6 destinations that will make you fall in love with Germany
Home to bewitching destinations safeguarding fantastical tales and tradition folklores to stirring scenery and spirit-lifting cultural calendars interspersed with big-city buzz and alpine villages dotted with romantic palaces and half-timbered towns, a holiday in Germany promises one thing: life-long memories steeped in magic.
From moody forests and river valleys to vast vineyard trails and a rich regal heritage coexisting with cosmopolitan centres, every twist and turn of a trip in Germany will leave you wanting more.
Explore the delights of Königssee or uncover the cultural kaleidoscope of Cologne, indulge in great gastronomy in the epicurean hub of Bamberg or open up the history book and devour the pages of heritage hotspots like Dresden.
Fall in love with staycations by discovering these dream destinations in Germany that will make you fall in love with holidays in Germany.
Cologne
Home to one of the most impressive cathedrals in the world, a thriving art scene, and some of the most high-spirited locals, Cologne is the crown jewel resting on the Rhine River.
Explore the UNESCO-listed cathedral, Kölner Dom, before venturing to the Hohenzollern Bridge, famous for its love padlocks.
Head to the Belgian Quarter (Belgisches Viertel) to rub shoulders with artsy hipsters and edgy fashionistas while trading stories over a Kölsch, a speciality beer only brewed in Cologne or two in the Brüsseler Platz.
If you happen to be in Cologne in November, don’t miss Cologne Carnival, one of the greatest street festivals in Europe while a trip at the end of the year should always include a wander through the city’s famed Weihnachtsmarkts, aka Cologne’s Christmas Markets.
Bamberg
Founded on seven hills, the characterful Bavarian town of Bamberg is often referred to as the Rome of Franconia. Usually topping any list of the most beautiful and fairy take towns in Germany thanks to the brightly painted fishermen’s houses lining the Regnitz river, its UNESCO-protected Altstadt is a warren of winding cobblestone streets, elaborate mansions, and beautifully preserved half-timber structures attracting photographers from near and far.
Boasting a beer culture that is second to none, with the highest brewery density in the world, the city is considered the Beer Capital of Franconia. In the middle of the old city beneath the mighty cathedral, the historic smoked beer brewery Schlenkerla has been welcoming revellers since 1405 and is the fountain of Original Schlenkerla Smokebeer (“Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier”). With the brewery tavern’s tipple directly tapped from a traditional wooden barrel, the rich flavours are unforgettable and go particularly well with traditional German sausages, sauerkraut and mashed potato.
Other attractions not to miss include the Old Town Hall, a beautiful building in the centre of the river serving as the perfect backdrop for all photo opportunities, Bamberg Cathedral of St. Peter and St. George, dating back to the 11th century, and Little Venice, a row of quaint half-timbered houses on the riverbank which once were the homes of the town’s fishermen.
Königssee
Nestled in the far south-east corner of Germany in Berchtesgaden National Park, Königssee AKA Kings Lake is Germany’s deepest and cleanest lake. Surrounded on three sides by jagged peaks bordering Austria, the alpine gem provides a sneak-peek into Germany’s neighbour.
Known for its striking emerald waters, since 1909, only electric boats have been allowed to roam Königssee lake to maintain its high-water quality. Take a boat tour to watch the imposing eastern wall of Mount Watzmann rise dramatically up from the edges of the lake’s surface to fringe the perimeter, and if you time your trip for the morning, there will be ample opportunity to stop at the beautiful church of St Bartholomä, a lovely pilgrimage church world-renowned for its wine-red onion domes, positioned half-way down the lake. Here, hike along the edge of the lake or climb 6 km up to the Ice Chapel to eat at the restaurant set in a former hunting lodge. The next stop on the tour will be at Salet, where a short 15-minute walk will bring you to the dazzling crystal waters of the smaller Obersee lake situated on the border with stunning views of Röthbach waterfall.
While the walk to Königssee isn’t strenuous from the village of Schönau am Königssee, those who prefer not to walk can take a cable car trip on the Jennerbahn will take visitors up Jenner Mountain for equally epic views of the lake and neighbouring peaks.
In addition to being the gateway to the lake, Berchtesgaden is also home to Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden, a salt mine that has been in uninterrupted operation since 1517, making it the oldest active salt mine in the country.
Saxon Switzerland National Park
Located about an hour’s drive from Dresden, the lush forests, impressive sandstone mountains, and coursing Elbe river are just some of the attractions that can be found throughout Saxon Switzerland National Park.
Visit the ancient Königstein Fortress where you can walk the footsteps of kings and princes and learn about its history as a prison or soak in the several pools and saunas peppered about the park. Don’t miss Toskana Therme in Bad Schandau where the ambient filtered natural lights only add to the intoxicating experience of floating in saltwater.
The star of the show however is the Bastei Bridge, a stunning construction built-in 1851 for no other purpose than purely to provide people with a way to take in the awesome beauty of the region. What makes it so striking is that bridge seems to have merged naturally with the craggy rocks, making for a surreal sight.
The most popular ways of getting around the territory are in nostalgic paddle streamers, but steamboats are also available, or you can opt to take the Kirnitzsch Valley tram that runs largely on solar energy and connects many of the points of interest in the park. Failing that, trekking and climbing are popular activities. One of the most popular hiking routes is Painter’s Way (Malerweg Route) and there are several guided biking and hiking tours, as well as bike rental services in the park.
As the oldest non-Alpine climbing region in Germany, as well as one of the largest with over 1,100 summits and 17,000 climbing routes in the area, the national park is one of the best-known climbing regions in the country.
While rock climbing was an important component of Victorian mountaineering in the Alps, it is generally thought that the sport of rock climbing was invented in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains and it’s this peculiar form of the sandstone cliffs that attract crowds of climbers every year.
Dresden
The capital of the eastern German state of Saxony, Dresden is distinguished by the celebrated art museums and classic architecture of its reconstructed Altstadt. Often referred to locally as Elbflorenz, or “Florence on the Elbe” reflecting its location and its historical role as a centre for the arts, the city’s key attributes are best explored over a weekend trip.
Uncover the treasures in bohemian Neustadt, home to great street art, independent coffee shops and craft beer bars, or visit the Versailles-inspired Zwinger palace which houses museums including Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, exhibiting masterpieces of art like Raphael’s Sistine Madonna.
To see some of the city’s quirky attractions, visit the Kunsthofpassage Singing Drain Pipes in Neustadt and pair it with a trip to Dresden in June to experience to joys of the Neustadt Festival, held in honour of Neustadt’s time as a ‘micronation’ in the 1990s.
Baden Baden
Famous for its historical Roman bathhouse, Baden Baden is a great trip adventure from the Black Forest city of Freiburg Im Breisgau where an afternoon can be enjoyed soaking in therapeutic spa waters.
The Baden-Württemberg beauty promotes wellness thanks to its curative thermal waters that bubble upwards from twelve springs at a depth of about 2,000 metres under the earth to push out roughly 800,000 litres a day at 68°C. Choose from a sea salt grotto, aromatherapy and Lomi Lomi massages. If you’re travelling alone, here’s how to explore Freiburg Im Breisgau as a solo traveller, or make it a multi-city trip by partnering with these must-visit cities in Baden-Württemberg.