
Würzburg
Enjoy panoramic city and vineyard views from this hulking fortress whose construction was initiated around 1200 by the local prince-bishops who governed…
Würzburg
Enjoy panoramic city and vineyard views from this hulking fortress whose construction was initiated around 1200 by the local prince-bishops who governed…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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 …
Munich
Karlsplatz and the medieval Karlstor (a gate) form the western entrance to the Altstadt and the pedestrianised shopping precinct along Neuhauser Strasse…
Freiburg
The forested Schlossberg dominates Freiburg. Take the footpath opposite the Schwabentor, leading up through sun-dappled woods, or hitch a ride on the…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
The Black Forest
Sharp angles contrast with graceful swirls on Frank Gehry’s strikingly postmodern Vitra Design Museum. The blindingly white edifice hosts thought…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Nuremberg
Dark and atmospheric, the Lorenzkirche has dramatically downlit pillars, taupe stone columns, sooty ceilings and many artistic highlights. Check out 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…
Munich
The Residenzmuseum entrance also leads to the Schatzkammer der Residenz, a veritable banker's bonus worth of jewel-encrusted bling of yesteryear, from…
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…
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…
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'…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Nuremberg
The Historischer Kunstbunker is a climate-controlled bomb shelter deep under the Burgberg that was used to protect art treasures during WWII. Priceless…