Outdoors

  • English Garden (Schwabing)
    One of the world's largest city parks, with river surfers on the Eisbach wave.
  • Lake Tegernsee (Tegernsee)
    A lake in the Alpine foothills with a brewery, walks and boat trips.
  • Zugspitze (Garmisch-Partenkirchen)
    Germany's highest mountain, reached by cog railway and cable car.

Shopping and Markets

  • Viktualienmarkt (Altstadt)
    Munich's open-air food market with a small beer garden in the middle.
  • Auer Dult (Au)
    A traditional market fair held three times a year with crafts, pots and antiques.

Bars and Nightlife

  • Augustiner-Keller (Maxvorstadt)
    A classic beer garden under chestnut trees, beer poured from wooden barrels.
  • Hirschgarten (Neuhausen-Nymphenburg)
    One of Munich's biggest beer gardens, with a deer enclosure for children.
  • Hofbräuhaus (Altstadt)
    The world-famous beer hall with brass bands, touristy but great fun.
  • Chinesischer Turm Beer Garden (English Garden)
    A big beer garden around a pagoda in the English Garden.

Restaurants

  • Augustiner Bräustuben (Schwanthalerhöhe)
    A wood-panelled brewery tavern where locals eat hearty Bavarian food.
  • Weisses Bräuhaus (Altstadt)
    A traditional tavern known for white sausages and wheat beer.

Cafés

  • Café Frischhut (Altstadt)
    A tiny bakery famous for its fresh doughnut-style Schmalznudel.

Events

  • Oktoberfest (Theresienwiese)
    The world's biggest beer festival, held from late September into early October.
  • Tollwood Festival (Theresienwiese)
    A summer and winter festival of music, theatre, food and crafts.

Stays

Places to Visit in Hamburg

Speicherstadt abends
Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Things to Do

  • Miniatur Wunderland (Speicherstadt)
    The world's largest model railway, with tiny airports, cities and mountains.
  • Speicherstadt (Speicherstadt)
    A UNESCO-listed warehouse district of red brick and canals.
  • HVV Ferry Line 62 (Landungsbrücken)
    A public ferry with harbour views for the price of a normal transport ticket.
  • Old Elbe Tunnel (St Pauli)
    A tiled tunnel from 1911 that lets you walk beneath the river.
  • Lübeck Old Town (Lübeck)
    The Hanseatic city of the Holstentor gate and marzipan, an hour away.

Arts and Culture

Shopping and Markets

  • Hamburg Fish Market (Altona)
    A Sunday morning market with shouting traders and live music in the old auction hall.
  • Schanzenviertel (Sternschanze)
    An alternative neighbourhood of independent shops, cafés and street art.

Nature and Outdoors

  • Planten un Blomen (Neustadt)
    A city park with Japanese gardens and summer evening water light shows.
  • Aussenalster (Rotherbaum)
    A large city lake for walks, sailing and sunset drinks.
  • Blankenese (Blankenese)
    A former fishing village with steep lanes and a sandy riverside beach.

Bars and Nightlife

  • Reeperbahn (St Pauli)
    Hamburg's neon-lit nightlife strip of clubs, music venues and theatres.
  • Strandperle (Ottensen)
    A relaxed beach bar on the Elbe where container ships pass close by.

Restaurants

  • Brücke 10 (Landungsbrücken)
    A harbour stall serving excellent Fischbrötchen.
  • Old Commercial Room (Neustadt)
    A historic seafarers' restaurant near the Michel known for Labskaus.
  • Portuguese Quarter (Neustadt)
    A cluster of Portuguese and Spanish restaurants near the harbour.

Cafés

  • Café Paris (Altstadt)
    A Parisian-style brasserie in a tiled hall near the city hall.
  • Elbgold (Schanzenviertel)
    A popular speciality coffee roaster in a former slaughterhouse building.

Events

  • Hamburger DOM (St Pauli)
    A huge funfair held three times a year on the Heiligengeistfeld.

Stays

Places to Visit in Cologne

Cologne Germany Exterior-view-of-Cologne-Cathedral-06
Photo: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arts and Culture

  • Cologne Cathedral (Altstadt)
    Germany's most famous Gothic cathedral with a tower climb of over five hundred steps.
  • Museum Ludwig (Altstadt)
    Picasso, pop art and modern masters next to the cathedral.
  • Chocolate Museum (Rheinauhafen)
    A museum of chocolate on the river with a working chocolate fountain.
  • Bacharach (Bacharach)
    A half-timbered Rhine wine village with a walk along its town walls.
  • Aachen Cathedral (Aachen)
    Charlemagne's chapel and one of Germany's first UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Things to Do

  • Hohenzollern Bridge (Deutz)
    A railway bridge covered in love locks with the classic cathedral view.
  • KölnTriangle Viewing Platform (Deutz)
    A rooftop platform with a panoramic view of the cathedral and the Rhine.
  • Rhine Valley Castles Cruise (Boppard)
    Boat trips through the castle-lined Middle Rhine gorge in season.
  • Burg Eltz (Wierschem)
    A fairytale castle in a forest valley near the Moselle, still owned by the same family.
  • Marksburg (Braubach)
    A Rhine castle that was never destroyed, with guided tours.

Bars and Nightlife

  • Früh am Dom (Altstadt)
    A large traditional brewhouse serving Kölsch in small glasses.
  • Päffgen (Friesenviertel)
    A classic Kölsch brewhouse with a beer garden.
  • Gaffel am Dom (Altstadt)
    A lively brewhouse right by the cathedral and station.
  • Belgian Quarter (Belgisches Viertel)
    Bars, cafés and independent boutiques in handsome old streets.

Restaurants

  • Brauhaus Sion (Altstadt)
    A traditional tavern for Himmel un Ääd and other Rhineland dishes.

Cafés

  • Café Reichard (Altstadt)
    A grand café with a terrace facing the cathedral.

Events

  • Cologne Carnival (Citywide)
    Germany's biggest carnival, with costumes, music and the Rose Monday parade.
  • Cologne Christmas Markets (Altstadt)
    Several Christmas markets, including one in the shadow of the cathedral.

Nature and Outdoors

  • Rheinpark (Deutz)
    A riverside park with views of the old town and a cable car over the Rhine.
  • Flora and Botanical Garden (Riehl)
    A peaceful botanical garden with glasshouses and a historic palm house.

Shopping and Markets

  • Ehrenfeld (Ehrenfeld)
    A creative, multicultural district of street art, food and second-hand shops.

Stays

Places to Visit in Dresden

Dresden, Frauenkirche -- 2023 -- 9387
Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arts and Culture

  • Frauenkirche (Neumarkt)
    The rebuilt domed church that became a symbol of reconciliation.
  • Zwinger (Altstadt)
    A baroque palace complex holding Raphael's Sistine Madonna.
  • Historic Green Vault (Residenzschloss)
    One of Europe's richest treasure chambers, visited with timed tickets.
  • Semperoper (Theaterplatz)
    One of Europe's most beautiful opera houses, with guided tours by day.
  • Moritzburg Castle (Moritzburg)
    A yellow baroque hunting lodge standing in a lake.
  • Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (Meissen)
    The birthplace of European porcelain, with workshops and a museum.
  • Military History Museum (Albertstadt)
    A thought-provoking museum with a striking wedge cut through its old building.

Things to Do

Shopping and Markets

  • Kunsthofpassage (Äussere Neustadt)
    Whimsical courtyards, including a facade where drainpipes play music in the rain.
  • Pfunds Molkerei (Äussere Neustadt)
    A dairy shop covered floor to ceiling in hand-painted tiles.

Bars and Nightlife

  • Äussere Neustadt bars (Äussere Neustadt)
    Dresden's lively bar district of pubs, beer gardens and late-night snacks.

Restaurants

  • Sophienkeller (Altstadt)
    A vaulted cellar restaurant serving Saxon specialities.

Events

  • Striezelmarkt (Altmarkt)
    One of Germany's oldest Christmas markets, with a giant pyramid and stollen.
  • Filmnächte am Elbufer (Neustadt)
    An open-air summer cinema and concert stage on the riverbank.

Nature and Outdoors

  • Bastei Bridge (Saxon Switzerland)
    A stone bridge among towering sandstone rocks above the Elbe.
  • Königstein Fortress (Königstein)
    A hilltop fortress with enormous views over the Elbe valley.
  • Pillnitz Palace and Park (Pillnitz)
    A riverside palace with a Chinese-style design and a famous camellia.
  • Grosser Garten (Johannstadt)
    Dresden's big baroque park with a miniature park railway.

Stays

Places to Visit in Leipzig

Leipzig - Markt + Altes Rathaus 04 ies
Photo: Frank Vincentz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Arts and Culture

Places to Visit in Frankfurt

Skyline Frankfurt am Main 2015
Photo: Christian Wolf ( www.c-w-design.de ), CC BY-SA 3.0 de, via Wikimedia Commons

Restaurants

Places to Visit in Heidelberg

Königstuhl, Heidelberg, U-17
Photo: Jörg Braukmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Things to Do

  • Heidelberg Castle (Altstadt)
    A romantic castle ruin above the Neckar and Germany's oldest university town.

Places to Visit in Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rothenburg BW 4
Photo: Berthold Werner, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Things to Do

  • Rothenburg Old Town (Altstadt)
    A walled medieval town of half-timbered houses on the Romantic Road.

More to Explore

We are still checking these with fresh sources, so confirm opening times before you go.

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