Top 10 Must-Visit Destinations in Germany

Bavaria's capital since 1506 is famous worldwide for Oktoberfest, drawing over 6 million visitors each year for 16 days of beer halls, fairground rides, and traditional Lederhosen. Marienplatz is anchored by the Gothic Neues Rathaus with its beloved Glockenspiel carillon (1908), while the English Garden at 3.7 sq km is larger than New York's Central Park.

Home to Germany's oldest university (founded 1386), Heidelberg enchants 3.5 million visitors annually. The magnificent red sandstone castle ruins towering above the Neckar River date to the 13th century and remain one of the most romantic ruins in the German-speaking world.

Commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1869, this fairy-tale palace perched in the Alps inspired Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. Over 1.4 million visitors make the pilgrimage each year to see this most iconic symbol of Romantic-era Germany.

Germany's second-largest city is a proud port metropolis with a soul shaped by maritime trade. The Speicherstadt warehouse district earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2015, while Miniatur Wunderland holds the world record as the largest model railway exhibition.

Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, is one of the greatest Gothic structures ever built and held the record as the world's tallest structure from 1880 to 1884. Today more than 6 million visitors annually flock to this Rhine-side masterpiece.

The 65 km Upper Middle Rhine Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site studded with 40 medieval castles and the legendary 132 m Lorelei rock. This dramatic gorge has inspired poets and painters for centuries and remains one of Germany's most scenic river journeys.

Known as the Florence of the Elbe, Dresden dazzles with the ornate Zwinger Palace (1728), the Semperoper opera house rebuilt in 1985, and the triumphantly reconstructed Frauenkirche church completed in 2005 after its WWII destruction. The Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister holds over 750 masterworks including Raphael's Sistine Madonna, drawing 1.5 million art lovers annually.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is widely regarded as the best-preserved medieval walled town in Germany, its cobblestone lanes and half-timbered houses virtually unchanged for 600 years. The enchanting old town draws over 2.5 million visitors each year.

Stretching over 6,000 km² across Baden-Württemberg, the Black Forest is a land of dense spruce and fir trees, picture-postcard villages, and the famous cuckoo clock tradition. The highest peak, Feldberg, reaches 1,493 m and offers superb year-round hiking and skiing.

Bavaria's capital since 1506 is famous worldwide for Oktoberfest, drawing over 6 million visitors each year for 16 days of beer halls, fairground rides, and traditional Lederhosen. Marienplatz is anchored by the Gothic Neues Rathaus with its beloved Glockenspiel carillon (1908), while the English Garden at 3.7 sq km is larger than New York's Central Park.

Home to Germany's oldest university (founded 1386), Heidelberg enchants 3.5 million visitors annually. The magnificent red sandstone castle ruins towering above the Neckar River date to the 13th century and remain one of the most romantic ruins in the German-speaking world.

Commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1869, this fairy-tale palace perched in the Alps inspired Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. Over 1.4 million visitors make the pilgrimage each year to see this most iconic symbol of Romantic-era Germany.

Germany's second-largest city is a proud port metropolis with a soul shaped by maritime trade. The Speicherstadt warehouse district earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 2015, while Miniatur Wunderland holds the world record as the largest model railway exhibition.

Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, is one of the greatest Gothic structures ever built and held the record as the world's tallest structure from 1880 to 1884. Today more than 6 million visitors annually flock to this Rhine-side masterpiece.

The 65 km Upper Middle Rhine Valley is a UNESCO World Heritage Site studded with 40 medieval castles and the legendary 132 m Lorelei rock. This dramatic gorge has inspired poets and painters for centuries and remains one of Germany's most scenic river journeys.

Known as the Florence of the Elbe, Dresden dazzles with the ornate Zwinger Palace (1728), the Semperoper opera house rebuilt in 1985, and the triumphantly reconstructed Frauenkirche church completed in 2005 after its WWII destruction. The Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister holds over 750 masterworks including Raphael's Sistine Madonna, drawing 1.5 million art lovers annually.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is widely regarded as the best-preserved medieval walled town in Germany, its cobblestone lanes and half-timbered houses virtually unchanged for 600 years. The enchanting old town draws over 2.5 million visitors each year.

Stretching over 6,000 km² across Baden-Württemberg, the Black Forest is a land of dense spruce and fir trees, picture-postcard villages, and the famous cuckoo clock tradition. The highest peak, Feldberg, reaches 1,493 m and offers superb year-round hiking and skiing.