Germany Guide
Things not to miss
1 Fairytale villages on the Romantic Road
•Take Bavaria's most famous road trip to discover a magic kingdom that's just as cute as Disney, but where the ancient towers, steep roofs and overflowing window boxes are all real.
2 Schloss Neuschwanstein
•Mad King Ludwig's maddest creation combines Wagnerian inspiration with a superbly dramatic alpine site to create a romantic fantasy from the age of chivalry.
3 Stadtstrands
•Grab a cold beer and kick back at the summertime city beaches that spring up in dozens of cities – some of the best are in Hamburg.
4 Ostalgie
•Time-travel in a Trabant for a dose of Eastern Bloc nostalgia in Berlin.
5 Dining in a Ratskeller
•Defiantly old-fashioned, the restaurant in a town hall cellar is an essential venue for traditional German cooking, usually with a menu of local specialities; Bremen's is particularly fine.
6 The Ruhr's Industrial Heritage Trail
• From scuba diving in a redundant gasometer to discovering contemporary design in a former coal mine, the Ruhr's re-invented industrial heritage offers some of Europe's most original travel experiences.
7 German wine
• High local demand means that many German tipples barely leave the valleys where they are grown – justifying the rewarding quest to unearth them in situ, in charming little wine bars.
8 Hiking in the Allgäu, Bavaria
• Fabulous alpine scenery, clean mountain air and a challenge for even the most serious hikers in Bavaria's beautiful south.
9 Frankfurt's Museum Embankment
•With everything from old masters to old telephones to discover, there's a month's worth of rainy day fun on Frankfurt's cultural riverside.
10 Aachen's cathedral
• A magnificent architectural survivor from Charlemagne's time, Aachen's ancient cathedral is a taste of Byzantium in the heart of the city.
11 Jugendstil in Darmstadt
• All the glitter and dash of the German version of Art Nouveau, in a bohemian artists' colony in leafy, laid-back Darmstadt.
12 Getting afloat
• Dip a paddle on Hamburg's canals, lose a week among the Mecklenburg lakes or simply go by riverboat not train – getting afloat in Germany is slow travel at its best.
13 Skiing, Garmisch-Partenkirchen
• Soak up the views from Garmisch's high-altitude pistes, or test your mettle on the fearsome Kandahar World Cup Run.
14 Beer gardens
• Dappled shade and cool, refreshing beer make a Biergarten the perfect place to laze your way through a hot summer's afternoon.
15 North Sea islands
•To idle in Strandkörbe seats on an escapist rural idyll or skim across the sea on a kite-surf? Another tough decision to be made in western Germany's beach playground.
16 Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich
• This iconic white building is a temple to modernism, from the classics of modern art to masterpieces of furniture and automotive design.
17 Cologne
• Two thousand years of art and history meet a thoroughly contemporary outlook on life in this liberal, cosmopolitan Rhineland metropolis.
18 The Rathaus, Bamberg
• Trompe l'oeil trickery meets a tricky, mid-river site in the impossibly picturesque town hall that launched a thousand flashbulbs.
19 Rügen's cliffs
• The white cliffs in the Jasmund National Park have long lured holidaymakers, yet Germany's largest island remains a gentle pastoral place where it's easy to escape the crowds.
20 Clubbing
• From the Love Parade to the big clubs electronic dance music rules in Germany, but there's plenty of room for quirkier sounds too.
21 Long-distance cycling
• Almost every major German river – including the Mosel, pictured – has a flat long-distance cyclepath alongside, offering a relaxing way to see the landscape and get off the beaten track.
22 Visiting a spa
• Soak, sweat, rejuvenate – discover one of Germany's popular passions in one of its many saunas and spas.
23 Cabaret, Berlin
• After years in the doldrums, the Berlin cabaret scene is begining to flourish once again.
24 The Zwinger, Dresden
• The most extravagant alfresco ballroom Germany ever built not only houses some blockbuster museums, it is also the finest monument of Saxony's reborn Baroque capital.
25 Bavarian Baroque
• From heavenly church interiors to the worldly comforts of its eighteenth-century palaces, Bavaria's Baroque mixes élan with excess to fabulous effect.
26 Oktoberfest, Munich
• Munich's famous folk festival is the world's biggest excuse for a beer – and the beer comes in big measures, too.
27 The Romantic Rhine
• Potter between Rhine-side castles and vineyards in the Germany of tourist brochures.