Germany Sights And Activities

Germany’s alpine wonderlands, seaside resorts, medieval relics, and cosmopolitan cities cohere to form one of Europe’s most diverse destinations. The trademark of any German effort is its intensity: lively modern cities are hyper-active, droll storybook villages are fiercely provincial, and scenic wilderness preserves are thoroughly natural. Within each of the country’s historically distinct cities and regions, travelers will find outdoor activities, intellectual wonders, aesthetic thrills, and drunken adventures.

• Best Art-Is-Life Experience: Subordinate form and function to a full night’s sleep in Dessau’s famous Bauhaus architectural school .
• Best Place To Sleep In Your Car:  Go nowhere fast in a VW Beetle-turned-bed in Berlin’s Bax Pax hostel .
• Best Delusion Of Royalty: Spend the night in a 12th-century castle among the vineyards of Bacharach at the Jugendherberge Stahleck .
• Best Bathrooms: Check out the bathroom “art” at the Schwarzes Cafe in Berlin’s Charlottenburg—it’s like peeing in a Prince video. And the Old Commercial Room in Hamburg has a throne that’s actually.. a throne.
• Best Take On Worship: The monks at the Andechs monastery serve the holiest—and at 12%, the most potent—brew in Bavaria.
• Best Place To Mine: Go deep in Rammelberg’s thousand-year-old mine near the medieval town of Goslar .
• Best Place To Wein: Nothing to complain about in Neustadt , where a 2hr. sampling of Reisinger runs €6.
• Best Place To Feel Like A Prince(Ss): Mad King Ludwig’s magical Neuschwanstein castle , which inspired Disney’s Cinderella Castle.
• Best Authentic Cultural Experience: Book ahead for tickets to an opera in Wagner’s Festspielhaus in Bayreuth . Opened in 1876 with the Ring cycle premiere, this has been the site for the cult Bayreuth Festival ever since.
• Best German University Parties: Every year, Munich’s prestigious LMU opens its doors to host an enormous indoor/outdoor extravaganza for students and those who just want to party like them (p. 435).
• Best Beaches: Sunbathe with the stars on Sylt , avoid the crowds on nearby Amrum , or dip into the Baltic Sea along Rügen Island . The Bodensee is a favorite sun-filled destination on the Swiss border.
• Best Place To Bathe: The Fridrichsbad in Baden-Baden is a 19th-century bathing palace dedicated to steaming, soaking, and scrubbing you into a relaxation coma.
• Best Dirty Fun (Daytime): Run across quicksand-dotted Wattenmeer mudflats between the islands of Sylt and Amrum at low tide.
• Best Dirty Fun (Nighttime): Try Berlin’s techno-epic Berghain , Hamburg’s industrial Fabrik , or Leipzig’s subterranean Moritzbastei .

• Undiscovered National Parks

Germany’s national parks are gorgeous, fantastically varied, and surprisingly lightly touristed. Refer to the National Parks section of the Index to find thorough coverage of individual parks.

• Naves And Knaves

Early examples of fine German engineering can be seen in the resplendent castles and cathedrals scattered across the country. Two hundred years after rural fortresses went out of style, Mad King Ludwig ...more

• Festivals And Holidays

Germany works hard but plays even harder—time your trip right, and you can hit a festival in every town you visit. Themes range from the humble (local produce) to the lofty (high culture) to the ...more