937 Best Sights in Germany

One of southern Bavaria's most famous pilgrimage sites, this Benedictine monastery is 5 km (3 miles) south of Herrsching. Surmounted by an octagonal tower and onion dome with a pointed helmet, Andechs has a history going back more than 1,000 years. The church, originally built in the 15th century, was entirely redone in baroque style in the early 18th century. The Heilige Kapelle contains the remains of the old treasure of the Benedictines in Andechs, including Charlemagne's \"Victory Cross.\" One of the chapels contains the remains of composer Carl Orff, whose works are performed on the grounds. The monastery also brews rich, almost black beer and makes its own cheese as well. You can reach the monastery from Munich city center via public transportation: S-Bahn S6 to Tutzing, then change to bus 951 (get off at station Andechs) or S-Bahn S8 to Herrsching, then change to bus 958 (get off at station Andechs). Make sure to check the S-Bahn and bus connection prior to your excursion, waiting times for the bus can be quite long. If you are up for some exercise before and after your beer, you can hike from Herrsching S-Bahn station to the monastery; it's an easy hike, but it takes approximately 1.5 hours depending on your pace. 

Perhaps Munich's most ostentatious church, it has a suitably extraordinary entrance, framed by raw rock foundations. The insignificant door, crammed between its craggy shoulders, gives little idea of the opulence and lavish detailing within the small 18th-century church (there are only 12 rows of pews). Above the doorway St. Nepomuk, the 14th-century Bohemian monk and patron saint of Bavaria who drowned in the Danube, is being led by angels from a rocky riverbank to heaven. The church's official name is Church of St. Johann Nepomuk, but it's more popularly known as the Asamkirche for its architects, the brothers Cosmas Damian and Egid Quirin Asam. The interior of the church is a prime example of true southern German late-Baroque architecture. Frescoes by Cosmas Damian Asam and rosy marble cover the walls. The sheer wealth of statues and gilding is stunning—there's even a gilt skeleton at the sanctuary's portal.

This is a rare example of a well-preserved medieval monastery from the late 12th century, becoming one of the wealthiest in the region, with a boarding school added in 1504. It was annexed by the local government in 1806, and in 1868 parts of the complex were rebuilt as a hunting castle for King Frederick of Württemberg. Expansion and restoration continued as long as the palace and monastery continued to be a royal residence. Visits to the palace are available only on a guided tour; English-language tours are available only by special arrangement (usually for groups).

Talk about site-specific art: all the modern art, photography, and architecture models and plans here, created between 1870 and the present, were made in Berlin (or in the case of architecture competition models, intended for the city). Russians, secessionists, Dadaists, and expressionists all had their day in Berlin, and individual works by Otto Dix, George Grosz, and Georg Baselitz, as well as artists' archives such as the Dadaist Hannah Höch's, are highlights. Special exhibitions are usually well attended and quite worthwhile.

A wealth of vintage toys, model trains, and vehicles, including motorcycles, awaits children of all ages. This private collection, open to the public, includes Porsche, Ferrari, and Maserati race cars, an original 1957 VW Beetle, and a rare 1954 Lloyd. Ask a docent to start up the HO trains or one of the antique musical toys. Kids can ride one of the old pedal cars. There's also a small café and free parking.

The Brauerei was once part of the monastery, and has brewed beer since the Middle Ages. The unusually soft water gives the beer a flavor that is widely acclaimed. There are guided tours of the brewery museum daily at noon and 2:30 (in German only, though English headsets are available), which include glasses of beer, as well as tours and tastings on selected Fridays and Saturdays; see the website for details. If there is one place in Germany to go out of your way for a beer, Alpirsbach is it.

The largest of several towns comprising the Kaiserstuhl region, Breisach am Rhein is a typical German village, with a cathedral atop a hill and an impressive city hall. The exceptional thing here is the views from the square beside the cathedral, which show the Black Forest to the east and France to the west (just beyond the River Rhine). It's a sister city to the UNESCO-recognized Neuf-Breisach across the border and a beautiful stopover for many Rhine river cruises.

Situated in the middle of the Eltz forest, almost halfway from Alken to Cochem, this genuinely medieval (12th–16th century) and genuinely stunning fortification deserves as much attention as King Ludwig's trio of castles in Bavaria. Ask at the souvenir shop for the 40-minute English-language tour, which guides you through the period rooms and massive kitchen, as well as a treasure vault filled with gold and silver. Alternatively, take the English-language flyer and stroll around yourself. To get here from Alken, exit B416 at Hatzenport, proceed to Wierschem, and follow signs to the parking lot near the Kapelle St. Antonius. From here it's a 15-minute walk, or take the shuttle bus (€2 each way). Hikers can reach the castle from Moselkern, on the riverside, in about an hour.

The largest and oldest castle in the Neckar Valley, the circular bulk of Burg Hornberg rises dramatically above the town of Neckarzimmern. The road to the castle, which dates from the 11th century, leads through vineyards that have been providing dry white wines for centuries. These days, the castle is part hotel (24 rooms) and part museum, and quite popular for weddings.

In the 16th century it was home to the larger-than-life Götz von Berlichingen (1480–1562). When the knight lost his right arm in battle, he had a blacksmith fashion an iron replacement. Original designs for this fearsome artificial limb are on view in the castle, as is his suit of armor. For many Germans, this legendary knight is best remembered for a remark that was faithfully reproduced in Goethe's play Götz von Berlichingen. Responding to an official reprimand, Von Berlichingen told his critic to \"kiss my ass\" (the original German is a bit more earthy: Er kann mich am Arsche lecken). To this day the polite version of this insult is known as a Götz von Berlichingen. Inquire at the hotel reception about visiting the castle, or just enjoy the walking trails and views from the top of the hill.

North of Bingen on the road from Bacharach, this impressive castle was the home of Rudolf von Hapsburg from 1282 to 1286. To establish law and order on the Rhine, he destroyed the neighboring castles of Burg Reichenstein and Burg Sooneck and hanged their notorious robber barons from the oak trees around the Clemens Church, a late-Romanesque basilica near Trechtingshausen. The Gobelin tapestries, 15th-century stained glass, wall and ceiling frescoes, a floor of royal apartments, and antique furniture—including a rare \"giraffe spinet,\" a harpsicord which Kaiser Wilhelm I is said to have played—are the highlights of a visit here. All of this is illuminated by candlelight on some summer Fridays. Rheinstein was the first of many Rhine ruins to be rebuilt by a royal Prussian family in the 19th century.  If coming by car or boat, leave your transport at river level and prepare for a 10-minute climb up. By train, it's a 30-minute walk from Trechtingshausen station.

The site of the infamous camp, now the KZ–Gedenkstätte Dachau, is just outside town. Photographs, contemporary documents, the few cell blocks, and the grim crematorium create a somber and moving picture of the camp, where more than 41,000 of the 200,000-plus prisoners lost their lives. A documentary film in English is shown five times daily. The former camp has become more than just a grisly memorial: it's now a place where people of all nations meet to reflect upon the past and on the present.

The oldest residential area in the Old Town of Hamburg now consists of lavishly restored houses from the 17th through the 19th century. Many of the original, 14th-century houses on Deichstrasse were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1842, which broke out in No. 38 and left approximately 20,000 people homeless; only a few of the early dwellings escaped its ravages. These days the narrow cobblestone street is flanked by a number of lovely little restaurants specializing in fish or German cuisine, which have taken residence inside its historic buildings.

Located at the point where 7 million Europeans set sail for the New World, the Deutsches Auswandererhaus is made to order for history buffs and those wanting to trace their German ancestry. \"Passengers\" get boarding passes, wait on dimly lit docks with costumed mannequins and piles of luggage, and once onboard navigate their way through cramped and creaky sleeping and dining cabins. After being processed at Ellis Island, visitors enter the Grand Central Terminal, from where they set off to settle in different parts of the USA. Further on, there is a section of the museum dedicated to immigrants to Germany, complete with a 1930s-era German-American pub, a German deli and, a sewing workshop that represents the working environment in the early 1900s. In the annex, there is an exhibition covering the 330 years of German immigration history. At the end of the tour visitors can research their genealogy using two international databases.

Germany's first museum of cinematography, set in a historic villa on \"museum row,\" offers visitors a glimpse at the history of film, with artifacts that include \"magic lanterns\" from the 1880s, costume drawings from Hollywood and German films, and multiple screens playing film clips. Interactive exhibits show how films are photographed, given sound, and edited, and let visitors play with lighting and animation. A theater in the basement screens every imaginable type of film, from historical to avant-garde to Star Wars.

This cathedral's interior is a virtual sculpture gallery of elaborate monuments and tombstones of archbishops, bishops, and canons, many of which are significant artworks in their own right. Emperor Otto II began building the oldest of the Rhineland's trio of grand Romanesque cathedrals in 975, the year in which he named Willigis archbishop and chancellor of the empire. Henry II, the last Saxon emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, was crowned here in 1002, as was his successor, Konrad II, the first Salian emperor, in 1024. In 1009, on the very day of its consecration, the cathedral burned to the ground. It was the first of seven fires the Dom has endured. Today's cathedral dates mostly from the 11th to 13th century. During the Gothic period, remodeling diluted the Romanesque identity of the original; an imposing baroque spire was added in the 18th century. Nevertheless, the building remains essentially Romanesque, and its floor plan demonstrates a clear link to the cathedrals in Speyer and Worms. Individual and group tours can be arranged through the Tourist Service Center.

Situated at the eastern end of the Domplatz, this cathedral rises high above the city, making it Passau's most visible landmark. A baptismal church stood here in the 6th century, and 200 years later, when Passau became a bishop's seat, the first basilica was built. It was dedicated to St. Stephen and became the original mother church of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. A fire reduced the medieval basilica to ruins in 1662; it was then rebuilt by Italian master architect Carlo Lurago. What you see today is the largest baroque basilica north of the Alps, complete with an octagonal dome and flanking towers. Little in its marble- and stucco-encrusted interior reminds you of Germany, and much proclaims the exuberance of Rome. Beneath the dome is the largest church organ assembly in the world. Built between 1924 and 1928 and enlarged in 1979–80, it claims no fewer than 17,774 pipes and 233 stops. The church also houses the most powerful bell chimes in southern Germany.

Walk to the eastern tip of the Altstadt and look straight out at the wide waters ahead. You are standing at the confluence of three rivers: the Inn (on your right), the Danube (on your left), and the Ilz (behind you on the left; the small outlet on the other side of the Danube). It's always interesting to witness the jostling flows and currents, but it's particularly impressive on a sunny day, when you can clearly see the different water colors mingling together; the navy-black Ilz flowing into the blue-brown Danube, before meeting the aqua-green Ilz. This point also marks the western end of the Innkai, a pleasant riverside path that leads past the striking 13th-century Schaiblingsturm. It's a far more relaxing experience than the bustling Danube promenade.

Europe's largest fortress, towering 400 feet above the left bank of the Rhine, offers a magnificent view over Koblenz and where the Mosel and the Rhine rivers meet. The earliest buildings date from about 1100, but the bulk of the fortress was constructed in the 16th century. In 1801 it was partially destroyed by Napoléon, and the French occupied Koblenz for the next 18 years. The museum has exhibits on the history of local industries, from wine growing to technology. Pride of place is given to the fortress's 16th-century Vogel Greif cannon, which has done a lot of traveling over the years. The French absconded with it in 1794, the Germans took it back in 1940, and the French commandeered it again in 1945. The 15-ton cannon was peaceably returned by French president François Mitterrand in 1984. For an introduction to the fortress and its history, head for the Besucherdienst (visitor center). English-language tours are for groups only, but you can often join a group that is registered for a tour. A Seilbahn (cable car) carries you a half mile from Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer over the river to Ehrenbreitstein, offering spectacular views of the Deutsches Eck below. Lifts can accommodate 7,000 passengers in an hour, and operate continually throughout the day from a half hour before the site opens until a half hour after it closes.

Inside the former Tacheles art collective, contemporary photography museum Fotografiska has retained all the former inhabitants’ graffiti on the walls in the hallways and stairwells. Regularly rotating exhibitions range across several floors, showing a mix of photography and videos from both well-known artists, such as Andy Warhol, but also younger emerging artists. You won’t go hungry (or thirsty) here, as there’s a restaurant, two bars (including Bar Clara, on the rooftop), a café, and a bakery; visitors are even encouraged to peruse the artworks with drink in hand. The museum is open till 11 pm every day (last entry at 10 pm), making it perfect for an evening wander.

Munich's dom (cathedral) is a distinctive late-Gothic brick structure with two huge towers, each 99 meters (325 feet) high; you can climb 88 steps up the South Tower and then take an elevator up another 80 meters (263 feet) to reach the city center's highest point. The main body of the cathedral was completed in 20 years (1468–88)—a record time in those days—and the distinctive onion-dome-like cupolas were added by 1525. Shortly after the original work was completed in 1488, Jörg von Halspach, the Frauenkirche's architect, died, but he managed to see the project through. In 1944–45, the building suffered severe damage during Allied bombing raids and was restored between 1947 and 1957. Inside, the church combines most of von Halspach's plans with stark, clean modernity and simplicity of line. As you enter the church, look on the stone floor for the dark imprint of a large foot—the so-called Teufelstritt (Devil's Footprint). The cathedral houses the elaborate marble tomb of Duke Ludwig IV (1282–1347), who became Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian in 1328. One of the Frauenkirche's great treasures is the collection of wooden busts by Erasmus Grasser.

Germany's second-oldest porcelain factory is at Fürstenberg, 24 km (14 miles) north of Bad Karlshafen and 8 km (5 miles) south of Höxter, in a Weser Renaissance castle high above the Weser River. The crowned Gothic letter F, which serves as its trademark, is known worldwide. You'll find Fürstenberg porcelain in Bad Karlshafen and Höxter, but it's more fun to journey to the 18th-century castle itself, where production first began in 1747, and buy directly from the manufacturer. Porcelain workshop visits can be booked ahead of time, and there's also a museum which has free guided theme tours from March to October every Sunday at 2 pm. There is a popular bistro in one of the outbuildings, and the factory outlet in another.The view from the castle is a pastoral idyll, with the Weser snaking through the immaculately tended fields and woods. You can also spot cyclists on the riverside paths.

The Kulturforum's Gemäldegalerie reunites formerly separated collections from East and West Berlin. It's one of Germany's finest art galleries, and has an extensive selection of European paintings from the 13th to 18th centuries. Seven rooms are reserved for paintings by German masters, among them Dürer, Cranach the Elder, and Holbein. A special collection has works of the Italian masters—Botticelli, Titian, Giotto, Lippi, and Raphael—as well as paintings by Dutch and Flemish masters of the 15th and 16th centuries: Van Eyck, Bosch, Bruegel the Elder, and Van der Weyden. The museum also holds the world's second-largest Rembrandt collection.

You could spend a lifetime exploring the largest and greatest ethnological museum in Germany. This vast museum showcases the country's cultural and scientific achievements, ethnic background, and storied history. Housed in a former Carthusian monastery, complete with cloisters and monastic outbuilding, the complex effectively melds the ancient with modern extensions, giving the impression that Germany is moving forward by examining its past. The exhibition begins outside, with the tall, sleek pillars of the Strasse der Menschenrechte (Street of Human Rights), designed by Israeli artist Dani Karavan. Thirty columns are inscribed with the articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. There are few aspects of German culture, from the Stone Age to the 19th century, that are not covered by the museum, and quantity and quality are evenly matched. One highlight is the superb collection of Renaissance German paintings (with Dürer, Cranach, and Altdorfer well represented); look out for the remarkable 1702 painting Gemäldegalerie (Picture Gallery) by Johann Michael Bretschneider, which incorporates hundreds of small, individual, fictional artworks. Others may prefer the exquisite medieval ecclesiastical exhibits—manuscripts, altarpieces, statuary, stained glass, jewel-encrusted reliquaries—the collections of arms and armor, or the scientific instruments including beautiful globes and astrolabes.

Goethe spent 57 years in Weimar, 47 of them in a house two blocks south of Theaterplatz that has since become a shrine attracting millions of visitors. The Goethe Nationalmuseum consists of several houses, including the Goethehaus, where Goethe lived. It shows an exhibit about life in Weimar around 1750 and contains writings that illustrate not only the great man's literary might but also his interest in the sciences, particularly medicine, and his administrative skills (and frustrations) as minister of state and Weimar's exchequer. You'll see the desk at which Goethe stood to write (he liked to work standing up) and the modest bed in which he died. The rooms are dark and often cramped, but an almost palpable intellectual intensity seems to illuminate them.

This magnificent palazzo-like exhibition hall first opened in 1881, and once housed Berlin's Arts and Crafts Museum. Its architect, Martin Gropius, was the great-uncle of Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus architect who also worked in Berlin. The international, changing exhibits on art and culture have included Painting in the US and USSR 1960–1990; a Yayoi Kusama retrospective; Art, Craft, and Concept in Berlin; and fabric-based works from Louise Bourgeois.

This light-filled, remodeled train station is home to a rich survey of post-1960 Western art. The permanent collection includes installations by German artists Joseph Beuys and Anselm Kiefer, as well as paintings by Andy Warhol, Cy Twombly, Robert Rauschenberg, and Robert Morris. An annex presents the Friedrich Christian Flick Collection, featuring a selection of the latest in the world's contemporary art. The more than 1,500 works rotate, but you're bound to see some by Bruce Naumann, Rodney Graham, and Pipilotti Rist.

Opened in 2019 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Free State of Bavaria (which was in 2018, but who's counting?), this vast riverside museum walks visitors through the checkered history of the region, from the medieval Kingdom of Bohemia right up to the present day (and future). The tone is a little up-and-down—in the midst of a section on brutal Nazi rule, there's an exhibit about Karl Valentin's comedy film Flug Zum Mond (Flight to the Moon)—but there are fascinating deep-dives into Bavarian culture and clothing, the extravagance of Ludwig II, the 1972 Summer Olympics, the booming automotive industry, and, of course, Bayern Munich soccer club. German speakers will enjoy the collected audio snippets of spoken Bavarian alongside other German dialects.

Hamburg's Historischer Weihnachtsmarkt enjoys a spectacular backdrop—the city's Gothic town hall. The market's stalls are filled with rows of candy apples, chocolates, and doughnuts. Woodcarvers from Tyrol, bakers from Aachen, and gingerbread makers from Nuremberg (Nürnberg) come to sell their wares. And in an appearance arranged by the circus company Roncalli, Santa Claus ho-ho-hos his way along a tightwire high above the market every evening at 4, 6, and 8. The Hamburg Christmas market runs from late November until December 23.