The best places you need to visit in Germany

Germany boasts some of the most impressive nature destinations in Europe, most of which are accessed by hiking in the countryside or by boat across alpine lakes. With an incredible variety of landscapes, from the Alps to the Baltic and North Seas, you will be able to explore a multitude of settings, including majestic mountains, forest reserves and medieval cities.

Medieval towns with fairytale castles, snow-capped mountains… With this handy guide to the epic places you must visit in Germany, you can plan an adventure-filled road trip.

Rohenburg Ob Der Tauber

In the state of Bavaria, Rohenburg Ob Der Tauber is one of the most beautiful towns in Germany and a medieval gem on the Romantic Road. A walk through the cobbled streets of this town that is surrounded by its wall leads to its heart, the Marktplatz or Market Square, where the town hall (Rathaus) stands out, with its tower almost 60 meters high, and the Ratsherrntrinkstubem, where the Clock Tower, an old winery converted into a tourist office. For those who want an original visit to the Criminal Museum, the largest museum in Europe dedicated to medieval torture that aims to show what justice was like in the Middle Ages.

Quedlinburg

Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco for its set of more than 1,400 wooden houses with half-timbered beams built since the 15th century, this German city is the country’s leading exponent of this type of construction. Located on the banks of the Bode river and embedded in the Harz massif, you cannot miss its old town, the market square, the baroque town hall, the castle and its diocesan church.

Cologne Cathedral

Declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, this Gothic-style cathedral is the main symbol of the city of Cologne and the largest church in the country. It contains eleven bells, four of them medieval, and the remains of the three Wise Men are kept inside. Everyone who visits the cathedral assures that it is more impressive than they imagined, another reason to travel to Germany.

Baden-Baden

It is one of the most prestigious places for the practice of wellness tourism. Located at the foot of the Black Forest, this spa town boasts medicinal springs and luxurious resorts that benefit from the curative waters that gush from 2,000 meters deep, such as its modern Caracalla Bath, the historic Friedchsbad Irish Roman bath and its exclusive spa hotels. In addition, this enclave has privileged views of infinite landscapes to discover without rushing.

Mittenwald

It is a charming mountain town on the banks of the Isar river and in the state of Bavaria whose charm lies in the fact that its population maintains its traditional customs and clothing, a tourist attraction. As is the manufacture of violins, violas and cellos, to which its own museum has been dedicated.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Just over 100 kilometers from the city of Munich, surrounded by the lush forests of Bavaria and nestled on top of a cliff, this castle is a demonstration of fantasy with dreamlike and extravagant forms of medieval air that King Ludwig II ordered to be built. of Bavaria, who was nicknamed the crazy king for his dreamy nature. One of the most beautiful and visited places in Germany.

Bodensee

Shared by three countries: Switzerland, Austria and Germany, the lake leaves incredible postcards decorated by some of its islands, such as Lindau, in the south of the German country. Connected to the mainland by two bridges, its port entrance stands out, with its monument of the Lion of Bavaria and the lighthouse.

Romantic Route

Through the state of Bavaria, in southern Germany, runs one of the oldest and most beautiful routes in Germany, known as the Romantic Road. A 350-kilometer route where you can find castles, towns and churches as important as Pfaffenwinkel, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco, as well as baroque palaces and extensive fields of vineyards. Cities like Wurzburg, Dinkelsbühl, Augsburg and Schongau are obligatory stops on this route, as well as the extremely famous Neuschwanstein Castle and the quintessential German romantic jewel of Rohenburg Ob Der Tauber.

Schwarzwald

This network of coniferous forests, glacial lakes, meadows and farms where the green color that is the Black Forest predominates is also home to charming villages such as Schiltach, Staufen, Gengenbach or Calw and even the largest theme park in Europe, the Europa- Park. It is one of the greatest exponents of nature and rural tourism in Germany.

Bremen

The statue of a dog, a cat, a donkey and a rooster welcome all visitors who set foot in Bremen, as they pay homage to the famous tale that the Grimm brothers inspired in this city, in which these four animals became musicians. Then you have to get to its Market Square, St. Peter’s Cathedral and the little houses in its oldest neighbourhood, Schnoor, the best summary of the more than a thousand years of history of this Hanseatic city.

Berlin

The capital of Germany is one of the most modern and colorful European cities, with examples such as the futuristic Postdamerplatz or the Reichstag, with its glass dome and impressive views, although there is also a place for classic symbols, such as the famous Brandenburg Gate. Berlin is also one of the largest European capitals, eight times larger than Paris, so there are always corners to discover. An essential place to start for anyone traveling to Germany.

Bavarian Castles

King Ludwig II of Bavaria not only lavished his imagination on Neuschwanstein Castle, but also devised other equally striking fortresses, such as the intimate Linderhof Castle, a rococo marvel inside which stands out the Venus Grotto, an unusual iron cavern lined with stalactites, stalagmites and artificial waterfalls; and the palace of Herremchiemsee, a place of isolation for this king, in a unique setting located on an island in Lake Chiemsee. Also important in Bavaria, although they were not designed by Ludwig II, are the castles of Hohenschwangau, where the monarch spent his adolescence, and that of Berg, where he died.

Heidelberg

Less than an hour from the city of Frankfurt and on the banks of the Neckar river, Heidelberg stands out not only for its beauty but also for its history, since the first remains of human life in Europe were found there, the mandible of the Heidelberg Man, as well as vestiges of a Celtic settlement and, of course, its imposing palace, a symbol of the city and one of the most famous ruins in the German country, which today houses the German Pharmacy Museum.

Munich

In the immediate vicinity of the Alps, Munich is one of the most beautiful and most visited cities in Germany. Essential in it is the Marienplatz, the square around which its entire compact historic center revolves, where the tower and the façade of the New Town Hall and the church of St. Peter stand out. The largest popular festival in Germany is celebrated here, the Oktoberfest, which between September and October fills the streets with beer and typical German dances. Examples of how this city knows how to combine past and future are the Deutsches Museum, one of the best science and technology museums, or the Allianz Arena, an avant-garde work that serves as the pitch for one of Bayern Munich.

Christkindlesmarkt

To the 60 traditional markets in Berlin, among which the one on Wilmersdorfer Straße and the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche church, the rain of stars at the Sony Center and Berlin Christmas in front of the Rotes Rathaus Town Hall, are added to the the charming city of Erfurt, in front of the cathedral and the church of St. Severus; the one in the Town Hall Square in Munich, the Christkindlesmarkt and Kinderweihnacht in the medieval city of Nuremberg, and the one in the city of Frankfurt, with its market full of lights and colors.