Must-see attractions in Munich, Bavaria & the Black Forest

  • Festung Marienberg

    Würzburg

    Enjoy panoramic city and vineyard views from this hulking fortress whose construction was initiated around 1200 by the local prince-bishops who governed…

  • Bohnenviertel

    Stuttgart

    To really slip under Stuttgart’s skin, mosey through one of the city’s lesser-known neighbourhoods. Walk south to Hans-im-Glück Platz, centred on a…

  • Grabkapelle Rotenberg

    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…

  • Michaelskirche

    Munich

    It stands quiet and dignified amid the retail frenzy out on Kaufingerstrasse, but to fans of Ludwig II, the Michaelskirche is the ultimate place of…

  • Museum der Bayerischen Könige

    Füssen

    Palace-fatigued visitors often head straight for the bus stop, coach park or nearest beer after a tour of the castles, most overlooking this worthwhile…

  • Kloster Maulbronn

    The Black Forest

    Billed as the best-preserved medieval monastery north of the Alps, this one-time Cistercian monastery was founded by Alsatian monks in 1147. It was born…

  • Augustinermuseum

    Freiburg

    Dip into the past as represented by artists working from the Middle Ages to the 19th century at this superb museum in a sensitively modernised monastery…

  • Theresienwiese

    Munich

    The huge Theresienwiese (Theresa Meadow), better known as Wies'n, southwest of the Altstadt, is the site of the Oktoberfest. At the western end of the …

  • Karlsplatz

    Munich

    Karlsplatz and the medieval Karlstor (a gate) form the western entrance to the Altstadt and the pedestrianised shopping precinct along Neuhauser Strasse…

  • Schlossberg

    Freiburg

    The forested Schlossberg dominates Freiburg. Take the footpath opposite the Schwabentor, leading up through sun-dappled woods, or hitch a ride on the…

  • St-Anna-Platz

    Munich

    The Asamkirche may be more sumptuous, but the Klosterkirche St Anna is actually a collaboration of the rococo era's top dogs; Johann Michael Fischer…

  • Neues Rathaus

    Munich

    The soot-blackened façade of the neo-Gothic Neues Rathaus is festooned with gargoyles, statues and a dragon scaling the turrets; the tourist office is on…

  • Deutsches Museum – Verkehrszentrum

    Munich

    An ode to the Bavarian obsession with getting around, the Transport Museum explores the ingenious ways humans have devised to transport things and each…

  • Hohes Schloss

    Füssen

    The Hohes Schloss, a late-Gothic confection and one-time retreat of the bishops of Augsburg, towers over Füssen’s compact historical centre. The north…

  • Jüdisches Museum

    Munich

    Coming to terms with its Nazi past has not historically been a priority in Munich, which is why the opening of the Jewish Museum in 2007 was hailed as a…

  • Altes Rathaus

    Passau

    An entrance in the side of the Altes Rathaus flanking Schrottgasse takes you to the Grosser Rathaussaal, where large-scale paintings by 19th-century local…

  • Allianz Arena

    Munich

    Sporting and architecture fans alike should take a side trip to the northern suburb of Fröttmaning to see the ultraslick €340-million Allianz Arena,…

  • Vitra Design Museum

    The Black Forest

    Sharp angles contrast with graceful swirls on Frank Gehry’s strikingly postmodern Vitra Design Museum. The blindingly white edifice hosts thought…

  • Reichsstadtmuseum

    Rothenburg ob der Tauber

    Highlights of the Reichsstadtmuseum, housed in a former Dominican convent, include the Rothenburger Passion (1494), a cycle of 12 panels by Martinus…

  • Deutsches Weihnachtsmuseum

    Rothenburg ob der Tauber

    If you're glad Christmas comes but once every 365 days, then stay well clear of the Käthe Wohlfahrt Weihnachtsdorf, a Yuletide superstore that also houses…

  • St Sebalduskirche

    Nuremberg

    Nuremberg's oldest church was hoisted skywards in rusty pink-veined sandstone in the 13th century. Its exterior is replete with religious sculptures and…

  • Ehekarussell Brunnen

    Nuremberg

    At the foot of the fortified Weisser Turm (White Tower; now the gateway to the U-Bahn station of the same name) stands this large and startlingly…

  • Kloster St Michael

    Bamberg

    Above Domplatz, at the top of Michaelsberg, is the Benedictine Kloster St Michael, a former monastery and now an aged people’s home. The monastery church…

  • Hauptmarkt

    Nuremberg

    This bustling square in the heart of the Altstadt is the site of daily markets as well as the famous Christkindlsmarkte (Christmas Markets). At 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…

  • Lorenzkirche

    Nuremberg

    Dark and atmospheric, the Lorenzkirche has dramatically downlit pillars, taupe stone columns, sooty ceilings and many artistic highlights. Check out the…

  • Schweinemuseum

    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…

  • Schatzkammer der Residenz

    Munich

    The Residenzmuseum entrance also leads to the Schatzkammer der Residenz, a veritable banker's bonus worth of jewel-encrusted bling of yesteryear, from…

  • BMW Museum

    Munich

    This silver, bowl-shaped museum comprises seven themed 'houses' that examine the development of BMW's product line and include sections on motorcycles and…

  • Document Neupfarrplatz

    Regensburg

    Excavations in the mid-1990s revealed remains of Regensburg's once-thriving 16th-century Jewish quarter, along with Roman buildings, gold coins and a Nazi…

  • Kloster Ettal

    Bavarian Alps

    Ettal would be just another bend in the road were it not for this famous monastery. The highlight here is the sugary rococo basilica housing the monks'…

  • Max-Eyth-See

    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…

  • Albrecht-Dürer-Haus

    Nuremberg

    Dürer, Germany’s most famous Renaissance draughtsperson, lived and worked at this site from 1509 until his death in 1528. Enjoy the slightly OTT…

  • Justizpalast

    Munich

    The 1890s Justizpalast witnessed the Weisse Rose trial of Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl and Christoph Probst on 22 February 1943. They were condemned to…

  • Jakobskirche

    Rothenburg ob der Tauber

    One of the few places of worship in Bavaria to charge admission, Rothenburg's Lutheran parish church was begun in the 14th century and finished in the…

  • Siegestor

    Munich

    Munich's massive Siegestor was modelled on the Arch of Constantine in Rome and looks like a miniature version of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Built to…

  • Dom St Kilian

    Würzburg

    Würzburg's highly unusual cathedral has a Romanesque core that has been altered many times over the centuries. The elaborate stucco work of the chancel…

  • Affenberg Salem

    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…

  • Einstein Fountain & Monument

    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…

  • Historischer Kunstbunker

    Nuremberg

    The Historischer Kunstbunker is a climate-controlled bomb shelter deep under the Burgberg that was used to protect art treasures during WWII. Priceless…