Tourist Attractions in Germany: Best Places to Visit

Germany is a land full of natural as well as man-made attractions. This country has a thriving tourism industry and sees a major influx of international tourists every year. In this blog, we will talk about the major tourist attractions in Germany.

Brandenburg Gate

Source : Traveldigg

Inspired by the Propylaea, the gateway to the Acropolis of Athens, the Brandenburg Gate is a neoclassical monument in Berlin, built by the Prussian ruler, Frederick William II, in the 18th century. The gate was rebuilt after being damaged during the Second World War. The newly built Brandenburg Gate is 66 feet tall with a total of 12 columns and 5 passageways.

Over the centuries, this marvellous structure has played several important roles from representing peace during the 18th century to being the party symbol for the infamous Nazi party, and being a part of the border that divided Berlin into East and West. No matter what role it played through the history of Germany though, Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate is undoubtedly the most important landmarks of Germany.

How to get here from Berlin :

Mode of transport	Transit lines
Train	S26,S25,S2,S1
Bus	100 245

• Location : Berlin, Germany
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Brandenburg Gate: 10-15 mins by bus
• Best time to visit : Throughout the year. However, it is best to visit the gate before 9:30 a.m. in the morning or in the evening during sunset.

Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom)

Source : World Event Listings

Located in the city of Cologne is the Cologne Cathedral, the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and the tallest twin-spired church in the world, one of the popular tourist attractions in Germany. Although the construction of Cologne Cathedral began in the year 1248, it was only completed in 1880. One of the unique features of the cathedral is its cruciform layout and its choir with the largest height to width ratio of 3.6:1. The design of the cathedral is similar to Amiens Cathedral in France, the interior of the cathedral covers a total area of 6,166 square meters with 56 huge pillars supporting the structure.

This masterpiece is the most visited tourist attractions in Germany, attracting nearly 20,000 people per day. It was also declared as a World Heritage Site in 1996, making it the most important monument of Catholicism and Gothic architecture in Germany.

How to get here from Berlin :

You can reach the Cathedral either by private or public transport. Since the Cathedral is located near to the railway station, you can easily reach there by train. ICE is the popular train service in Germany for inter-city travel.

• Location : Cologne, Germany
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Cologne Cathedral : 4 hrs 30 mins
• Best time to visit : Throughout the year

Neuschwanstein Castle

Source : The Crazy Tourist

Situated on the rugged Alps in a small village in Bavaria, Germany, is the Neuschwanstein Castle – the real-world fairy tale castle. The castle was built by King Ludwig II who was also known as the ‘Fairytale King’. While the exterior of the Neuschwanstein Castle looks medieval, the interior of the castle is equipped with the late 19th century facilities. While the castle has a 2-story Byzantine style throne room, the room does not have a throne due to the untimely death of the King Ludwig II before its completion.

The castle is uniquely designed and has truly enchanting surroundings, something that inspired Walt Disney to create the Magic Kingdom.

How to get here from Berlin :

You can reach Neuschwanstein Castle either by private or public transport. The most popular option of traveling from Berlin to the Neuschwanstein Castle is by intercity train, such as the Deutsche Bahn.

• Location : Schwangau, Germany
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Neuschwanstein Castle : 9 hours 2 mins
• Best time to visit : November to April

Berlin Wall

Source : Vegas Review-Journal

The Berlin Wall was a concentrated structure that separated East Berlin from West Berlin from 1961 to 1989. The sole purpose of the wall was to separate the de facto capital of East Germany from the rest of the country. More importantly, the wall separated Berlin not only physically but also ideologically.

As a part of the Iron Curtain, the Berlin Wall was a significant structure in the German Democratic Republic’s border system. However, the political liberalization of 1989 resulted in relaxed border restriction, which encouraged a large mob of East Germans to cross the border and unify with the crowd of West Germany on the other end. The wall was then destroyed by the exhilarated crowd in the following weeks. The fall of the Berlin wall was marked as the beginning of the German reunification.

Hence, visiting this iconic symbolic of cold war must be the one first place in every tourist’s itinerary.

How to get here from Berlin :

Mode of transport	Transit lines
Train	S26,S25,S2,S1
Bus	245, 147

• Location : Berlin Germany
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Berlin Wall : 3-15 mins
• Best time to visit : Throughout the year; however, May is the best time for tourists to visit Berlin.

Museum Island

Source : Amazing Places

Have you ever imagined visiting an island full of museums? Berlin’s Museumsinsel or Museum Island is a group of five museums situated on the north of the Spree Island in the centre of Berlin. The construction of the island was started in 1839 by the Prussian Kings, and it took nearly 100 years to complete. In 1999, the island was declared as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

The Altes Museum, the Neues Museum, the Alte Nationalgalerie, the Bode-Museum and the Pergamonmuseum are the five famous museum of the Museum Island. Recently, a new center called the James-Simon-Galerie was opened for tourist visits.

How to get here from Berlin :

Mode of transport	Transit lines
S Bahn	S1,S2,S25,S5, S7, S75
Bus	100
Subway	U6

• Location : Berlin, Germany
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Museum Island : 3-15 mins
• Best time to visit : Throughout the year; however, May is the best time for tourists to visit Berlin

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Holocaust Memorial)

Source : Amusing Planet

If you ever visit Germany, make sure you visit the Holocaust Memorial to honour the 3 million Jewish people who were the victims of the Holocaust. The Holocaust Memorial or Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was designed by Dagmar von Wilcken. It consists of Field of Stelae that has an area 19,000 m2 with 2,711 slabs that vary in height from 0.2 to 4.7 metres. An underground ‘Place of Information’ contains the names of over 3 million European Jews who were persecuted during the holocaust.

How to get here from Berlin :

Mode of transport	Transit lines
Bus	100, 245, 300
Train	RB14, RE1, RE2, RE7
Subway	U2, U6, U8
S-Bahn	S3, S7

• Location : Berlin, Germany
• Best time to visit : Anytime of the year except during Christmas eve/New Year week.
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe : 3-15 mins

Rhine Valley

Source : Wikipedia

The Upper Middle Rhine Valley popularly known as Rhine Gorge is a 65 km area that is spread across two German states of Rheinland Pfalz and Hessen. In 2002, the UNESCO added this bewitching valley to its list of World Heritage Sites. The Rhine Gorge’s most distinctive feature the 132m high steep slate rock called the Loreley is where the UNESCO World Heritage Site Loreley Amphitheatre is located. The Rhine river that flows in the valley is considered to be the most important freshwater resource in Germany and throughout Europe. This majestic river with a total length of 1,320 km runs from Switzerland to the Netherlands. The slopes of the gorge are also used for agriculture, especially viticulture.

How to get here from Berlin :

Mode of transport	Transit lines
Bus	N780, 235
Train	RB, RE8, Ice

• Location : Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse, Germany
• Best time to Visit : April to October
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Rhine Valley : 7 hours

Englischer Garten

Source : Wikipedia

Enjoy the beautiful landscape of the Englischer Garten or the English garden while sipping a cup of Japanese tea – that is what a truly fulfilling experience is like. The landscape of the garden is similar to the 18th century English garden in England which includes the lakes, beautiful lawns, trees, temples, bridges and more, that are necessary for recreating a pastoral landscape. The Englischer Garten in Munich is one of the largest public parks in both Europe as well as across the globe.

The main highlights of the park are its Japanese tea house gifted to Bavaria by Soshitsu Sen to celebrate the 1972 Olympics in Germany, the Monopteros the Apollo temple and the 25-metre-high Chinese Tower. Many surfers also enjoy surfing in the one-of-a-kind artificial streams flowing through the Englischer Garten, making it one of the most-visited tourist attractions in Germany.

How to get here from Berlin :

Mode of transport	Transit lines
Bus	58
Train	ICE- Intercity Express

• Location : Munich, Germany
• Best time to Visit : May, June
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Englischer Garten : 5 hrs 30 mins by road

Marienplatz

Source : D Asia Travels

Situated at the centre of the Altstadt is Munich’s Marienplatz, a popular market square in Munich. It is the perfect starting point for a tour in Munich as most tourist attractions in Munich are just at walking distance from the Marienplatz.

The history of the Marienplatz dates back to the 12th century when it was used as medieval markets and for conducting tournaments. It was then renamed from Schrannen to Marienplatz and has a plea to Saint Mary for protecting the town from cholera pandemic. The square continued to remain a market until it moved to Viktualienmarkt in the early 19th century. The 85 meters high Neues Rathaus or New Town Hall is the main attraction of the Marienplatz. Today, the square is still a place of action, especially for hiking around Munich.

How to get here from Berlin :

You will first need to get Munich; then travel to Munich’s Marienplatz either through S- Bahn or U- Bahn.

Mode of transport	Transit lines
S- Bahn	S1, S2, S3, S4, S6, S7 and S8
U- Bahn	U3 , U6

• Location : Munich, Germany
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Brandenburg Gate : 7 hrs 30 mins by bus.
• Best time to visit : March to May; however, the best time to visit the gate is early in the morning or late at night.

Black Forest

Source : Wanderlust Chloe

Often known as the hiker’s heaven, the 160 km long Black Forest is a forested mountain range situated in the southwestern area of Germany. This dark, luscious, dense forest is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Germany for nature lovers.

Prominent tourist spots in the region include Todtnau – the oldest ski area, the first-class spa facilities of Baden-Baden, the Black Forest Railway, Bad Liebenzell resort and the famous Black Forest Open Air Museum. All you have to do is get yourself a map and go on a driving tour of this picturesque forest and other historically significant tourist attractions in the area. And yes, these are the forests after which the black forest dessert was named.

How to get here from Berlin :

You will first need to get Munich; then travel to Munich’s Marienplatz either through S- Bahn or U- Bahn.

Mode of transport	Transit lines
Train	Ice
U- Bahn	U3 , U6

• Location : Baden-Württemberg, Germany
• Approximate time taken to travel from Berlin to Black Forest : 10 hrs 15 mins by train.
• Best time to visit : June to August

Conclusion

In this blog, we have spoken about the most popular tourist attractions in Germany; however, the list is not comprehensive as Germany has many more places that are worth visiting, some of which are listed below.

• BMW museum
• Mercedes –Benz museum
• Allianz Arena
• Bamberg and the Bürgerstadt
• Zugspitze Massif
• The Island of Rügen
• Königssee (King’s Lake)
• Miniatur Wunderland and the Historic Port of Hamburg
• Sanssouci Park and Palace, Potsdam

If you are a tourist, a professional on a temporary work visa or an international student studying in Germany, go on a back-packing tour to best enjoy the picturesque locations and bask in the beauty of this country!

Do you wish to know how to get around Germany? Read the article below to learn about various transportation options available in Germany.