See elephants, giraffes, and tigers during a visit to the Hamburg Zoo (Tierpark Hagenbeck). Run by the Hagenbeck Family since 1907, this private zoo was one of the first to keep animals in moated, open enclosures. Animals, including rare and endangered species, are spread over dozens of acres. Kids will especially enjoy the petting zoo and participating in animal feedings.
Most visitors know about Germany’s age-old fairy tales and toymaking legacy, but one of the country's best-kept local secrets is its homegrown history of marionette puppetry. The country’s most famous puppet theater is the Augsburger Puppenkiste or Augsburg Puppet Chest, which has entertained German children with its live performances and filmed TV shows since 1948.
Pullman City Western Town (Westernstadt Pullman City), brings the spirit of the American Wild West to the wilderness of Bavaria. Fashioned to resemble a traditional 19th-century Western town, the park offers cowboys, Indians, horses, and good old-fashioned Western entertainment.
Car enthusiasts won’t want to miss Dresden’s Transparent Factory (Gläserne Manufaktur), a large electric vehicle production site and a Volkswagen brand showcase. In a city better known for its reconstructed baroque buildings, the aesthetic simplicity of the glass building stands apart. See some of Germany’s most modern e-cars under construction and learn about high-tech innovation on guided tours.
Conveniently located between Frankfurt and Stuttgart, the family-friendly Holiday Park offers high-octane thrill rides and amusements aimed at younger children. The rides are in a woodland setting, and the German theme park also hosts live shows throughout the day.
Alpenpark Neuss is a large activity center featuring a variety of attractions that range from an 18-hole miniature golf course to a massive outdoor ropes course. There's also a funfussball course, which mixes soccer with golf, and a very popular indoor ski hall where visitors can ski throughout the year.
The German Emigration Center Bremerhaven (Deutsches Auswanderer Haus) explores the history of German immigration and emigration. The museum, located on the harbor where German emigrants left Bremen for the New World between 1830 and 1974, also gives visitors the chance to search for their own ancestors on two international databases.
On the outskirts of Leipzig, the Belantis amusement park entertains visitors with a variety of live performances and more than 60 rides and attractions. Fun seekers of all ages will find plenty to do, from toddler-sized bumper cars to topsy-turvy roller coasters.
A former ammunition factory turned contemporary art museum, the ZKM Karlsruhe is the place to go in Karlsruhe for cool art and digital media. Its huge, open-plan space is dedicated to galleries and exhibitions that offer something curious for a wide spectrum of interests. The revolving exhibitions cover overlapping themes around visual art, robotics, coding, and interactive games.
Located within Berchtesgaden National Park, Lake Hintersee is considered one of the most picturesque highlights of southern Germany’s Bavarian Alps. Boasting crystal-clear water offset by soaring mountain peaks, this glacier-fed beauty spot is an ideal day-trip destination from Munich and Salzburg. A range of recreational opportunities are available in the area, from walking and hiking trails to seasonal boat rentals.
Klimahaus Bremerhaven 8° Ost combines the best of a science center, a climate museum, and a theme park. The museum takes visitors on an interactive journey across five simulated continents to experience the world’s climate extremes, from the humidity of the tropics to the icy summits of the Swiss Alps.
Sitting at the feet of the mighty Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles is a lake that’s a lovely surprise. The Alpseebad offers clear mountain water and a backdrop that screams Bavarian beauty. Here, castled-out sightseers can wander down to the southwest end of the lake, where the private beach of Alpseebad offers up summertime swimming and mountains all around.
Presenting a visual representation of Dresden’s changing cityscape from 1695 to 1760, the Panometer Dresden is one of the city’s most unique museums. The creation of Austrian artist Yadegar Asisi, the gigantic, 360-degree display measures 344 feet (105 meters) long, stretching along the walls of a former gasometer.
Lindau’s most unique historic building, the Old Town Hall (Altes Rathaus) is a visual feast. Intricate murals and frescoes adorn its colorful facade, alongside an antique clock and sundial, while the stepped gable roof matches the pièce de résistance—a grand covered staircase that runs up to the main entrance. Whatever your preferred architectural style, there’s nothing quite like it.
Inspired by the Paul Cézanne quote, “art is a harmony parallel to nature,” the Hombroich Museum Island (Museum Insel Hombroich) is a space where art and nature are indeed harmonious. This conceptual art museum is comprised of 52 acres (21 hectares) of idyllic parklands dotted with galleries, sculptures, and architectural monuments.
A promenade along the River Main in Frankfurt, Mainkai offers views of the city’s skyscrapers, bridges, and other sights. Locals come here to walk dogs and go for strolls and bike rides; you can also have a picnic and check out the lovely gardens. One of the top seasonal attractions here is an outdoor Christmas market that brings stalls of gifts and souvenirs to Mainkai.
Plauen is located in Saxony in the eastern part of Germany, near the border of Bavaria and the Czech Republic. In the 1930s, Plauen hosted the first chapter of the Nazi Party outside of Bavaria, and about 75% of the city was destroyed during World War II. During the division of Germany, Plauen fell into East Germany. Some of the earliest and most significant peaceful demonstrations against the communist regime occurred here, leading to the fall of the Berlin Wall.
A popular stop on Bavaria’s stretch of Romantic Road, Dinkelsbühl is one of Germany’s few remaining medieval walled towns. A foray into its Old Town (Altstadt) reveals an open-air museum of cobbled market squares, colorful timbered houses, and fortified walls, which haven’t changed much in centuries.
Covering over 125 acres in the southwestern part of the city, the Berlin Botanical Garden (Botanischer Garten Berlin) is the second largest in the world, with more than 22,000 species of plants including carnivorous plants, cacti, and orchids. The grounds also house greenhouses and the Berlin Botanical Museum (Botanisches Museum Berlin).
An idyllic town along Bavaria's Romantic Road, Nordlingen is known for its medieval center, beautiful buildings, and well-preserved city walls. It’s also notable for its distinctive terrain—the town was built inside an ancient impact crater formed when a meteorite struck the earth 15 million years ago.
One of Germany’s largest and most prominent natural history museums, Frankfurt’s Senckenberg Natural History Museum (Naturmuseum Senckenberg) was founded in 1821. Renowned in particular for its wide-ranging paleontology exhibitions, the museum also specializes in birds, aquatic life, and other taxidermy displays.
One of Germany’s oldest towns, Günzburg on the Danube River traces its roots back to Roman times. Its history is best seen in its handsome old town, aka the altstadt. If you visit this pedestrian area today, you’ll stumble upon colorful medieval architecture, history-steeped streets linked to the Habsburgs, and a lively cluster of cafés and restaurants.
With a history dating back to the 12th century, Greifenstein Castle (Burg Greifenstein) is one of Germany’s oldest fortresses and is protected as a national landmark. Perched on a hilltop in the Dill Valley, the castle’s dark stone facade and twin towers can be seen for miles around, keeping watch over the forested slopes below.
Knoblauchhaus Museum is a museum in Berlin’s Nikolaiviertel district dedicated to the unique architecture, culture, and social life of the progressive Biedermeier era. Built in 1760, the 3-story baroque townhouse was home to the prominent Knoblauch family, and today its living quarters are true to the original house.
You don’t need to be a botanist to enjoy this little green oasis in Münster. Backing onto the city castle and historic University of Münster buildings, the themed gardens are spread around winding trails. They are dotted with greenhouses and nooks where visitors can escape to sunbathe, soak up the blooms, or read a book.
After the death of famous German sculptor Georg Kolbe, his home and studio in West Berlin were converted into a museum in 1950. Discover over 200 of the artist’s statues at the museum, plus a few crafted by Kolbe’s contemporaries. See beautiful examples of architectural modernism in the museum’s two buildings connected by a large garden with tall trees.
Düppel Historic Village is an open-air museum in Berlin that recreates life in the Middle Ages. Situated on the site of an 800-year-old village, you can explore reconstructed homes, workshops, and granaries while watching demonstrations of medieval crafts such as blacksmithing. It’s also home to rare and endangered species such as the rare Skudden sheep and the Düppel grazing pig.
One of Berlin's top World War II-centric museums and landmarks, the Ethnological Museum of Berlin exhibits more than 500,000 archaeological, art-historical, and ethnological artifacts spanning Asia, Africa, and Australia. Part of Berlin's State Museums, it beckons culture and art lovers interested in premodern relics.
A rococo palace turned art and culture museum, Ephraim-Palais is as much an attraction for its striking building as for its exhibitions. Learn about the history of the palace, built in 1762 by Veitel Heine Ephraim, King Friedrich II’s court jeweler, and see one of the palace’s most striking features by climbing its grand spiral staircase.
The Brucke Museum is home to the world’s largest collection of art by the Die Brucke group. Founded in Dresden by four university art students, the early 20th-century group is famous for kicking off the German expressionist movement. The museum features over 400 works by the founders and other artists who were close to the group.
