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The 10 best things to do in Germany

From Bamberg's wood-fired smoked beer in half-timbered taverns to Neuschwanstein's fairy-tale towers that inspired Disney's own castle

Maheshkumar Painam / Unsplash

In Germany, grand castles sit not far from gritty industrial architecture, and people let loose in half-timbered taverns and edgy techno nightclubs alike. Outdoor pursuits abound throughout the country, alongside world-class museums and genuinely fabulous dining across nearly every region from north to south.

Travelers $TRV 1.41% will love exploring culture-rich cities such as Berlin or Hamburg, savoring epic mountains and national parks, setting out on a road trip across the country’s varied landscapes, or taking a closer look at modern history and reminders of a divided past that still shape German identity today in genuinely visible ways.

The 10 things below appear in Lonely Planet, covering the best things to do in Germany. They range from repurposed industrial landscapes to alpine summits to sobering historical sites, giving travelers genuine range across nearly every facet of the country’s considerable complexity. Germany’s efficient rail network connects most of these destinations reasonably well, though travelers covering multiple regions within a single trip should still budget realistic time for the considerable distances involved between north and south. History runs through nearly every stop on this list in some form, whether that means the country’s medieval past, its considerable industrial heritage, or the more recent and considerably darker chapters of the twentieth century that Germany continues to confront openly instead of avoiding entirely. This willingness to memorialize difficult history alongside celebrating genuine cultural achievement gives a visit to Germany considerably more emotional range than a purely scenic itinerary might otherwise suggest. Regional differences also matter considerably, since Bavaria’s alpine character, the Rhineland’s considerable river culture and the North Sea coast each genuinely deliver a distinct experience within a single country’s relatively compact overall borders and genuinely well-connected national rail geography stretching all the way from north to south throughout the entire country today.

1. Tempelhofer Feld turns Berlin’s runway into a park

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Complete with runway markings, grounded planes and old hangars, Tempelhofer Feld in the south of Berlin ranks as a genuinely much-loved spot throughout the city. The airport ceased operations in 2008 and was converted into a park two years later, giving Berliners a considerable stretch of open space rarely found within a major European capital.

Today, roller skaters and cyclists accelerate down the former tarmac, while the grass once blasted by jet engines now hosts picnics and community gardens, or serves as a place to hang out. Information boards scattered throughout the park relate the site’s history, including its vital role during the Berlin Airlift of 1948 and 1949, when Allied forces used the airport to supply the city during a Soviet blockade.

Summer visitors should consider bringing a barbecue to the park, since Tempelhofer Feld ranks among the best spots in Berlin for exactly this purpose, provided guests stick to the designated grilling areas instead of setting up anywhere they please.

This transformation from an active military and civilian airport into genuine public parkland gives Tempelhofer Feld considerable symbolic weight within Berlin’s broader story of reinvention following reunification and the urban redevelopment that followed. The airport itself dates back to the 1920s, and its considerable Nazi-era terminal building, once among the largest buildings in the world by floor area, still stands today, now used for events, film productions and occasional exhibitions. Berliners fought a genuine referendum battle in 2014 specifically to keep developers from building housing on the site, and the resulting vote preserved Tempelhofer Feld as public parkland instead of allowing the considerable real estate pressure facing Berlin to consume the space entirely. Travelers $TRV 1.41% should rent a bicycle specifically to cover the park’s considerable size, since the former airfield spans nearly 400 hectares, making it one of the largest urban open spaces in Europe. Guided tours of the old terminal building require advance booking, since access to the historic Nazi-era structure remains restricted outside these scheduled visits.

2. The Ruhrgebiet repurposes its industrial past

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The Ruhrgebiet in western Germany once functioned as a global hub for coal mining and metal production. Since these industries declined throughout the region, the area has undergone a considerable makeover, with repurposed industrial infrastructure now sitting at the forefront of its renewed identity.

Highlights include the Zeche Zollverein, a former coal-mining complex now home to museums, cultural spaces and an outdoor swimming pool built directly into the old industrial grounds. Landschaftspark Duisburg-Nord offers another genuine highlight, a decommissioned ironworks featuring a diving center inside the former gasometer and climbing walls built into the old ore-storage bunkers.

Travelers $TRV 1.41% hoping to see the full scope of this transformation should consult the Route der Industriekultur, or Industrial Heritage Trail, which lists the complete range of locations worth visiting throughout the broader region. This considerable trail network gives visitors genuine structure for exploring a region that could otherwise feel overwhelming given the sheer scale of its industrial legacy.

This particular pairing of preserved industrial architecture and genuinely creative adaptive reuse gives the Ruhrgebiet real appeal for travelers interested in seeing how a region reinvents itself after its original economic foundation disappears. The Zeche Zollverein complex earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2001, recognizing the site’s considerable architectural and historical significance as one of the finest surviving examples of European industrial heritage from the coal and steel era. The region’s population once exceeded five million people at the height of the coal and steel........

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