937 Best Sights in Germany

This redbrick museum includes exhibits on Berlin's history from the Ice Age to today. A permanent exhibit, BerlinZEIT, tells the story of Berlin and historical moments that have shaped the city through tales from the people who live there; features include a multimedia map of Berlin where you can hear about various neighborhoods and streets. The entire museum is closed for refurbishment until 2028.

Leipzig's showpiece is its huge, old market square. One side is completely occupied by the Renaissance town hall, the Altes Rathaus. In the summer the square becomes Leipzig's living room, as concerts, markets, and cafés flow into the streets.

One of Wiesbaden's most recognizable attractions, this enormous, red, neo-Gothic church was built between 1853 and 1862. The town's main Protestant church, it is notable for its 49-bell carillon (which can be heard regularly every day) and its 6,198-pipe Walcker organ (which can be heard during the free organ recitals held each Saturday at 11:30 am).

Naumburg's historic market square lies strategically at the intersection of two medieval trade routes. Although the market burned in 1517, it was painstakingly rebuilt in a combination of Renaissance and baroque styles that are unique to Naumburg.

Elaborately carved 16th- and 17th-century half-timber houses and a beautiful Renaissance Rathaus (town hall) frame Bernkastel's photogenic medieval market square. In front of the town hall stands Michaelsbrunnen (St. Michael's Fountain), just as it has for more than four centuries. At the beginning of September, the square and riverbank are lined with wine stands for one of the region's largest wine festivals, the Weinfest der Mittelmosel.

The Marktplatz is the focal point of the Old Town and a hive of activity when farmers come to sell their wares on Tuesday and Saturday, plus Thursday from April to October. The square itself is ringed by baroque and Renaissance buildings (Nos. 1, 4, 8, and 11) and the Gothic Stiftskirche (Collegiate Church), built as a burial church for the Palatinate counts. Summer concerts take place in the church (Saturday 11:30–noon). Before the concert, you can take a guided tour (Saturday at 10) of the southern tower (187 feet) for a bird's-eye view of the town. The world's largest cast-iron bell—weighing more than 17 tons—hangs in the northern tower. Indoors, see the elaborate tombstones near the choir and the fanciful grotesque figures carved into the baldachins and corbels.

Bremen's impressive market square sits in the charming Altstadt. It's bordered by the St. Petri Dom, an imposing 900-year-old Gothic cathedral; an ancient Rathaus; a 16th-century guildhall; and a modern glass-and-steel state parliament building, with gabled town houses finishing the panorama. Alongside the northwest corner of the Rathaus is the famous bronze statue of the four Bremen Town Musicians, one atop the other in a sort of pyramid. Their feats are reenacted in a free, open-air play at the Neptune Fountain near the cathedral, at noon each Sunday, from May to September. Another well-known figure on the square is the stone statue of Roland, a knight in service to Charlemagne, erected in 1404. Three times larger than life, the statue serves as Bremen's good-luck piece and a symbol of freedom and independence. It is said that as long as Roland stands, Bremen will remain a free and independent state.

A statue of Prince Albert, Victoria's high-minded consort, is surrounded by gracious Renaissance and baroque buildings in Coburg's beautiful Marktplatz. The 16th century Stadthaus, former seat of the local dukes, is the most imposing structure here, with a forest of ornate gables and spires projecting from its well-proportioned facade. Opposite is the ornate, four-story Rathaus (Town Hall) which, in January 1931, held the dubious honor of being the first public building in Germany to fly the swastika flag. For a lighter perspective, look for the figure on top of the building's tympanum (the triangular section with the clock); this is the Bratwurstmännla, whose 31-centimeter-long (12-inches) staff is said to be the official length against which the town's famous bratwursts are measured. These tasty sausages, roasted on pinecone fires, are available on the market square.

One of the largest and best-preserved squares in Germany is framed by patrician gabled houses. Their style ranges from redbrick late Gothic through Dutch Renaissance to 19th-century neoclassical. The square's Wasserkunst, the ornate pumping station built in Dutch Renaissance style, was constructed between 1580 and 1602 by the Dutch master Philipp Brandin.

Houses of prominent burghers of centuries gone by surround this square, which is the heart of the Altstadt (Old Town), busy with open-air cafes in warm weather. At the open-air market on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday from 7 to 5 in the summer and 9 to 3 in winter, you can buy flowers, bread, pastries, poultry, sausage, and cheese.

Two statues are the centerpiece here: an 1821 statue of Luther by Johann Gottfried Schadow, designer of the quadriga atop Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, and an 1866 statue of Melanchthon by Frederick Drake. Gabled Renaissance houses containing shops line part of the square.

Heidelberg's main square, with the Rathaus (Town Hall) on one side and the Heiliggeistkirche on the other, has been its focal point since the Middle Ages. Public courts of justice were held here in earlier centuries, and those accused of witchcraft and heresy were burned at the stake. The baroque fountain in the middle, the Herkulesbrunnen (Hercules Fountain), is the work of 18th-century artist Heinrich Charrasky. Until 1740 a rotating, hanging cage stood next to it. For minor crimes, people were imprisoned in it and exposed to the abuse of their fellow citizens. Today the Marktplatz hosts outdoor markets every Saturday.

 The pedestrianized Marktplatz (market place), situated on the north side of the cathedral, is especially colorful on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday from 7 am to 2 pm, when farmers, butchers, cheesemongers, and florists set up stands to sell their produce. On Saturdays from March to November, join friendly Mainzers in the adjoining Liebfrauenplatz for the legendary Marktfrühstuck (Market Breakfast), where you can sample local wines alongside a traditional local breakfast of Fleischwurst (German bologna sausage) with mustard and a crusty bread roll.

This beautiful red-and-white church, which overlooks the corner of Kirchstrasse and Oberbachstrasse, is a remarkable amalgamation of art and architectural styles. Step inside and take a moment to admire the 117 carved bosses in the star-vaulted ceiling of the nave. Among the many fine sculptures throughout the church and the chapel is the town's treasure: a Renaissance stone relief, Christ in the Winepress.

A fortresslike tower on a hill, the Roman Catholic St. Martin church is well worth the short but steep climb up from Wernerstrasse. Decorated in white and pastel pink inside and out, it's particularly notable for its beautifully painted vaulting and magnificent baroque altar. Take time to explore Martinsgarten, a medley of manicured hedges and flower beds on the northern side of the church—the vistas of the town and river from here are second to none—before walking back to the center via the old Roman ramparts.

This former no-man's-land between East and West Berlin (the name translates to \"Wall Park\") was off-limits to the public from 1961 to 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell. After reconstruction, the area reopened as a rough-around-the-edges park in 1994; renovations completed in 2020 have given the park more green space and trees, plus a popular playground and skatepark. Today it's filled with hipsters, musicians, and tourists on sunny days and for the weekly Sunday flea market. It's also home to the hugely popular open-air Bearpit Karaoke Show, which runs Sunday afternoon from spring through late fall and attracts a boisterous mix of people of all ages.

Looking west along the river from Bingen, you can just about spot the Mäuseturm, perched on a rocky island near the Binger Loch. The name derives from a gruesome legend. One version tells that during a famine in 969 the miserly Archbishop Hatto hoarded grain and sought refuge in the tower to escape the peasants' pleas for food. The stockpile attracted scads of mice to the tower, where they devoured everything in sight, including Hatto. In fact, the tower was built by the archbishops of Mainz in the 13th and 14th centuries as a Mautturm (watch tower and toll station) for their fortress, Ehrenfels, on the opposite shore; now an atmospheric ruin. It was restored in neo-Gothic style by the king of Prussia in 1855, who also rebuilt Burg Sooneck, but you can't go inside.

Augsburg's main museum houses a permanent exhibition of Augsburg arts and crafts, including sculptures and gold and silver handicrafts, in a 16th-century merchant's mansion, focusing on the medieval, renaissance and industrial revolution periods when the city was one of the most wealthy and influential in Bavaria and Europe.

Munich's most expensive and exclusive shopping street was named after King Maximilian II, who wanted to break away from the Greek-influenced classical architecture favored by his father, Ludwig I. He thus created this broad boulevard lined with majestic buildings culminating on a rise above the River Isar at the stately Maximilianeum. Finished in 1874, this building was conceived as an elite education foundation for the most talented young people across Bavaria, regardless of status or wealth. It is still home to an education foundation, but its principal role is as the grand, if slightly confined, home to the Bavarian state parliament. Rather than take the tram to see the Maximilianeum, the whole walk along Maximilianstrasse (from Max-Joesph-Platz) is rewarding. You'll pass various high-end boutiques, plus the five-star Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski, the Upper Bavarian Parliament, the Museum Fünf Kontinente (Museum Five Continents), and cross the picturesque River Isar. Five minutes past the Maximilianeum, on the charming Wiener Platz, is the Hofbräukeller and its excellent beer garden.

Stroll aimlessly around Inselstadt, admiring its original half-timber houses, and you'll soon find yourself in the pedestrianized Maximilliansplatz: the city's largest and most important town square. Maxplatz, as it’s known by the locals, is home to several notable landmarks, including the baroque Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall) and the Maximiliansbrunnen (Maximilian Fountain), dedicated to Bamberg’s patron saint Heinrich II. But the square is perhaps best known for its markets: the daily Grüner Markt, where you can shop for local produce, and the annual Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas market). If you're in town for the latter, pick up a traditional Zwetschgenmännla, a human figure made from plums, dates and walnuts, which makes for a unique souvenir.

In this elegantly gabled Renaissance home, the humanist teacher and scholar Philipp Melanchthon corrected Luther's translation of the New Testament from Greek into German. Luther was hiding in the Wartburg in Eisenach at the time, and as each section of his manuscript was completed it was sent to Melanchthon for approval. (Melanchthon is a Greek translation of the man's real name, Schwarzerdt, which means \"black earth\"; humanists routinely adopted such classical pseudonyms.) The second-floor furnishings have been painstakingly re-created after period etchings.

The only surviving residence of the composer Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy is now Germany's only museum dedicated to him. Mendelssohn's last residence and the place of his death has been preserved in its original 19th-century state. Concerts are held every Sunday at 11.

A curious story explains why this hugely impressive Renaissance church, adjoining a former extensive Jesuit college, has no tower. Seven years after the start of construction, in 1583, the main tower collapsed. Its patron, pious Duke Wilhelm V, regarded the disaster as a heavenly sign that the church wasn't big enough, so he ordered a change in the plans—this time without a tower. Completed in 1597, the barrel vaulting of St. Michael's is second in size only to that of St. Peter's in Rome. The duke is buried in the crypt, along with 40 other Wittelsbach family members, including the eccentric King Ludwig II. A severe neoclassical monument in the north transept contains the tomb of Napoléon's stepson, Eugène de Beauharnais, who married a daughter of King Maximilian I and died in Munich in 1824. Once again a Jesuit church, Michaelskirche serves as a venue for church music performances. 

Dinkelsbühl's main church is the standout sight in town. At 235 feet long it's large enough to be a cathedral, and is among the best examples in Bavaria of the late-Gothic style. Note the complex fan vaulting that spreads sinuously across the ceiling. If you can face the climb, head up the 200-foot tower for amazing views over the jumble of rooftops any weekend that the weather allows. The tower was built in the 12th century as a free-standing structure, 200 years before the adjoining church was built. 

The museum is housed in two historic buildings filled with examples of torture and public humiliation from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, along with legal documents and books pertaining to all kinds of crimes from being drunk in public to misleading advertising to murder. You'll find a wide selection of handcuffs, finger screws, and metal facemasks, which were shaped to \"fit\" the nature of various crimes; for example, one mask has a very long tongue and was meant to be worn by a so-called blabbermouth. Want to know the origin of the modern drunk tank? Find it here: the drunk was imprisoned inside a large, heavy beer or wine barrel and forced to stick his arms out of this literal person-sized tank. On top of the anti-crime accoutrements, you'll also find an entire section on witchcraft. You'll return home with a greater appreciation of modern criminal punishment.

Housed in the beautiful baroque villa Haus Böcking (1750), once frequented by the likes of Goethe and King Friedrich-Wilhelm IV, this museum shows how life was for the 18th and 19th century bourgeoisie. Discover 20 exhibition rooms showcasing magnificent period furnishings and impressive works of art, along with a collection chronicling the historical development of Traben-Trarbach.

Relocated in 2013 to the new Forum Confluentes (right by the Tourist Information office), this museum, founded in 1835, houses the city's excellent art collection, including extensive holdings of landscapes focusing on the Rhine. It also has a notable collection of secular medieval art and contemporary works by regional artists.

The next stop above the castle on the Königstuhl funicular, Molkenkur was the site of Heidelberg's second castle. Lightning struck it in 1537, and it was never rebuilt. Today it's occupied by a small restaurant and hotel —which bears the creative name Schlosshotel Molkenkur—with magnificent views of the Odenwald and the Rhine plain from the terrace.

No visit to this part of the country would be complete without a ride on this narrow-gauge steam train that has been chugging its 16-km (10-mile) route through the streets of Bad Doberan to the nearby beach resorts of Heiligendamm and Kühlungsborn since 1886. The train was nicknamed after a little local dog that barked its approval every time the smoking iron horse passed by. In summer Molli runs 11 times daily between Bad Doberan and Kühlungsborn.