937 Best Sights in Germany

British "starchitect" David Chipperfield restored and modernized this fine example of German art deco in 2003–05. The building, which opened in 1929, houses three important museums.

Höchst was once a porcelain-manufacturing town to rival Dresden and Vienna. Production ceased in the late 18th century, but was revived by an enterprising businessman in 1965. The Höchster Porzellan Manufaktur produces exquisite and expensive tableware, home decor items including vases and animal figurines, Christmas ornaments, and even cuff links and bottle stoppers. Designs are sleek and modern or replicas of 18th-century items. You can tour the workshop and shop at the store.

Two separate museums are housed in this 17th-century building that stands at one end of Böttcherstrasse. Ludwig Roselius-Haus showcases late-medieval art and a silver treasury, and a unique collection of German and Dutch art. These pieces contrast with the paintings of Paula Modersohn-Becker, a noted early expressionist of the Worpswede art colony whose work is housed in the same building. Notice also the arch of Meissen bells at the rooftop. Except when freezing weather makes them dangerously brittle, the bells chime daily on the hour from noon to 6 from May to December (and only at noon, 3, and 6 January–April).

To find out more about the history of Worms, visit this museum, housed in the cloisters of a Romanesque church in the Andreasstift. The collection includes artifacts from the Roman period (it features one of the largest collections of Roman glass in Germany), all the way up to local art from the 20th century.

At the northwest tip of Usedom, 16 km (10 miles) from land-side Wolgast, is the launch site of the world's first ballistic missiles, the V-1 and V-2, developed by Germany during World War II. You can view these rockets as well as models of early airplanes and ships at the extensive Historical-Technical Museum Peenemünde.

This huge city park borders the Schlossplatz and extends northeast across Schillerstrasse all the way to Bad Cannstatt on the Neckar River. The park is graced by an exhibition hall, planetarium, lakes, sculptures, and the hot-spring mineral baths Leuze and Berg.

Kloster Eberbach's premier vineyard, the high-tech Steinberg, is surrounded by a 3-km (2-mile) stone wall (13th–18th century). In warmer months you can enjoy its vintages outdoors, overlooking the vines.