Country guide
Germany runs from the Baltic and North Sea coasts in the north down to the Alps in the south, and its 16 states have kept enough separateness that the country r...
Photograph · Llez · CC BY-SA 3.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Germany runs from the Baltic and North Sea coasts in the north down to the Alps in the south, and its 16 states have kept enough separateness that the country reads as a set of destinations rather than one. Over 83 million people live in them, more than any other European Union member. Berlin is the capital and the largest single city, Frankfurt is the financial centre, and the largest urban area is neither - it is the Ruhr, a belt of western towns that have grown into each other. Choosing between the Bavarian south, the Rhine, the Hanseatic north and the eastern cities is the actual planning decision; the distances are short and the places are not variations on one another.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photograph · Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
202 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
The Deutsches Museum stands on an island in the Isar in central Munich, at Museumsinsel 1, and is a museum of science and technology rather than of art or of city history.
Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas
The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is Germany's central Holocaust memorial, and it is two things at one address rather than one.
Bavaria is a monumental bronze statue standing prominently in Munich's Theresienwiese, the traditional grounds of Oktoberfest. Cast in the 19th century, this female personification of the Bavarian homeland ranks among Europe's largest bronze sculptures.
Gedenkstätte Berlin-Hohenschönhausen
The Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial is a museum and memorial site located in the Lichtenberg district of Berlin. It occupies the grounds of a former Soviet and later Stasi remand prison that operated during the German Democratic Republic period.
The East Side Gallery is an open-air gallery on a preserved section of the former Berlin Wall in Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. It stretches along Mühlenstraße and comprises approximately 1,316 metres of concrete wall surface.
Feldherrnhalle is a monumental loggia on the Odeonsplatz in central Munich. Commissioned by King Ludwig I and completed in 1844, it was modelled on the Loggia dei Lanzi in Florence.
Botanischer Garten
Berlin’s Botanic Garden is a large living plant collection in Dahlem, paired institutionally with the Botanical Museum. The garden, greenhouses and major outdoor collections remain open, but the Botanical Museum exhibition areas are closed for modernisation until approximately 2027.
Siegestor is a nineteenth-century triumphal arch at the northern end of Ludwigstraße, where the avenue becomes Leopoldstraße in Munich. King Ludwig I commissioned the monument to commemorate Bavarian military achievements, and Friedrich von Gärtner designed it.
Urania-Weltzeituhr
The World Clock, or Urania-Weltzeituhr, is a public landmark on Alexanderplatz in Berlin’s Mitte district. Its rotating display presents the time for twenty-four world cities and international time zones.
Gropius-Bau
Martin-Gropius-Bau is a Berlin exhibition house in a landmark nineteenth-century building near Potsdamer Platz and the former Berlin Wall corridor.
Gemäldegalerie am Kulturforum
The Gemäldegalerie Berlin, locally known as Gemäldegalerie am Kulturforum, is a major art museum in Berlin, Germany.
Hackesche Höfe is a historic courtyard complex in Berlin's Mitte district, situated in the Spandauer Vorstadt area near Hackescher Markt. Constructed in the early twentieth century around 1906-1907, the ensemble comprises eight interconnected courtyards with Art Nouveau architectural detailing.
Isartor is one of Munich's surviving medieval city gates and marks the eastern edge of the historic Altstadt.
Grunewaldturm
Grunewald Tower, known locally as Grunewaldturm, stands as a historic observation structure within Berlin's expansive Grunewald forest area. The tower offers elevated vantage points over surrounding woodland and nearby waterways.
The Märkisches Museum is a museum in Berlin dedicated to the history and culture of the city and its surrounding Mark Brandenburg region.
Villa Stuck is the former home and studio of painter Franz von Stuck in Munich’s Bogenhausen district. The late nineteenth-century villa now functions as a public museum, preserving the setting in which Stuck lived and worked.
Staatsoper Unter den Linden
Berlin State Opera, locally called Staatsoper Unter den Linden, is a working opera and ballet house on Berlin’s Unter den Linden boulevard.
Jüdisches Museum
The Jewish Museum Berlin is a major cultural institution dedicated to two millennia of German-Jewish history and culture.
Das Buddhistische Haus is a Buddhist temple complex in Frohnau, northern Berlin. Founded in the early twentieth century, it is regarded as one of Europe’s oldest Buddhist institutions.
Checkpoint Charlie marks the former Allied crossing on Friedrichstraße between the American and Soviet sectors of divided Berlin.
The Maximilianeum is a monumental palatial building located on the right bank of the Isar River in Munich. It serves as the seat of the Bavarian State Parliament (Bayerischer Landtag).
Potsdamer Platz is a major public square and traffic intersection in central Berlin. Historically one of Europe's busiest squares, it was devastated during World War II and left desolate during the Cold War when the Berlin Wall bisected it.
Treptower Park is a large public park in the Treptow-Köpenick district of Berlin. The park extends along the River Spree and is one of the city's most significant green spaces.
Zeiss-Großplanetarium
Zeiss Major Planetarium, known locally as Zeiss-Großplanetarium, is a dedicated astronomy venue in Berlin. Its large dome gives the building a memorable profile in the city, while the programme combines public education with immersive entertainment.
Berlin Hauptbahnhof
Berlin Central Station, known locally as Berlin Hauptbahnhof, is the city’s principal railway hub and one of Berlin’s most striking modern buildings.
Seven to ten days works for Berlin plus one connected region, or for a focused Rhine, Bavaria or northern-city route. Germany’s rail network makes multi-city travel practical, but changing bases every night still reduces useful time.
Germany’s Federal Foreign Office is the official visa reference. Review its nationality-specific entry rules and the Schengen application guidance for the passport and route being used.
Intercity and high-speed trains connect Germany’s major cities, with regional services completing shorter journeys. Deutsche Bahn publishes the integrated timetable; airport choice should follow the route rather than defaulting to one national gateway.
May through September favours outdoor city and countryside travel, while December has a distinct seasonal-market pattern. Alpine, North Sea and urban conditions differ enough that the intended region should determine clothing and reservations.
Germany uses the euro (EUR). Cash and card practices are not stated as a single national rule in the cited source, so travellers should carry a backup and check the payment method before ordering or boarding.
For Germany, 112 reaches medical and fire services and 110 reaches police. Type C and F plugs use 230 V, and mains tap water is recorded as safe.
