937 Best Sights in Germany

Opposite the cathedral, the museum houses the Domschatz (Cathedral Treasury). Other collections chronicle the art and cultural history of Speyer and the Pfalz from the Stone Age to modern times. Don't miss the Golden Hat of Schifferstadt, a Bronze Age headdress used in religious ceremonies dating back to approximately 1300 BC. The Wine Museum houses the world's oldest bottle of wine, which is still liquid and dates to circa AD 300. The giant 35-foot-long wooden winepress from 1727 is also worth a look. The museum is currently undegoing renovation, and some exhibition rooms may be closed to the public.

This fascinating museum in a building in Römer Square that dates from the 1300s doubled in size with the addition of an adjoining wing in 2015. The city's oldest museum explores two millennia of Frankfurt history through a collection of some 630,000 objects, including what the city of the future might look like. Standout exhibits include scale models of historic Frankfurt at various periods, with every street, house, and church, plus photos of the devastation of World War II. The new wing blends in with the surrounding historic architecture with its gabled roof and carved sandstone sides, and offers both a café and city views from the top floor.

On central Osterstrasse you'll see several examples of Weser Renaissance architecture, including the Rattenfängerhaus (Rat-Catcher's House) and the Hochzeitshaus, a beautiful 17th-century sandstone building now used for city offices. From mid-May to mid-September the Hochzeitshaus terrace is the scene of two free open-air events commemorating the Pied Piper legend. From mid-May to mid-September, local actors and children present a half-hour reenactment each Sunday at noon, and there is also a 40-minute musical, Rats, each Wednesday at 4:30 during the same months. The carillon of the Hochzeitshaus plays tunes every day at 9:35 and 11:35, and mechanical figures enact the piper story on the west gable of the building at 1:05, 3:35, and 5:35.

Duke Wilhelm V founded Munich's Hofbräuhaus (court brewery) in 1589; it's been at its present location since 1607, where the golden beer is consumed from a one-liter mug called a mass. If the cavernous ground-floor hall or beer garden is too noisy, there’s a quieter restaurant upstairs. Visitors to the city far outnumber locals; most of them regard HBH as a tourist trap. The brass band that performs here most days adds modern pop and American folk music to the traditional German numbers.

The formal court garden dates back to 1613 when it lay outside the Residenz moat. It's now bordered on two sides by arcades designed in the 19th century. On the east side of the garden is the state chancellery (office of the Bavarian prime minister), built in 1990–93 around the ruins of the 19th-century Army Museum and incorporating the remains of a Renaissance arcade. Bombed during World War II air raids, the museum stood untouched for almost 40 years as a reminder of the war. In front of the chancellery stands one of Europe's most unusual—some say, most effective—war memorials. Instead of looking up at a monument, you are led down to a sunken crypt covered by a massive granite block. In the crypt lies a German soldier from World War I. The crypt is a stark contrast to the memorial that stands unobtrusively in front of the northern wing of the chancellery: a simple cube of black marble bearing facsimiles of handwritten anti-Nazi manifestos. During the summer time, its Diana Temple is home to musicians and dancers. 

The oldest remaining parts of the Hofgarten date back to 1769, when it was transformed into Germany's first public park. The promenade leading to what was once a hunting palace, Schloss Jägerhof, was all the rage in late-18th-century Düsseldorf before the park was largely destroyed by Napoléon's troops. Today it's an oasis of greenery in the heart of downtown.

The Holiday Park, in Hassloch, 10 km (6 miles) east of Neustadt, is one of Europe's largest amusement parks. The admission fee covers all attractions, shows, special events, and the children's world. The free-fall tower is a long-standing favorite, and Expedition GeForce is one of the largest roller coasters in Europe, with a steep drop of 82 degrees. For a great panoramic view of the surroundings, whirl through the air on Lighthouse-Tower, Germany's tallest carousel (265 feet). On Saturday in summer, the \"Party Summer Nights\" spectacular features live music and an outdoor laser light show and fireworks. Hours vary, so be sure to check the web site if you want to go.

The fishing village comes alive in the Holm neighborhood, an old settlement with tiny and colorful houses. The windblown buildings give a good impression of what villages in northern Germany looked like 150 years ago.

Until the 20th century, German beer consumption was a regional thing. A thirsty German would walk in to a pub and say, "Grosses Bier, bitte," and a large beer simply appeared. There was no need to request a certain brand because there was only one or, if you were lucky, two to choose from. In Hamburg's case it was Holsten and Astra, which are still brewed in the city, although both brands are now owned by the Danish brewery giant Carlsberg. To learn more about how these brews are made and how they taste, Holsten brewery offers guided tours of the factory, with a complimentary beer or two at the end.

The town of Hörnum is bordered on three sides by a rock-free, fine-white-sand beach that is perfect for paddling, quick dips in the sea, or simply lounging in one of the ever-present Strandkörbe beach chairs. The main beach is one of the most family-friendly on the island, and it's easily accessible from the promenade. A magnificent red-and-white lighthouse looms over the beach. Hörnum is the best place to take long walks along the Wattenmeer. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

In the second Wittenberg home of Cranach the Elder, the Renaissance man not only lived and painted but also operated a print shop, which has been restored and converted into a hotel. The courtyard, where it's thought he did much of his painting, remains much as it was in his day. Local children attend the Malschule (painting school) next to the apothecary.

Inside the Französischer Dom (French Cathedral), built by Kaiser Friedrich II for the Protestant Huguenots who fled France and settled in Berlin, is the Hugenottenmuseum, with exhibits charting their history and art. The Huguenots were expelled from France at the end of the 17th century by King Louis XIV. Their energy and commercial expertise contributed much to Berlin. The cathedral was renovated and the permanent exhibition modernized (and made multilingual) before its reopening in fall 2021.

Running the length of the west side of Bebelplatz, the former royal library is now part of Humboldt-Universität, whose main campus is across the street on Unter den Linden. The university building was built between 1748 and 1766 as a palace for Prince Heinrich, the brother of Frederick the Great. With its founding in 1810, the university moved in. The fairy-tale-collecting Grimm brothers taught here, and political philosophers Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels studied within its hallowed halls. Albert Einstein taught physics from 1914 to 1929, when he left Berlin for the United States.

Glass walkways, stairways, and a central courtyard connect the well-preserved medieval residences at this museum, where visitors can take a close look into the lives of Ravensburgers in the Middle Ages. The residences once belonged to the Humpis family, who were traders in the 15th century.

This is one of the few museums in the world to exhibit a wide spectrum of the Christian Orthodox world of images, the art and ritual of icons from the 15th to the 20th century. More than 100 icons on display here are part of a collection that totals more than 1,000 artifacts. Admission is free on the last Saturday of the month.

The name of this tiny island is translated as “Island of Youth.” Nestled into a bend in the Spree River between Treptow and the Alt-Stralau peninsula, it was the scene of a youth club during GDR times. Although its heyday is past, there is something dreamy, if not a bit creepy, about the island. It can only be accessed via a narrow, arched footbridge from Treptower Park, so it's devoid of cars, noise, and even much foot traffic. Visitors can enjoy a picnic on the docks, or rent paddleboats and canoes. In the evening, the club Insel Berlin hosts concerts, film screenings, and parties (the club also runs the beer garden and café).

The listed Kaispeicher B, built in 1878/79, houses the world’s largest private maritime collection. On nine exhibition decks ship models, including ivory and amber ones, merchant shipping, naval history spanning three thousand years of seafaring, and marine research are on display.

Standing on the highest point of East Rügen, 2 km (1 mile) south of Binz, is the Jagdschloss Granitz, a hunting lodge built in 1837–1846. It offers a splendid view in all directions from its lookout tower and has an excellent hunting exhibit.

From Sassnitz, it is an easy walk to the Jasmund Nationalpark, where you can explore the marshes, lush pine forests, and towering chalk cliffs. The most famous cliff, the so-called Königsstuhl (\"king's chair\" in German), can be explored on a skywalk at 42 m (138 feet) high. This is where the national park's visitor center is located. The skywalk can be busy, especially between 11 and 3 in the summer and requires a timed ticket, which can be purchased online.

The striking Jewish Center at St.-Jakobs-Platz has transformed a formerly sleepy area into an elegant, busy modern square. The buildings signify the return of the Jewish community to Munich's City Center, six decades after the end of the Third Reich. The center includes a museum focusing on Jewish history in Munich and the impressive Ohel Jakob Synagogue, with its rough slabs topped by a lattice-like cover, manifesting a thought-provoking sense of permanence. The third building is a community center, which includes the kosher Einstein restaurant ( 089/2024–00332). 

Housed in a 1917 synagogue which escaped major damage on Kristallnacht (night of the broken glass) in 1938, it was restored in the 1990s both for religious services and as a cultural center for theater and concert performances; the glorious blue and gold domed ceiling provides excellent acoustics. The museum tells the story of centuries of Jewish life in Augsburg before WWII, including famous residents. Most notable is the Peter Lamfrom family, who was a shirtmaker in this textile town. The family escaped in 1938, winding up in Portland, Oregon, where he named his new clothing company after the local Columbia River. Daughter Gert (Gertrude) and her husband grew the business into the Columbia Sportswear Company.

Dr. Johann Andreas Eisenbart (1663–1727) would be forgotten today if a ribald 19th-century drinking song (\"Ich bin der Doktor Eisenbart, widda, widda, wit, boom! boom!\") hadn't had him shooting out aching teeth with a pistol, anesthetizing with a sledgehammer, and removing boulders from kidneys. He was, as the song has it, a man who could make \"the blind walk and the lame see.\" This is terribly exaggerated, of course, but the town, where he died, takes advantage of it. The good Dr. Eisenbart has \"office hours\" in the town hall at 1:30 on Saturday from May through September. Throughout the year, a glockenspiel on the town hall depicts Eisenbart's feats, to the tune of the Eisenbart song three times daily: at noon, 3, and 5. There's a statue of the doctor in front of his home at Langestrasse 79, and his grave is outside the St. Ägidien Church.

This first synagogue in Worms was built in 1034, rebuilt in 1175, and expanded in 1213 with a synagogue for women. Destroyed in 1938, it was rebuilt in 1961 using as much of the original masonry as had survived. It is located in the Jewish quarter, which is along the town wall between Martinspforte and Friesenspitze and between Judengasse and Hintere Judengasse. Next door to the synagogue is a former study hall, dance hall, and Jewish home for the elderly, which now houses the city archives and the Jewish Museum. The well-written, illustrated booklet Jewish Worms chronicles a millennium of Jewish history in Worms.

This is the oldest Jewish cemetery in Europe and also one of the most atmospheric and picturesque. The oldest of some 2,000 tombstones date from 1076. Entry is via the gate on Willy-Brandt-Ring.  Male visitors must cover their heads to enter the cemetery.

Until the 1930s, Bernkastel was home to a large and well-assimilated Jewish community; although, as this cemetery reveals, they were still required to bury their dead far outside of the town limits. Ask at the Tourist Information to borrow a key to the cemetery, which is reachable by a scenic half-hour hike through the vineyards in the direction of Traben-Trarbach. Opened in the mid-19th century, it's home to around 30 graves, as well as a few headstones from a destroyed 17th-century graveyard.

Some 115,000 graves make up Europe's largest Jewish cemetery, in Berlin's Weissensee district, near Prenzlauer Berg. Covering more than 100 acres, the grounds resemble a forest, with tall trees and large ferns; scattered throughout are tombstones and mausoleums in various states of repair. Wandering through them is like taking an extremely moving trip back in time through the history of Jewish Berlin. Men are required to cover their heads with a kippah, available at the entrance.

The story of Frankfurt's Jewish community dating from the 1500s is told in the former Rothschild Palais, which overlooks the river Main. Prior to the Holocaust, Frankfurt's Jewish quarter was the second-largest in Germany (after Berlin), and the silver and gold household items on display are a testament to its prosperity. The museum contains a library of 5,000 books, a large photographic collection, and a documentation center. Be sure to check out the wall of ceremonial menorahs. The museum reopened in 2020 after a five-year, $59 million renovation that included the addition of modern, light-filled annex for temporary exhibits, including focusing on anti-Semitism and current Jewish life in Germany. There's also a new restaurant, Flowdeli.

This lovely museum shows rotating exhibitions geared toward young visitors, such as artworks from young artists, along with interactive exhibits where visitors can create their own projects. Junge Kunsthalle is also showing a selection of artworks from its sister museum, Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, until its expected reopening in 2028.

This modern stand-alone museum opened in 2018, replacing the Kindermuseum (Children's Museum) and part of the Historisches Museum. Interactive historical and cultural exhibits invite exploration (and it's free for children under 18).

The Kaiserbäder Strand stretches for more than 12 km (7½ miles) along Usedom Island's northeast coast from Bansin to Heringsdorf to Ahlbeck. A promenade connects the three towns which charm with a mix of 19th-century beach architecture on one side and beach-chair relaxation on the other. A stroll through the windy sea air is said to have magical recuperative powers and locals claim that when the conditions are right, the sand actually sings when the grains rub together. The wide beach bustles with weekend Berliners and long-term visitors in summer. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; sunrise; swimming; walking.