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    The Rough Guide to Germany: Travel Guide eBook
    The Rough Guide to Germany: Travel Guide eBook
    The Rough Guide to Germany: Travel Guide eBook
    Ebook2,018 pages25 hours

    The Rough Guide to Germany: Travel Guide eBook

    By Rough Guides

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    About this ebook

    This Germany guidebook is perfect for independent travellers planning a longer trip. It features all of the must-see sights and a wide range of off-the-beaten-track places. It also provides detailed practical information on preparing for a trip and what to do on the ground. 

    This Germany guidebook covers: Berlin and Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and the Harz, Thuringia, Northern Bavaria: Francoia, Munich and central Bavaria,Munich and central Bavaria, The Alps and eastern Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, The Black Forest, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, Hesse, North-Rhine Westphalia, Lower Saxony and Bremen, Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania.

    Inside this Germany travel book, you’ll find:

    • A wide range of sights – Rough Guides experts have hand-picked places for travellers with different needs and desires: off-the-beaten-track adventures, family activities or chilled-out breaks
    • Itinerary examples – created for different time frames or types of trip
    • Practical information – how to get to Germany, all about public transport, food and drink, shopping, travelling with children, sports and outdoor activities, tips for travellers with disabilities and more
    • Author picks and things not to miss in Germany –  carnival in Cologne, Schloss Neuschwanstein, Lenbachhaus in Munich, the Berlin Wall, Jugendstil in Darmstadt, Baden-baden Spas, Long-distance Cycling, Wilhelmshöhe in Hesse, Christmas markets, beer gardens, the Romantic Rhine, Oktoberfest in Munich, Ostalgie in Berlin, the Zwinger in Dresden, the Romantic Road
    • Insider recommendations – tips on how to beat the crowds, save time and money, and find the best local spots
    • When to go to Germany – high season, low season, climate information and festivals 
    • Where to go – a clear introduction to Germany with key places and a handy overview 
    • Extensive coverage of regions, places and experiences – regional highlights, sights and places for different types of travellers, with experiences matching different needs
    • Places to eat, drink and stay – hand-picked restaurants, cafes, bars and hotels
    • Practical info at each site – hours of operation, websites, transit tips, charges
    • Colour-coded mapping – with keys and legends listing sites categorised as highlights, eating, accommodation, shopping, drinking and nightlife
    • Background information for connoisseurs – history, culture, art, architecture, film, books, religion, diversity
    • Essential German dictionary and glossary of local terms 
    • Fully updated post-COVID-19

    The guide provides a comprehensive and rich selection of places to see and things to do in Germany, as well as great planning tools. It’s the perfect companion, both ahead of your trip and on the ground.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherInsight Guides
    Release dateNov 1, 2024
    ISBN9781835291306
    The Rough Guide to Germany: Travel Guide eBook
    Author

    Rough Guides

    Rough Guides are written by expert authors who are passionate about both writing and travel. They have detailed knowledge of the areas they write about--having either traveled extensively or lived there--and their expertise shines through on every page. It's priceless information, delivered with wit and insight, providing the down-to-earth, honest read that is the hallmark of Rough Guides.

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      Book preview

      The Rough Guide to Germany - Rough Guides

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      Contents

      INTRODUCTION

      Where to go

      When to go

      Author picks

      Things not to miss

      Itineraries

      Sustainable travel

      BASICS

      Getting there

      Getting around

      Accommodation

      Food and drink

      The media

      Festivals

      Sports and outdoor activities

      Travel essentials

      THE GUIDE

      1Berlin and Brandenburg

      2Saxony

      3Saxony-Anhalt and the Harz

      4Thuringia

      5Northern Bavaria: Franconia

      6Munich and central Bavaria

      7The Alps and eastern Bavaria

      8Baden-Württemberg

      9The Black Forest

      10 Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland

      11 Hesse

      12 North Rhine-Westphalia

      13 Lower Saxony and Bremen

      14 Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein

      15 Mecklenburg-West Pomerania

      CONTEXTS

      History

      Books

      Film

      Popular music

      German

      Glossary

      SMALL PRINT

      Introduction to

      Germany

      Germany remains something of a sleeping giant in travel terms, for though it attracts roughly the same number of foreign visitors each year as the United Kingdom – around 35 million – it rarely makes headline news in the travel media, and when it does those headlines are most often about Berlin. The German capital certainly deserves the attention; it’s as exciting a city as any in Europe. Yet the paeans of praise can sometimes crowd out the rest of Germany, reduced to a picturesque backdrop for Christmas markets or the Oktoberfest. In 2017, the German National Tourist Board rode to the rescue with a Top 100 of the best bits of Germany, and what’s most striking about the list is its sheer diversity. To be sure, Berlin, beer and Christmas all feature, but so too do the sub-tropical islands of the Bodensee, the other-worldly crags of Saxon Switzerland and the Müritzsee in the Mecklenburg Lakes – this last a peaceful landscape of lakes and forests almost unknown to non-Germans. Alongside the highbrow attractions of Germany’s cities – architectural jewels such as Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and Würzburg’s Residenz – the list also includes some of the most raucous, fun-packed theme parks in Europe. There is, in short, much here for the visitor to enjoy. And much of it remains – to non-Germans at least – undiscovered.

      If Germany is misunderstood by outsiders, recent history is to blame. It is not even four decades since the Berlin Wall was chipped away to end a turbulent and agonizing century for the country, ill-served at crucial points in its brief history as a united nation-state by rulers who twice led it into disaster: in 1918, as Kaiser Wilhelm II’s vainglorious dream of empire ended in defeat, starvation and revolution; and at the end of World War II, as Hitler’s vile race-war rebounded in terrible fashion on the German people who had chosen him as their leader. There followed a period of 45 years in which not one Germany but two faced each other across a tense international divide – the so-called Iron Curtain – throughout the years of the Cold War.

      Political fragmentation is nothing new in Germany. From the tenth century until the early nineteenth, the Holy Roman Empire provided only a loose semblance of sovereignty over a vast collection of states, and it’s this jumbled history, as much as the country’s varied geography, that explains Germany’s sheer diversity. For centuries many of Germany’s cities governed themselves without feudal overlords, while elsewhere the feudal states ranged from substantial kingdoms like Prussia, Saxony or Bavaria to tiny landgraviates and prince-bishoprics. Yet each made its contribution to Germany’s heritage, in the architectural and cultural splendour of many a former Residenzstadt. The Lutheran Reformation and its aftermath left their mark too: northern Germany is predominantly Protestant, the south more Catholic.

      Germany’s contribution to the world of classical music is undeniable, and provides a powerful pretext for a visit for many, whether to experience the glories of the Berlin Philharmonic or of Wagner’s Ring at Bayreuth, or to follow in the footsteps of great composers: Bach in Leipzig, Beethoven in Bonn. Germany’s reputation as the cradle of modernism is also well deserved, and a pilgrimage to the Bauhaus in Dessau or the Weissenhofsiedlung in Stuttgart is sure to please design fans. German modernism was preceded by the older traditions of the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, each of which left a rich legacy of artistic and architectural treasures. Germany’s fine art is less well known, yet from the pioneering realism of Albrecht Dürer to the ethereal Romanticism of Caspar David Friedrich, it’s well worth discovering. Most German cities of any size have excellent galleries, with Berlin and Cologne hubs of the European contemporary art scene.

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      WATER CASTLE, HAMBURG

      Fact file

      Germany occupies 357,112 square kilometres of territory in Central Europe. It has land borders with nine countries and a coastline of 2389km on the North and Baltic seas.

      Politically, Germany is a parliamentary democracy, with an upper house – the Bundesrat – and a lower chamber, the Bundestag, both in Berlin. The administrative structure is federal, with the sixteen Länder (states) having a high degree of autonomy.

      Germany is the largest economy in the European Union and the continent’s largest exporter, while Forbes listed the country as the third-largest economy in the world in 2024 (after the USA and China). As the economic heart of the eurozone it is also home to the headquarters of the European Central Bank.

      With a population of almost 84 million, Germany is the most populous nation in the European Union, and it is also among its most densely populated and highly urbanized. The four largest cities are Berlin (3.7 million inhabitants), Hamburg (1.86 million), Munich (1.47 million) and Cologne (1.1 million).

      Germans DO have a sense of humour and DO love to sunbathe naked. But DON’T feel you can’t mention the war – nowadays Germans are avid consumers of their own history, and the Nazi era is picked over exhaustively in TV documentaries, in books, and at the cinema.

      Not that the pleasures of Germany are all intellectual. The excellence of its famous beer derives from the sixteenth-century Reinheitsgebot, the world’s oldest food purity law. Germany’s food culture is traditionally characterized by wholesome but hearty dishes, yet the impact of immigration, travel and culinary ambition has been powerful, and modern German cuisine is lighter and more international in flavour. Though the dangers of overindulgence are ever present, so too is the antidote. The tradition of the Kur or spa visit has endured to a far greater extent in Germany than elsewhere, and there are innumerable spa towns up and down the country. And of course, there is an outdoors that is truly great: a location at the heart of Europe means the country is full of scenery that seems cherry-picked from the best bits of its neighbours. Between the white powder beaches of the Baltic and Bavaria’s Alps you’ll discover everything from endless forests and lush meadows to gorgeous swooping river valleys like the Rhine, the Mosel and the Elbe. Small wonder the Germans make full use of their scenery, whether for hiking and cycling, excellent ski runs in winter or a whole raft of watersports.

      Indeed the Germans themselves are one of the unsung pleasures of a visit. The officious neighbour who complains if you don’t hang your socks out to dry in coloured order may not be entirely fictional, but you’re more likely to be struck by the warmth and open-mindedness of Germany’s people – particularly its young people. Germany today is a world away from the uptight humourless nation of popular imagination – just one more example of where the reality is far more interesting than the clichés.

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      STADT WEHLEN TOWN, SAXONY

      The Great Outdoors

      Goethe eulogized it. Caspar David Friedrich painted it. Even politicians saluted it when they established the world’s first Green Party in 1979. A love of the great outdoors is hardwired into the national psyche, and with more than ninety nature reserves, fifteen national parks and sixteen biosphere reserves to choose from, there’s no shortage of unspoilt landscapes in which to hike, cycle, ski, climb, canoe, swim or simply stroll.

      Top 5 national Parks

      Jasmund nationalpark-jasmund.de. Situated on the Baltic Sea island of Rügen, Jasmund is blessed with the country’s sunniest climate and celebrated for the white chalk cliffs of the Königstein.

      Berchtesgaden nationalpark-berchtesgaden.bayern.de. Legend claims the mountains of the Berchtesgadener Land – the nation’s only Alpine park – appeared when angels dropped the best bits of the world. It’s certainly heavenly, an area offering stupendous hiking among soaring peaks, impossibly emerald lakes and pristine forests.

      Saxon Switzerland nationalpark-saechsische-schweiz.de. The distinctive sandstone plateaux of the Elbsandsteingebirge (Elbe Sandstone Mountains), near Dresden, are loved by rock-climbers as well as hikers.

      Bavarian Forest nationalpark-bayerischer-wald.de. A low range of mountains and pine forests that extends over the Czech border and harbours deer, otters and pygmy owls – as well as many good mountain-bike and hiking trails.

      Harz nationalpark-harz.de. Sleepy and brooding, with steam trains and half-timbered villages huddling amid spectres and witchcraft, this is Germany’s most fabled national park.

      Where to go

      For many visitors, one of Germany’s cities will be their first taste of the country. Berlin is genuinely exciting – a creative metropolis on fast-forward, growing into its rediscovered role as the nation’s capital while preserving evidence of its not always happy role in European history. The second metropolis, Hamburg, is almost as dynamic and visibly more prosperous, shaped by its twin roles as Germany’s great port and its rich media city. Many other cities have proud histories as independent city-states or as capitals in their own right. There’s nothing remotely provincial about ancient, liberal Cologne, Dresden’s restored Baroque splendour or the proud Bavarian metropolis of Munich. The financial capital, Frankfurt, impresses with its dynamism and international spirit, while Bonn, the former West German capital, charms with its scenic setting and excellent museums. Elsewhere, chic Düsseldorf and laidback Stuttgart embody aspects of the German economic miracle, and while the eastern city of Leipzig fizzes with fresh energy, Nuremberg evokes the triumphs and tragedies of Germany’s past.

      Cultural attractions of capital-city quality are not limited to the bigger cities, and many of the most rewarding places are quite small: the cathedral cities of Bamberg and Regensburg; the Hanseatic ports of Lübeck, Stralsund and Wismar; the Prussian Versailles of Potsdam; and micro-capitals like Weimar, Schwerin and Eichstätt. Germany has university towns as evocative as any: Heidelberg is the most famous, but Freiburg, Marburg and Tübingen are just as charming. As for the spa towns, at their best – in Baden-Baden, Bad Homburg or Wiesbaden – they combine health benefits with turn-of-the-century elegance and lovely natural settings. For a potted digest of Germany’s cultural riches the Romantic Road is deservedly popular, a road journey linking Rococo churches with medieval cities and eccentric royal castles. Other themed roads are devoted to fairy tales, half-timbering or wine. Often, the most magical places – a fortress on a crag, a placid village rising above vineyards, an ancient market square of improbable quaintness – await discovery on such routes. And surrounding all is Germany’s undeniable natural beauty – as good a reason to visit as any city. The Bavarian Alps, the Black Forest and the valleys of the Rhine and Mosel have long been celebrated, but the talcum-powder softness of Rügen’s beaches, the chic village resorts of Sylt and the bucolic backwater of Mecklenburg’s lakes have yet to make it onto the international tourism agenda. The world’s loss is, for the time being, the independent traveller’s gain.

      < Back to Intro

      When to go

      Much of the country receives its maximum rainfall in midsummer, so although the weather in June, July and August can be very warm, it can also be unpredictable. For more settled weather with sunshine and comfortable temperatures, late spring and early autumn – May, September and early October – are well worth considering: the Germans don’t call the harvest season goldener Oktober for nothing. The ski season in the Alps runs between Christmas and the end of March. Germany’s climate straddles the maritime climates of the western European seaboard and the more extreme conditions found further east. The prevailing wind is from the west, so that the mild climate of the Rhineland and North Sea coast quite closely resembles that of the UK or Ireland. Winters are more severe further east, while heading south the effects of steadily increasing altitude ensure Munich’s summers are no warmer than those of Berlin. The balmiest climate in Germany is found in the wine-growing southwest, where it’s not unusual to see lavender, Mediterranean pine, almond and even lemon trees.

      A wine-making renaissance

      Germany’s wine growers did themselves no favours when, in the 1970s, they responded to growing demand from abroad by exporting the cheapest and worst of what they produced. German wine was saddled for decades with a reputation for poor quality.

      All that is now changing. A new generation of wine makers is eschewing high technology, chemicals and the mass market in favour of organic production that reflects the terroir, or soil and climate conditions of the region. It helps that Riesling – Germany’s most popular grape – strongly reflects the conditions in which it has been grown. The result is a resurgence of light, drinkable, dry white wines that range from elegant crispness to the subtly mineral. German wines are increasingly common on wine lists in North America and in parts of Asia, where they match the cuisines well.

      Germany’s major wine regions are mostly in an arc that follows the course of the Rhine from the Mosel in the west to Baden in the south. To the east, wine is grown in more challenging climatic conditions in Franconia, Saale-Unstrut and along the Elbe near Dresden.

      Shutterstock

      DRESDEN ZWINGER

      < Back to Intro

      Author picks

      Germany has its poster places: the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin or Bavaria’s gloriously over-the-top Schloss Neuschwanstein. But the cherished memories of a country are usually more personal discoveries. Rough Guides’ authors made many of their own as they sallied down every backroad to research this book. Here are their favourites:

      Bathtime With wonderful nooks, fin-de-siècle tiles and cutting-edge sauna facilities, the baths at Bad Wilbad really are something special.

      Military marvels The subject could be deathly (no pun intended), yet Dresden’s audacious Militarisches Museum is superb, its thematic exhibitions as unexpected as its striking modern building.

      Backroads by the beach Wild powder-sand beaches, birdlife, and art in modern galleries and old barns – what’s not to like about the Darss-Zingst peninsula.

      Ulm’s Münster You don’t normally associate churches with exercise and adrenaline, but you’ll get both climbing the world’s tallest spire, with its views to the Alps.

      Biking the Rosskopf Mountain-bike trails for every level of ability fan out from Freiburg, but the climb up the Rosskopf is the most satisfying.

      Herrenchiemsee Mad King Ludwig’s uncompleted homage to Versailles, set on an island in the Bavarian Sea, recalls the loneliness and flamboyance of Bavaria’s most memorable monarch.

      Wines in Würzburg Franconian wine, with its traditional rounded glass bottle and distinctive grape varieties, is a great delicacy unknown outside Germany.

      The great escape Unleash your inner Huckleberry Finn on canoe-and-camp trips through the maze-like Mecklenburg lakes. Expect birds and butterflies, woods and meadows, a campsite every few kilometres and a fire at night. Magic.

      Our author recommendations don’t end here. We’ve flagged up our favourite places – a perfectly sited hotel, an atmospheric café, a special restaurant – throughout the Guide, highlighted with the symbol.

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      MILITARISCHES MUSEUM

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      THE DARSS-ZINGST PENINSULA

      < Back to Intro

      30

      things not to miss

      It’s not possible to see everything that Germany has to offer in one trip – and we don’t suggest you try. What follows, in no particular order, is a selective taste of the country’s highlights: iconic landscapes, captivating architecture, and legendary drinking and dancing. All highlights are colour-coded by chapter and have a page reference to take you straight into the Guide, where you can find out more.

      Shutterstock

      1 Karneval IN COLOGNE

      Banish the winter blues, Rhineland style, with costumes and ritual silliness – but be sure not to wear a tie.

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      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.

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      3 Leipzig

      A vast cotton mill reborn as a creative hub, Leipzig’s Spinnerei is the vibrant modern face of this most dynamic of east German cities.

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      4 LONG-DISTANCE CYCLING

      Almost every major German river – including the Mosel, pictured – has a long-distance cycle path alongside.

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      5 The Berlin wall

      Peer over the last remnant of one of Europe’s most famous frontiers at the Berlin Wall Memorial.

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      6 JUGENDSTIL IN DARMSTADT

      The German version of Art Nouveau, set in a bohemian artists’ colony.

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      7 baden-baden SPAs

      Saunas and spas abound in Germany but none are more stylish and historic than those at Baden-Baden.

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      8 LENBACHHAUS, MUNICH

      The masterpieces of Munich’s Blaue Reiter embody all the colour-saturated excitement of the time when European art turned towards abstraction.

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      9 Wilhelmshöhe, hesse

      Spectacular, World Heritage-listed water features and one of Germany’s leading Old Master collections.

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      10 CHRISTMAS MARKETS

      Christmas cheer the way it’s been for centuries.

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      11 BEER GARDENS

      The perfect place to drink your way through a hot summer’s day.

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      12 THE ROMANTIC RHINE

      Rhine-side castles and vineyards in the Germany of tourist brochures.

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      13 OKTOBERFEST, MUNICH

      The world’s biggest excuse for a beer.

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      14 OSTALGIE, berlin

      Explore the mixed legacy of the old GDR at the DDR Museum (pictured), from a sinister Stasi listening station to the Eastern Bloc nostalgia fondly known as Ostalgie.

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      15 THE ZWINGER, DRESDEN

      The most extravagant alfresco ballroom Germany ever built.

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      16 ROMANTIC ROAD FAIRY-TALE VILLAGES

      A Disney-like Bavarian road-trip where the steep roofs and ancient towers are real.

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      17 mercedes museum, stuttgart

      A superb motor museum by the inventors of the car – testament to the region’s engineering prowess.

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      18 COLOGNE

      A liberal, cosmopolitan metropolis with two thousand years of art and history.

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      19 Hamburg

      Great art, superb dining, brilliant bars – whatever your definition of culture, this booming port-metropolis can oblige.

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      20 WURST

      Germany’s most iconic sausage, from pale, lemony Weisswurst to Currywurst with ketchup and curry powder.

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      21 Berlin’s nightlife

      From cutting-edge techno clubs to grungy dens and retro lounge bars, Berlin’s nightlife is among the best in Europe.

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      22 THE RUHR’S INDUSTRIAL HERITAGE TRAIL

      The Ruhr’s reinvented industrial heritage offers some of Europe’s most original travel experiences.

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      23 wieskirche, bavaria

      Nowhere better pairs the élan and excess of Bavaria’s heavenly church interiors than the Wieskirche.

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      24 RÜGEN

      Edged by white cliffs, Germany’s largest island remains a gentle place where it’s easy to escape the crowds.

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      25 german WINE

      High local demand means many tipples don’t leave regions where they are grown – just another good reason to tour the country’s wine routes.

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      26 SKIING, GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN

      Soak up the views from high-altitude pistes, or brave the fearsome Kandahar World Cup Run.

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      27 Lübeck

      Culture, cuisine and historic good looks along every backstreet – welcome to one of Germany’s loveliest cities.

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      28 CHRISTOPHER STREET DAY

      The massive LGBTQ+ communities of Berlin, Munich, Cologne and Hamburg know how to throw a party.

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      29 NORTH Frisian ISLANDS

      Idle in escapist Strandkörbe seats or skim across the sea on a kite-surf.

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      30 Saxon switzerland

      The fantastical sandstone pinnacles in this national park appeal to hikers, climbers or just afternoon strollers.

      < Back to Intro

      Itineraries

      With its highlights dotted rather than clustered, Germany rewards touring, be it a classic vineyard-and-castle-studded route down the country’s western flank; a picture-postcard circuit of Bavaria’s cathedral towns; or even a northern coastal tour.

      COAST AND CULTURE

      Berlin and Hamburg bookend a circuit that includes beach resorts and pretty medieval ports. Set aside ten days to do it justice.

      Berlin Start your trip in one of Europe’s most exciting cities, to enjoy its superlative culture and clubbing.

      Stralsund Stralsund’s Altstadt is stuffed with architecture from its peak as a medieval trading port.

      Rügen Travel on the Rasender Roland steam train or laze on Baltic beaches. To really drop off the radar, head to Hiddensee.

      Bad Doberan Just a small spa town, yet its twelfth-century minster is a pinnacle of brick Gothic in the Baltic.

      Schwerin A fairy-tale castle straight from Cinderella is the highlight of the state capital, along with gentle lake walks.

      Lübeck The queen of the medieval Hanseatic League a Venice of the Baltics.

      Hamburg Great galleries, gourmet eating and grungy nightlife.

      THE MOSEL, RHINE AND BLACK FOREST

      This classic itinerary wheels around western Germany includes some of its most famous rivers, castles and wine-growing regions as well as the Black Forest. Allow ten days.

      Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate Tour well-preserved Roman remains in one of Germany’s oldest cities.

      The Mosel, Rhineland-Palatinate Follow the Mosel River, with stops at the idyllic wine towns of Bernkastel-Kues and the hidden Burg Eltz.

      The Romantic Rhine, Rhineland-Palatinate At its confluence with the Mosel, head along the Rhine’s grand waterways, pausing at Marksburg castle.

      Mainz and Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate Discover two venerable imperial Rhine cities with their impressive churches and worthwhile museums.

      Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg Nip over the state line to an attractive old town that wowed Mark Twain.

      Create your own itinerary with Rough Guides. Whether you’re after adventure or a family-friendly holiday, we have a trip for you, with all the activities you enjoy doing and the sights you want to see. All our trips are devised by local experts who get the most out of the destination. Visit www.roughguides.com/trips to chat with one of our travel agents.

      Baden-Baden, Baden-Württemberg Take a break to relax at the famous baths.

      Schwarzwaldhochstrasse, Baden-Württemberg Drive from Baden-Baden via Freudenstadt and the Kinzig Valley to cuckoo-clock country around Triberg.

      Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg Return to the Rhine Valley to visit this medieval city with its wanderable old town.

      BAVARIA

      Bavaria has it all, from high culture to viticulture and beer to breathtaking scenery. Allow two weeks at a leisured pace.

      Munich A rich and vibrant metropolis with a seductive lifestyle.

      Berchtesgadener Land Dazzling in its scenery and chilling in its reminders of the Third Reich’s elite.

      The Deutsche Alpenstrasse Head west from Berchtesgaden along the northern flank of the Alps through mountain resorts like Reit im Winkl, Bayrischzell and Walchensee.

      The Romantic Road Dawdle past Baroque churches, pastoral landscapes and lost-in-time walled towns.

      Bamberg A charming historic core and distinctive smoked beer make this compact city a tempting spot to linger.

      Bayreuth This pint-sized cultural hotspot is where composer Richard Wagner called home.

      Nuremberg The triumphs and tragedies of German history, from the monuments of the city’s imperial zenith to the still-recognizable reminders of the Nazi era.

      Altmühltal Hike, cycle or paddle through the Jurassic landscapes of one of Germany’s biggest nature reserves.

      Regensburg Journey’s end is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Central Europe.

      < Back to Intro

      Sustainable travel

      There are plenty of ways to leave a positive impact with your trip to Germany, from choosing flight-free travel to staying on working farms.

      With its 16 national parks and around a third of the country covered in forest, Germany is an outdoor-lover’s dream. The scenery ranges from coastal cliffs and sweeping beaches along the Baltic to the rolling, forested hills of the Black Forest or Harz – and in Bavaria there are classic cowbells-and-chalets alpine landscapes to savour.

      However, development has been encroaching on these natural landscapes for decades, and Germany – which more or less invented the modern environmental movement in the 1970s, and is famous for its enthusiasm for recycling – is feeling the impact of the climate crisis as much as anywhere else.

      On your visit you can play a part in shifting the country’s tourism towards sustainability – and in the process, get a deeper more memorable travel experience.

      BIKING

      Germany is a cyclist’s dream. Nearly a third of all households in large cities use a bike as the sole means of transport; in Berlin there are 710 cycles per 1000 inhabitants. It’s easy to hire bikes in towns and cities, with hire firms often located near the station – Deutsche Bahn’s Call-a-Bike app allows you to reserve and then unlock a bike from the bike racks outside major stations. Once you’re in the saddle, dedicated cycle paths aid your journeys across towns. In fact, the cycle path network is one of the most extensive in the world – in Berlin it stretches to 620km. It’s also easy to hire bikes in popular tourist areas in the countryside – and if you want a lift back to where you started bikes can usually be taken on trains, or there will be a dedicated bus service for the transport of cyclists and their bikes. There are around 250 long-distance cycling routes crisscrossing the country, all supported by extensive maps and information online and bike-friendly accommodation options; many of these have been listed in the Guide.

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      DEUTSCHE BAHN NEAR AMSTETTEN

      FLIGHT-FREE TRAVEL

      Notwithstanding recent challenges, Germany has a famously excellent railway network, with everything from high-speed ICE trains running along purpose-built track to rural services that clatter along single-track lines through often engaging scenery. Combine this with well-priced buses and (in the North) ferries to far-flung islands and you have all the ingredients for a slow travel adventure once you arrive in the country. This means there’s little real reason to use the country’s internal air services – and if you’re travelling to or from the UK or other European countries, resist the temptation to be immediately seduced by the cheap prices offered by low-cost airlines: if you book far enough in advance, international train fares can be competitive – and there’s never any need to factor in the price of getting to an airport or putting bags in the hold.

      SUSTAINABLE ACCOMMODATION

      If you’re looking for environmentally friendly accommodation where you will leave behind a small carbon footprint, visit biohotels.info, where all hotels listed are certified for sustainability by independent inspection bodies. They look, in particular, for building material that cools or warms naturally, organically sourced cosmetics in bathrooms, and measures that explicitly conserve resources and recycle positively. In addition, they champion hotels that offset any carbon emissions by supporting climate protection groups.

      BACK TO NATURE: FARMSTAYS

      If getting back to nature is your thing you can opt to become a willing worker on an organic farm – see wwoof.de/en for details of how Worldwide Workers on Organic Farms, founded in 1971, offers opportunities for individuals to work on organic farms, with hosts offering accommodation and meals while guests, in return, work on the farm for half of each day of their stay. In a similar vein, families can stay on working farms (not necessarily organic) where guests (particularly children) can get to observe up close and even take part in activities such as milking – see landreise.de for more details.

      GETTING OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

      One way of ensuring that your visit to Germany is less impactful than it might be is to visit some of the less popular cities and regions – relieving popular areas of some of the stresses brought by mass tourism. Bavaria receives the most foreign visitors by some considerable distance; by contrast, the Saarland and Saxony-Anhalt are far less visited, as is the interior of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (away from the coast). Try to let some of these regions tempt you away from the tourist favourites of Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, the Bavarian Alps and the Romantic Road – even if it’s just for part of your trip. If you do you are likely to be rewarded by seeing a rather more genuine side of Germany and Germans.

      Shutterstock

      MEETING THE FARM ANIMALS

      GO VEGAN

      The adverse environmental impacts of eating meat are well known – as is Germany’s love of sausages and other meat-based products. But vegetarianism and veganism are more long-established than you might think: the first organizations dedicated to promoting meat-free eating were founded in Leipzig in 1890, and nowadays 5 percent of Germans are vegetarian (1 percent are vegan) – so not surprisingly it’s possible to eat some wonderful meat-free food throughout the country beyond the traditional Sauerkraut or Hefeklösse (the latter are sweet dumplings made from yeast dough). Most supermarkets stock soy milk, and plant-based products have a vegan or vegetarian label on them – while most restaurants will have at least one vegan or vegetarian dish to counterbalance all the pork on offer. Even if you are a committed carnivore, why not try a few plant-based meals for the duration of your stay in the country? You are likely to be pleasantly surprised by the variety and quality on offer.

      < Back to Intro

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      HEPPENHEIM

      Basics

      Getting there

      Getting around

      Accommodation

      Food and drink

      The media

      Festivals

      Sports and outdoor activities

      Travel essentials

      Getting there

      The quickest and easiest way to reach Germany from outside continental Europe is by air. The national carrier is Lufthansa, but dozens of other major airlines fly to Germany too. The wide spread of airports throughout the country – many served by budget airlines – means air is also the cheapest method of arrival. However, if you’re already in continental Europe, road and rail travel might prove more convenient and eco-friendly; even the additional cost of taking a ferry or travelling via the Channel Tunnel from the UK might beat the price of flying and then renting a car.

      The principal hub for international long-haul flights is Frankfurt – whose airport has its own major train station for onward connections – followed by Munich and Düsseldorf. Other significant options include Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne/Bonn and Stuttgart; more minor options include Frankfurt (Hahn), Hannover and Nuremburg. Prices vary considerably by season, with the highest being around June to August. Fares drop during shoulder seasons – September, October, April and May – and you’ll get the best prices during the low season: November to March, excluding Christmas and New Year when prices are hiked up. As ever, early bookers snatch the best deals. Note too, that midweek prices are lower.

      Most points of arrival are well linked to city centres via cheap and efficient public transport. If you plan to use public transport throughout a city stay, then multi-day tickets that include your journey from the airport are available, the only exceptions being the remote airports used by budget airlines, although even these are always linked to a major destination by bus services.

      Visas

      Most EU nationals can enter Germany on a valid passport or national identity card for an indefinite period. US, Canadian, Australian and New Zealand citizens do not need a visa to enter Germany, and are allowed a stay of ninety days within any six-month period. This time limit also applies to UK citizens, who will (from 2025) require an ETIAS (electronic travel authorization/visa waiver) to enter any of the 27 Schengen area countries (which include Germany). South Africans need to apply for a visa; this will be valid either for the Schengen area as a whole or solely for Germany. Visas are handled by an agency outsourced by the German government (see southafrica.diplo.de/sa-en/sa-consular/sa-visa1 for more details) and cost around €80 for both types, depending on the exchange rate. Visa requirements vary for nationals of other countries; contact your local German embassy or consulate for information.

      In order to extend a stay once in the country all visitors should contact the nearest Ausländeramt (Alien Authority): addresses are available online. For more information on this process and finding a job, see Living in Germany.

      German embassies abroad

      UK 23 Belgrave Square, London SW1X 8PZ 020 7824 1300, london.diplo.de.

      Ireland 31 Trimelston Ave, Booterstown, Blackrock, Co Dublin 01 2776 100, dublin.diplo.de.

      US 4645 Reservoir Rd NW, Washington, DC 20037 202 298 4000, germany.info.

      Canada 1 Waverley St, Ottawa, ON K2P 0T8 613 232 1101, canada.diplo.de.

      Australia 119 Empire Circuit, Yarralumla, Canberra 2600 02 6270 1911, australien.diplo.de.

      New Zealand 90–92 Hobson St, 6011 Wellington 04 473 6063, wellington.diplo.de.

      South Africa 201 Florence Ribeiro Ave, Arcadia, Pretoria 0083 012 427 8900, southafrica.diplo.de.

      Flights from the UK and Ireland

      Numerous airlines fly daily to destinations throughout Germany from UK and Irish airports. The two major players are British Airways ( britishairways.com) and Lufthansa ( lufthansa.com), though budget flights by the likes of Ryanair ( ryanair.com), easyJet ( easyjet.com/en) and Lufthansa subsidiary Eurowings ( eurowings.com) have significantly expanded the route network and will be a better bet from regional airports. Low-cost operators have also slashed the price of getting to the country. While a published single from the UK with the major carriers can be anything from £150 to £400 if you book a couple of days in advance, this can be vastly less (as low as £50) if you book a few months in advance and are prepared to take a very early flight. You can usually pick up similar flights with the budget carriers for around £50, or from as little as £20 if you book a couple of months in advance. Competition and tight margins mean that flight routes are particularly vulnerable to change, which makes using ticket search engines invaluable, although they might not show low-cost airline options.

      A BETTER KIND OF TRAVEL

      At Rough Guides we are passionately committed to travel. We believe it helps us understand the world we live in and the people we share it with – and of course tourism is vital to many developing economies. But the scale of modern tourism has also damaged some places irreparably, and climate change is accelerated by most forms of transport, especially flying. We encourage all our authors to consider the carbon footprint of the journeys they make in the course of researching our guides.

      Flights from the US and Canada

      Thanks to competition between carriers, prices have reduced from the US and Canada in recent years. Most major North American gateways have direct flights and many others offer convenient connecting flights. Lufthansa has the most extensive network, but other major carriers include Delta ( delta.com) and United ( united.com), along with budget carriers such as Germany-based Condor ( condor.com).

      Most transatlantic flights are bound for Frankfurt, with a handful to Munich, Berlin and Düsseldorf. However, domestic connections are cheap and plentiful, by air or train.

      East-coast flights are marginally cheaper than those from the west coast. The lowest discounted scheduled return flight to Frankfurt you’re likely to find in low/high season, flying midweek, is US$750/1200 from New York, US$850/1300 from Chicago and US$1100/1500 from Los Angeles.

      Direct-flight options from Canada are operated by Air Canada ( aircanada.com) and Lufthansa ( lufthansa.com). The widest selection of flights are out of Toronto, followed by Vancouver with a handful of flights from Calgary and Montreal. Again, Frankfurt is the premier destination, then Munich. Low-/high-season return fares to Frankfurt from Toronto are Can$1100/1500; from Vancouver expect to pay from Can$1300/1600. Flying via the USA or a European hub such as London may yield savings.

      Flights from Australia and New Zealand

      There are no direct flights to Germany from either Australia or New Zealand. This means all flights will involve a change of planes in the operators’ hub city – usually in Asia or the Middle East – before continuing to Germany. The cheapest stopover routes tend to be via Hanoi, Shanghai or Seoul; flights via Doha or Singapore may be more expensive but you’ll spend less time in the air, and note that some routes go round the world the other way, with stopovers in the US and Canada. Using flight consolidating websites such as expedia, being flexible over dates and booking a long time in advance you’ll find the lowest prices from Sydney or Melbourne to Frankfurt in (European) high/low season are A$2300/1400, with those from Perth generally around A$200 cheaper, and those from Adelaide more expensive by the same margin. From New Zealand, low-season scheduled fares from Auckland start at around NZ$2000 and rise to NZ$2700 and up in high season. Round-the-world tickets often offer good-value fares compared with a standard return, not to mention a chance to break up the journey for some travel en route. Prices vary enormously however, depending on routes and time of year – agencies such as theadventurepeople.com are the place to start searching options.

      Trains

      The high-speed rail links of Eurostar ( eurostar.com) run from St Pancras International, London, to Brussels (1hr 55min) in Belgium where you’ll need to switch to an international service into Germany. The fastest (and most expensive) are Eurostar or German ICE services that link Brussels with Aachen in 1hr 10mins or Cologne in 1hr 50min; German ICE services will also get you from Brussels to Frankfurt in 3hr 20min and a Nightjet service will get you from Brussels to Munich or Berlin overnight. Note that travelling by train from London to Southwestern Germany is better via Paris, using the fast TGV services from Paris (Est) to Freiburg. Like air travel, prices vary according to the season, day and time, class of travel and also how far in advance tickets are booked. For example, a last-minute standard-class return for London–Cologne can easily rise above £300, but advance fares start at around £150. This means train travel has begun to compete with the price of flying if you take into account baggage fees and the cost of travel into cities to and from airports, not to mention the annoyance and time spent in airport security. The environmental benefits of train travel are also huge.

      Long-distance train advice website seat61.com is invaluable for planning.

      Sleeper trains

      The Austrian-run ÖBB Nightjet ( nightjet.com) runs sleeper trains – think soothing curved corridors and soft lighting – between Austria, Hungary, Italy, Belgium, France and Switzerland and several major German cities, with the option of reclining seats, couchettes or smart en-suite sleeper compartments.

      Rail passes

      If you plan to use the train extensively, look into rail passes. Since, with some planning, travel by train within Germany can be very good value, it’s worth doing the sums via the website of national operator Deutsche Bahn ( bahn.com) to ensure that a pass that gets you to Germany from abroad and provides travel within the country is cheaper than an international flight to Germany plus a national rail pass. On all passes there are substantial discounts for those aged 27 and under, and smaller discounts for over-60s and children; there are also first class passes which cost half as much again. (Prices given here are for adults aged 18–59.) All passes require supplement payments for high-speed trains and couchette.

      There are two types of railway pass depending on your citizenship and residency. The Eurail Pass ( eurail.com) is for citizens of countries outside Europe, and comes in a variety of forms: the Global Pass permits unlimited travel within 28 countries from four days within a month (US$314) to three months continuous travel (US$1061); the pass for Germany costs from US$234 for three days’ travel in a month to US$526 for fifteen days in a row (note that travel outside Germany to cities close to the border is also covered). European citizens can purchase a time-honoured InterRail ( interrail.eu) pass, which comes in formats that are either valid continuously or only for specified days within a set period, and for certain countries or for the whole continent. Prices start at €211 for three days’ second-class travel within a thirty-day period in just Germany and rise to €474 for fifteen days’ continuous travel in the country (note that people resident in Germany cannot buy passes that cover solely that country, and that again travel outside Germany to cities close to the border is also covered in the pass). Interrail global passes (covering most of Europe) stretch from €283 (any four days within a month) to €696/€956 for 1/3 months of continuous travel.

      Buses

      Compared with low-cost airlines, travelling to Germany by bus can save a little money and reduce your carbon footprint, but the journey will be a good deal longer. Services to all major cities in Germany are run by Flixbus ( flixbus.co.uk) from Victoria Coach Station in London, and are bookable online. As an idea of times and advance prices, London–Cologne takes thirteen hours and costs around £25 one-way, London–Frankfurt sixteen hours and £50.

      Ferries and the Channel Tunnel

      There are no longer any direct ferry services from the UK to Germany, so you’ll have to pass through France, Belgium or the Netherlands, depending on your start point and destination. The most useful routes from southern England to Germany are the Dover–Calais/Dunkirk ferry (DFDS & P&O; hourly); and the Folkstone–Calais car-carrying Eurotunnel train (4 per hour). From eastern England the best option is the Harwich–Hoek van Holland ferry (Stena Line; 2 daily). From northern England there’s the choice of two ferries: Hull–Rotterdam (P&O; daily) and Newcastle–Amsterdam (DFDS; daily). Year-round sea links to the German Baltic coast also exist from Scandinavia, notably Sweden and Denmark (Stena Line; daily), and Baltic nations such as Latvia. From Ireland, DFDS run a ferry from Rosslare to Dunkirk. The website directferries.co.uk presents a useful overview of all routes, ports and operators.

      As a general guide of driving times from Calais, allow eight hours to Hamburg (6hr from Hoek van Holland), six hours to Frankfurt, ten hours to Berlin and ten hours to Munich.

      Finally, you may be able to pick up a faster ride – and often a cheaper one – via car-shares.

      Agents and operators

      Helloworld New Zealand 0800 758 787, helloworld.co.nz. Great deals on flights, hotels and holidays.

      Martin Randall Travel UK 0208 742 3355, martinrandall.com. Small-group cultural tours, usually accompanied by lecturers; a five day package to Hamburg with opera performances and visits to exhibitions costs around £2900.

      North South Travel UK 01245 905 166, northsouthtravel.co.uk. Friendly, competitive travel agency, offering discounted fares worldwide. Profits are used to support projects in the developing world, especially the promotion of sustainable tourism.

      Trailfinders 020 7084 6500, trailfinders.com. One of the best-informed and most efficient agents for independent travellers.

      USIT Ireland 01 436 2420, usit.ie. Leading student and youth travel specialist.

      Rail contacts

      Deutsche Bahn UK 0871 880 8066, int.bahn.de/en.

      Eurail eurail.com.

      Eurostar UK 03432 186 186, eurostar.com.

      Rail Europe UK raileurope.co.uk.

      Bus contacts

      Flixbus UK 01491 520 156, flixbus.co.uk.

      Ferry contacts

      DFDS Seaways UK dfds.com/en-gb/passenger-ferries.

      P&O Ferries 01304 448888, poferries.com.

      Stena Line UK 0844 770 7070, stenaline.co.uk.

      Channel Tunnel

      Eurotunnel UK 0844 335 3535, eurotunnel.com.

      < Back to Basics

      Getting around

      Planes, trains and automobiles, not to mention buses, boats and bikes: Germany deals in the full deck of options for travel within the country, with one of the finest public transport systems in Europe. Unusually for a largely landlocked nation, it also affords considerable opportunities for travel on its arterial rivers – slow travel at its best, in which the getting there is as much a reason to travel as the destination. Services operate on rivers such as the Rhine, Mosel and Elbe, generally from April to October; details are provided in relevant destinations. Prices are more expensive than those for rail, but that’s not really the point.

      By air

      Alongside national carrier Lufthansa ( lufthansa.com), budget airlines such as EuroWings ( eurowings.com) offer daily routes throughout the country, with single fares for as little as €30 including taxes. Flights can be as often as hourly on popular routes such as Hamburg–Munich, a flight that saves five hours compared to the same journey by train. Advance bookings – at least two weeks prior – provide substantial discounts.

      Trip planning in Germany

      The Deutsche Bahn website ( int.bahn.de/en/) is superb for planning, with its online timetable even covering local bus connections. Its DB Navigator smartphone app is probably the single most useful app for visitors to Germany: functions include travel planning, real-time information, delay notifications and paperless tickets. It’s available on both IOS and Android platforms.

      By train

      The reputation of the national rail system operated by Deutsche Bahn, once much-lauded, has been taking a bit of a battering of late – particularly over its late and cancelled trains. An article in The Guardian newspaper in October 2023, headlined It’s the same daily misery: Germany’s terrible trains are no joke for a nation built on efficiency was typical of a number to appear in the British press that year: the article outlined how delays, cancellations and periodic closure of track are the norm and something of an embarrassment within the country. It’s easy to exaggerate – many journeys pass off without a hitch, trains remain the workhorse of public transport, the country’s 43,900km of track is the most extensive in Europe, and trains are clean and frequent – but it never does any harm, when taking long train journeys, to build in the possibility of a delay. Tickets are fairly-priced and various passes help sweeten the price further.

      Kings of the rails are the flagship Intercity-Express (ICE) trains, which travel at speeds up to 300km/hr and offer the most comfort, including a bistro. When making a reservation, you can also request a seat in areas with boosted mobile-phone reception or none at all. Not as fast or flash are Intercity (IC) and international Eurocity (EC) trains, though these hurtle along at 200km/hr, and still have electricity terminals throughout and a buffet carriage. Local trains come as swift InterRegio-Express (IRE), the steady Regional-Express (RE) trains and the slowish local Regionalbahn (RB), which tend to stop at every station en route. In cities, Stadt-Express (SE) trains or the commuter S-Bahn trains also operate. Sleeper services run by NightJet ( nightjet.com), with reclining seats, couchettes or single cabins, are also an option, and save on hotel bills; most services are international but those within Germany cover a number of routes including Hamburg, Hannover and Cologne to Munich, and Berlin to Cologne or Aachen.

      The website int.bahn.de is an invaluable resource for sourcing timetable and connection information (it also includes many bus services), and for buying tickets in advance, which you’ll receive as a QR code to print out or show on your phone; note that if you use these tickets you also have to carry photo ID.

      In addition to Deutsche Bahn, a handful of other companies also operate train services. These include various Netinera ( netinera.de) and Transdev ( transdev.de) brands, which are relatively small players.

      Standard and discounted tickets

      Standard tickets (Fahrkarten) – not restricted to any particular train and refundable for a small charge – are priced according to the distance travelled, so returns cost twice as much as singles. Reservations (€4.90 per journey) are worthwhile for peak long-distance trains, especially the popular Friday late-afternoon getaway.

      You can buy tickets over the counter at the Reisezentrum (travel centre) of larger stations for a €2 surcharge, or, at almost all stations, from touchscreen vending machines with English instructions. Where vending machines don’t exist, tickets can be bought on board. Telephone reservations are on 01805 99 66 33, a premium rate number, while registered users can buy tickets online at bahn.com or via the Deutsche Bahn Navigator smartphone app (see box, page 34) at no surcharge up to ten minutes before departure – if you don’t buy it within the app you’ll require a print-out of the ticket and your credit card as proof of purchase.

      Bin there, done with that: recycling in Germany

      Travel anywhere in Germany by train and you’ll see an array of coloured bins, evidence that Germany takes recycling seriously. Germans, who have a long tradition of social consciousness, recycle more of their rubbish than most other Europeans. Using the Grüne Punkt (Green Dot) icon that indicates material can be recycled, they now recycle some 65 percent of waste. In Bavaria, only one percent of rubbish goes to landfill. Visitors are expected to do their bit – novices placing items in the wrong container may be quietly reprimanded.

      Bins – of which there are up to five – are colour-coded. One, usually green or blue, is for paper (Papier) and card, including waxed cartons; boxes should be flattened and emptied of any plastic wrappers. Plastic goes into the yellow bin, along with milk cartons, cans, polystyrene and aluminium (so long as containers are marked with the Green Dot icon of two interlocking arrows). Straightforward enough, so long as you don‘t stuff different materials inside each other; this stuff gets sorted by hand, so a plastic cup hidden inside a tin is strictly verboten. There’s no need to rinse items, but most Germans empty cans and plastics. Glass is sometimes taken to bottle banks, commonly in supermarket car parks, but most bottles – including many made out of plastic – usually have a deposit (Pfand) on them of around €0.40–0.60 per item to be cashed at specified re-collection centres, most conveniently supermarkets. Biodegradables – including coffee grounds and teabags – go in another bin, usually brown, after which there‘s hardly anything left over. What is goes in the one bin that takes genuine Müll (rubbish) – grey or black and usually empty.

      Flexible standard tickets are reasonably priced (though the use of ICE trains can be expensive), but Sparangebote, or saver fares, can bring costs down further – the price of a second-class standard ticket for a long distance route can be halved by booking two weeks in advance. These cheaper fares only allow travel on a specific train, but are refundable and changeable before departure for a fee; their prices rise as departure approaches before they disappear altogether a few days before departure, leaving only the standard fare.

      Unlimited travel tickets

      One of the best deals in Germany is the Länder-Ticket, which provides a single day’s (9am to 3am the following day) unlimited second-class travel on regional trains in a single region – covering RE, RB & S-Bahn, but not faster long-distance IRE, IC, EC or ICE trains. Exact prices vary between states, but are broadly similar: for example, a Bayern Ticket (Bavaria Ticket) costs €29 for one person, while Lower Saxony’s equivalent is €27. Some tickets allow free or much-reduced travel for accompanying adults or children.

      The national version of the Länder-Ticket, allowing travel all over Germany – is the Quer-durchs-Land-Ticket (Across the Country Ticket), which costs €47 for one person per day, again with the possibility of children and adults accompanying. Things get messy for city transport, with some states happy to accept the tickets, others not. Check as you buy or consult the Deutsche Bahn website (see box, page 34). A variation on this ticket is the Deutschlandticket, allowing for unlimited travel within the country for €49 per month – it’s only available on yearly subscription and is often subsidized by workplaces, though it’s aimed at residents rather than visitors (and excludes the fastest train services).

      Rail passes

      If you are staying in Germany for long it may be worth picking up an annual national rail pass, the BahnCard. The BahnCard 25 (€125 first class, €62 second class) provides a 25-percent discount on all tickets; the BahnCard 50 (€494/244) which is only available to those aged 27–64; or the BahnCard 100 (€7774/4550) provides free travel for a year. Promotional (Probe) three-month versions of these cards are also sometimes available for around a third of the price.

      Non-European residents qualify for a Eurail Germany Pass.

      By bus

      Germany has several quality, clean, comfy, punctual and very competitively priced long-distance bus companies. The key company – with a ninety-percent market share – is Flixbus ( flixbus.com) but there are many minor operators. The best way to explore routes and fares across operators is via search engines such as busliniensuche.de and fernbusse.de (both offer smartphone apps). Prices generally start from around €10 between most destinations – though you’ll need to book well in advance to get those rates. Note that though most services have free wi-fi on board, connection speeds are generally very poor. In cities bus services operate from a terminus, known in cities as a Busbahnhof or Zentral Omnibus Bahnhof (ZOB) and often located near the train station.

      Sometimes these also form the hub of a local bus system, which usually provides an important extension to the railway network, particularly in rural and hilly areas where the train network thins. Here regional companies operate local services that vary in frequency from every twenty minutes or so to daily or even fewer, with most routes scheduled to serve commuters from early morning to early evening; services can dry up entirely at weekends. Tickets are bought either from kiosks or from the driver, and timetables and connections can be sourced via int.bahn.de. Note that virtually all bus services are included in the Deutsche Bahn travel planner (see box, page 34).

      In rural areas some buses only operate if they are called in advance. These are marked Rufbus on timetables and the number to ring (at least an hour before the departure time) is displayed on int.bahn.de whenever you are looking at timetables for the relevant routes.

      By car

      Holders of any home national – or international – driving licence are permitted to drive in Germany provided they have this to hand. If driving your own car you will also require vehicle registration documents and a valid third-party insurance certificate. If bringing your own car, be aware, too, that a growing number of cities – 61 as of 2024 – have implemented Low Emission Zones to reduce exhaust fumes. Vehicles in a central Green Zone must display an Emission Badge (Umwelt Plakette), which is bought for around €10 from repair centres, dealers and vehicle safety testing (TÜV) stations, or via websites such as vignetteshop.co.uk/emissions-stickers/Germany or tuvsud.com/de-de/branchen/mobilitaet-und-automotive/feinstaubplaketten/bestellung-feinstaubplakette-england. In practice this means pre-’93 petrol models and pre-’97 diesels will not pass unless retro-fitted with a catalytic converter. Vehicles caught entering a Green Zone without a badge will be fined.

      Germany’s most celebrated principal roads are its Autobahnen (motorways), indicated with blue signs and an A prefix. These roads have two or three lanes in each direction and, famously, have no overall speed limit, although many portions do have speed limits imposed, while electronic signboards on many stretches mean that limits can quickly be imposed when weather or traffic conditions warrant it. A round white sign with three diagonal stripes indicates that you’re entering a section with no speed limit, though 130km/hr is the recommended maximum. But even here you can generally forget fantasies of barrelling along at 200km/hr in your BMW, since traffic can be heavy and east–west routes packed with pan-European truckers. Major roadworks and accidents also frequently cause problems, helping to explain the national obsession with traffic jams (Staus). Perhaps all this is just as well, since if you have an accident at what your insurer regards as an excessive speed they may not pay out; and the police will take speed into account when apportioning blame.

      Secondary B routes (Bundesstrassen) are often dual carriageway, with three lanes on heavy sections, and have a speed limit of 100km/hr. Speed limits in urban areas are 50km/hr. All routes are toll free.

      Speeding, exceeding the blood alcohol limit of 0.5mg/l, and using a mobile phone without a hands-free set are all forbidden and will likely result in heavy fines or worse. Fines are also meted out for those using abusive language and gestures or running out of fuel on an Autobahn.

      On Autobahnen, emergency telephones are located every 1.5km for breakdown services; ask for Strassenwachthilfe. Phones connect to Germany’s principal automobile organization, Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil Club (ADAC; breakdown line +49 89

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