Find places in Germany

Must-Haves

• 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.

Fun for Everyone

• Topography of Terror (Kreuzberg)
  A free documentation centre on the site of the former Gestapo headquarters.

Must-Haves

• East Side Gallery (Friedrichshain)
  The longest surviving stretch of the Wall, covered in murals along the Spree.

Fun for Everyone

• Sanssouci Palace (Potsdam)
  Frederick the Great's rococo summer palace with terraced vineyards and sprawling gardens.

Fun for Everyone

• Tempelhofer Feld (Neukölln)
  A former airport turned into a vast park where you can cycle and picnic on the runways.

Must-Haves

• Tiergarten (Tiergarten)
  Berlin's huge central park, linking the Brandenburg Gate with the Victory Column.

Off the Beaten Path

• Spreewald (Lübbenau)
  A forest of canals south of Berlin explored by punt boat, famous for its pickled gherkins.

Low Cost and Authentic

• 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.

Low Cost and Authentic

• 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.

Great for Date Night

• Café Einstein Stammhaus (Schöneberg)
  A Viennese-style coffeehouse in an old villa, with a leafy summer garden.

Fun for Everyone

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

Great for Date Night

• Klunkerkranich (Neukölln)
  A rooftop garden bar on top of a shopping centre with sunset views.
• Clärchens Ballhaus (Mitte)
  A historic dance hall with a mirrored ballroom and garden.

Off the Beaten Path

• Prater Garten (Prenzlauer Berg)
  Berlin's oldest beer garden under chestnut trees.

Fun for Everyone

• Karneval der Kulturen (Kreuzberg)
  A multicultural street festival and parade held over the Pentecost weekend.

Must-Haves

• Gendarmenmarkt Christmas Market (Mitte)
  An elegant Christmas market on one of Berlin's most beautiful squares.

Must-Haves

• Hotel Adlon Kempinski (Mitte)
  A grand historic hotel beside the Brandenburg Gate.

Off the Beaten Path

• Michelberger Hotel (Friedrichshain)
  A creative, relaxed hotel near the Warschauer Strasse station.

Must-Haves

• Marienplatz and the New Town Hall (Altstadt)
  The heart of Munich, where the Glockenspiel figures dance above the square.
• Neuschwanstein Castle (Schwangau)
  King Ludwig II's fairytale castle in the Alpine foothills.

Off the Beaten Path

• Eisbach Wave (Altstadt-Lehel)
  Watch surfers ride a standing wave in the middle of the city.

Must-Haves

• 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.
• Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site (Dachau)
  An important, sobering memorial and museum on the site of the first Nazi camp.

Fun for Everyone

• Nymphenburg Palace (Neuhausen-Nymphenburg)
  The Bavarian royals' summer palace with grand rooms and parkland.

Must-Haves

• English Garden (Schwabing)
  One of the world's largest city parks, with river surfers on the Eisbach wave.

Fun for Everyone

• Lake Tegernsee (Tegernsee)
  A lake in the Alpine foothills with a brewery, walks and boat trips.

Off the Beaten Path

• Zugspitze (Garmisch-Partenkirchen)
  Germany's highest mountain, reached by cog railway and cable car.

Must-Haves

• Viktualienmarkt (Altstadt)
  Munich's open-air food market with a small beer garden in the middle.

Off the Beaten Path

• Auer Dult (Au)
  A traditional market fair held three times a year with crafts, pots and antiques.

Must-Haves

• Augustiner-Keller (Maxvorstadt)
  A classic beer garden under chestnut trees, beer poured from wooden barrels.
• Hofbräuhaus (Altstadt)
  The world-famous beer hall with brass bands, touristy but great fun.

Fun for Everyone

• Hirschgarten (Neuhausen-Nymphenburg)
  One of Munich's biggest beer gardens, with a deer enclosure for children.
• Chinesischer Turm Beer Garden (English Garden)
  A big beer garden around a pagoda in the English Garden.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Augustiner Bräustuben (Schwanthalerhöhe)
  A wood-panelled brewery tavern where locals eat hearty Bavarian food.

Must-Haves

• Weisses Bräuhaus (Altstadt)
  A traditional tavern known for white sausages and wheat beer.

Low Cost and Authentic

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

Must-Haves

• Oktoberfest (Theresienwiese)
  The world's biggest beer festival, held from late September into early October.

Fun for Everyone

• Tollwood Festival (Theresienwiese)
  A summer and winter festival of music, theatre, food and crafts.

Must-Haves

• Hotel Bayerischer Hof (Altstadt)
  A grand historic hotel with a rooftop spa and bar.

Must-Haves

• 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.

Low Cost and Authentic

• HVV Ferry Line 62 (Landungsbrücken)
  A public ferry with harbour views for the price of a normal transport ticket.

Off the Beaten Path

• 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.

Must-Haves

• Elbphilharmonie Plaza (HafenCity)
  A free viewing platform in the striking concert hall with views over the harbour.
• Hamburger Kunsthalle (Altstadt)
  One of Germany's great art museums, from old masters to contemporary work.
• St Michael's Church (Neustadt)
  Hamburg's landmark church with a tower view over the city and port.

Fun for Everyone

• International Maritime Museum (HafenCity)
  Ship models and maritime history across nine floors of an old warehouse.

Must-Haves

• Hamburg Fish Market (Altona)
  A Sunday morning market with shouting traders and live music in the old auction hall.

Off the Beaten Path

• Schanzenviertel (Sternschanze)
  An alternative neighbourhood of independent shops, cafés and street art.

Fun for Everyone

• Planten un Blomen (Neustadt)
  A city park with Japanese gardens and summer evening water light shows.

Great for Date Night

• Aussenalster (Rotherbaum)
  A large city lake for walks, sailing and sunset drinks.

Off the Beaten Path

• Blankenese (Blankenese)
  A former fishing village with steep lanes and a sandy riverside beach.

Fun for Everyone

• Reeperbahn (St Pauli)
  Hamburg's neon-lit nightlife strip of clubs, music venues and theatres.

Off the Beaten Path

• Strandperle (Ottensen)
  A relaxed beach bar on the Elbe where container ships pass close by.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Brücke 10 (Landungsbrücken)
  A harbour stall serving excellent Fischbrötchen.

Must-Haves

• Old Commercial Room (Neustadt)
  A historic seafarers' restaurant near the Michel known for Labskaus.

Great for Date Night

• Portuguese Quarter (Neustadt)
  A cluster of Portuguese and Spanish restaurants near the harbour.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Café Paris (Altstadt)
  A Parisian-style brasserie in a tiled hall near the city hall.

Fun for Everyone

• Elbgold (Schanzenviertel)
  A popular speciality coffee roaster in a former slaughterhouse building.

Fun for Everyone

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

Must-Haves

• Hotel Atlantic Hamburg (St Georg)
  A grand white hotel on the Alster lake.

Off the Beaten Path

• 25hours Hotel HafenCity (HafenCity)
  A playful, maritime-themed hotel near the Speicherstadt.

Must-Haves

• Cologne Cathedral (Altstadt)
  Germany's most famous Gothic cathedral with a tower climb of over five hundred steps.

Fun for Everyone

• 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.

Off the Beaten Path

• 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.

Must-Haves

• Hohenzollern Bridge (Deutz)
  A railway bridge covered in love locks with the classic cathedral view.
• Rhine Valley Castles Cruise (Boppard)
  Boat trips through the castle-lined Middle Rhine gorge in season.

Great for Date Night

• KölnTriangle Viewing Platform (Deutz)
  A rooftop platform with a panoramic view of the cathedral and the Rhine.

Off the Beaten Path

• Burg Eltz (Wierschem)
  A fairytale castle in a forest valley near the Moselle, still owned by the same family.

Fun for Everyone

• Marksburg (Braubach)
  A Rhine castle that was never destroyed, with guided tours.

Must-Haves

• Früh am Dom (Altstadt)
  A large traditional brewhouse serving Kölsch in small glasses.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Päffgen (Friesenviertel)
  A classic Kölsch brewhouse with a beer garden.

Fun for Everyone

• Gaffel am Dom (Altstadt)
  A lively brewhouse right by the cathedral and station.

Great for Date Night

• Belgian Quarter (Belgisches Viertel)
  Bars, cafés and independent boutiques in handsome old streets.

Low Cost and Authentic

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

Fun for Everyone

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

Must-Haves

• Cologne Carnival (Citywide)
  Germany's biggest carnival, with costumes, music and the Rose Monday parade.

Fun for Everyone

• Cologne Christmas Markets (Altstadt)
  Several Christmas markets, including one in the shadow of the cathedral.

Fun for Everyone

• Rheinpark (Deutz)
  A riverside park with views of the old town and a cable car over the Rhine.

Off the Beaten Path

• Flora and Botanical Garden (Riehl)
  A peaceful botanical garden with glasshouses and a historic palm house.

Low Cost and Authentic

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

Must-Haves

• Excelsior Hotel Ernst (Altstadt)
  A grand classic hotel right opposite the cathedral.

Must-Haves

• 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.

Great for Date Night

• Semperoper (Theaterplatz)
  One of Europe's most beautiful opera houses, with guided tours by day.

Fun for Everyone

• Moritzburg Castle (Moritzburg)
  A yellow baroque hunting lodge standing in a lake.

Fun for Everyone

• Brühl Terrace (Altstadt)
  A riverside promenade with views over the Elbe.
• Saxon Steamship Company (Terrassenufer)
  Historic paddle steamers along the Elbe to Pillnitz and Saxon Switzerland.

Low Cost and Authentic

• Procession of Princes (Altstadt)
  A long mural of Saxon rulers made from porcelain tiles.

Off the Beaten Path

• 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.

Fun for Everyone

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

Low Cost and Authentic

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

Must-Haves

• Striezelmarkt (Altmarkt)
  One of Germany's oldest Christmas markets, with a giant pyramid and stollen.

Great for Date Night

• Filmnächte am Elbufer (Neustadt)
  An open-air summer cinema and concert stage on the riverbank.

Must-Haves

• Bastei Bridge (Saxon Switzerland)
  A stone bridge among towering sandstone rocks above the Elbe.

Fun for Everyone

• Königstein Fortress (Königstein)
  A hilltop fortress with enormous views over the Elbe valley.

Off the Beaten Path

• 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.

Must-Haves

• Hotel Taschenbergpalais Kempinski (Altstadt)
  A restored baroque palace hotel beside the royal palace.