Lake Constance
Founded as a Cistercian monastery in 1134, the immense estate known as Schloss Salem was once the largest and richest of its kind in southern Germany. The…
Must-see attractions in Stuttgart & the Black Forest
Baden-Baden
The sublime casino seeks to emulate – indeed, outdo – the gilded, chandelier-lit splendour of Versailles. Marlene Dietrich called it ‘the most beautiful…
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse
This glacial cirque lake makes a beautiful splash on a vast tract of forest. Lore has it that a king and nymphs dwell in its inky depths – and indeed the…
Stuttgart
Whether you think it a marvel or a monstrosity, the 217m-high Fernsehturm is one of Stuttgart's most visible landmarks, with its needle-thin concrete…
Baden-Baden
This 2.3km ribbon of greenery, threading from Goetheplatz to Kloster Lichtenthal, is quite a picture: studded with fountains and sculptures and carpeted…
The Black Forest
A steady and attractive 6.5km walk through spruce forest and pastures from Triberg's waterfall brings you to this 1070m-high 19th-century lookout tower,…
The Black Forest
Next to the 13th-century Riettor gate tower and occupying a former Franciscan monastery, the Franziskaner Museum skips merrily through Villingen’s history…
Stuttgart
Occupying a shimmering glass cube, this gallery presents high-calibre special exhibits alongside a permanent gallery filled with a prized collection of…
Breisach
Plonked on a hill above the centre for all to behold in wonder, the Romanesque and Gothic St Stephansmünster shelters a faded fresco cycle, Martin…
The Black Forest
All the more evocative for its lack of adornment, this 11th-century former Benedictine monastery effectively conveys the simple, spiritual life in its…
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse
Word has it that German composer Brahms and French painter Courbet had a soft spot for these wispy falls, which plunge over mossy boulders into a green…
The Black Forest
The town's most outstanding landmark is this former Benedictine abbey, a rococo jewel designed by Peter Thumb of Vorarlberg. Many of the period’s top…
Freiburg
Join locals relaxing in a cafe by the fountain in chestnut-shaded Rathausplatz, Freiburg's prettiest square. Pull out your camera to snap pictures of the…
Lake Constance
Looking across Lake Constance from its lofty perch, Burg Meersburg is an archetypal medieval stronghold, complete with keep, drawbridge, knights’ hall and…
Breisach
Vauban’s French fortified town of Neuf-Brisach (New Breisach), a Unesco World Heritage Site, sits 4km west of Breisach. Shaped like an eight-pointed star,…
Swabian Alps Region
Half-timbered townhouses frame the Altstadt’s main plaza Am Markt, a much-loved student hang-out. Rising above it is the 15th-century Rathaus (town hall),…
The Black Forest
The treasure-trove Badisches Landesmuseum, inside the Schloss, shelters the jewel-encrusted crown of Baden's grand-ducal ruling family, and spoils of war…
Lake Constance
Seven exceptional late-medieval houses set around a glass-covered courtyard shelter a permanent collection focusing on Ravensburg’s past as a trade centre…
Swabian Alps Region
On Am Markt square, your gaze is drawn to the ornate Rathaus and to the terracotta-hued Widmanhaus at No 4, a remnant of a 13th-century Franciscan…
The Black Forest
Named after the tiny chapel at the head of the Breg Valley, Martinskapelle attracts cross-country skiers to its forested trails in winter and hikers when…
The Black Forest
The outstanding State Art Gallery presents a world-class collection, from the canvases of late-Gothic German masters such as Matthias Grünewald and Lucas…
The Black Forest
Between the town’s two tower-topped gates sits the triangular Marktplatz, dominated by the Rathaus, an 18th-century pink-and-cream confection. The…
The Black Forest
A cable car whisks you to the 1493m summit of Feldberg in minutes. The panorama unfolding at the top reaches across the patchwork meadows and woods of the…
Stuttgart & the Black Forest
Appealing in summer is a fragrant stroll amid the herbs, rhododendrons and gushing fountains of the Blühendes Barock gardens. Admission includes entry to…
The Black Forest
Centred on a trickling fountain, the sloping, triangular Marktplatz is Schiltach at its picture-book best. The frescoes of its step-gabled 16th-century…
Stuttgart
Like a pearly white spaceship preparing for lift-off, the barrier-free Porsche Museum is a car-lover's dream. Audioguides race you through the history of…
Stuttgart
A futuristic swirl on the cityscape, the Mercedes-Benz Museum takes a chronological spin through the Mercedes empire. Look out for legends such as the…
Konstanz
In AD 724 a missionary named Pirmin founded a Benedictine monastery on Reichenau, a 4.5km-by-1.5km island (Lake Constance’s largest) about 11km west of…
Stuttgart
When King Wilhelm I of Württemberg’s beloved wife Katharina Pavlovna, daughter of a Russian tsar, died at the age of 30 in 1819, the king tore down the…
Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie
The Black Forest
Set in a historical munitions factory, the ZKM is a mammoth exhibition and research complex fusing art and emerging electronic media technologies. The…
Stuttgart
Billing itself as the world’s biggest pig museum, the Schweinemuseum is one heck of a pigsty: 50,000 paintings, lucky trinkets, antiques, cartoons, piggy…
Schwarzwaldhochstrasse
Rising 1007m, Mehliskopf's slopes attract families seeking low-key outdoor adventures. You can whiz downhill year-round on the bob run, picking up speeds…
Stuttgart
When temperatures soar, Stuttgarters head to Max-Eyth-See for pedalo fun on the lake and picnicking beside the Neckar River. Murky water rules out…
Lake Constance
No zoo-like cages, no circus antics, just happy Barbary macaques free to roam in a near-natural habitat: that's the concept behind conservation-oriented…
Ulm
A nod to Ulm’s most famous son, this fiendishly funny bronze fountain by Jürgen Goertz shows a wild-haired, tongue-poking-out Albert Einstein, who was…
Ulm
With origins dating back to the early 14th century, the Zeughaus is one of Ulm's most impressive historical buildings. It underwent significant expansion…
Konstanz
At the end of the pier, giving ferry passengers a come-hither look from her rotating pedestal, stands Imperia. Peter Lenk’s 9m-high sculpture of a buxom…
Lake Constance
Housed in the 400-year-old Heilig-Geist-Spital (Hospice of the Holy Spirit), this new museum presents an intriguing interactive romp through the history…
Swabian Alps Region
The Cottahaus is the one-time home of Johann Friedrich Cotta, who first published the works of Schiller and Goethe. A bit of a lad, Goethe conducted…
Ulm
Designed by Richard Meier, the contemporary aesthetic of the concrete-and-glass Stadthaus is a dramatic contrast to the Münster. The American architect…
