Munich 97. Oktoberfest Residenz Sights Tours Shopping Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment...

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1 4 Contents Plan Your Trip Germany's Top Itineraries...18 If You Like Month by Month Get Inspired Family Travel...30 Need to Know Berlin 35 The Reichstag...38 Brandenburger Tor The Berlin Wall Museumsinsel Schloss Charlottenburg...52 Holocaust Memorial...56 Berlin Nightlife...58 Walking Tour: Historical Highlights Walking Tour: A Leisurely Tiergarten Saunter Sights...64 Tours Shopping Eating Drinking & Nightlife...76 Entertainment...79 Where to Stay...83 Potsdam 85 Schloss & Park Sanssouci Sights...92 Eating...95 Munich 97 Oktoberfest Residenz Sights Tours Shopping Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Neuschwanstein 133 Schloss Neuschwanstein Füssen Heidelberg 143 The Altstadt Schloss Heidelberg Sights Activities Tours Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment The Black Forest Freiburg's Medieval Altstadt Spas of Baden-Baden Black Forest Walks Freiburg Baden-Baden Gutach Schiltach Triberg Dresden 175 Frauenkirche Residenzschloss Sights Tours Eating Drinking & Nightlife Nuremberg 189 Exploring the Altstadt Sights Tours Shopping Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment Rothenburg ob der Tauber 203 The Romantic Road Sights Tours Shopping Eating Cologne 215 Kölner Dom Walking Tour: Exploring Cologne Sights Activities Tours...225

2 CONTENTS PLAN YOUR TRIP 5 Shopping Eating Drinking & Nightlife Entertainment The Romantic Rhine Valley 229 Hiking & Cycling in the Rhine Valley Rüdesheim Bingen Burg Reichenstein Bacharach Loreley & St Goarshausen St Goar Boppard Koblenz In Focus Germany Today History Arts & Architecture Germany Outdoors The Germans German Cuisine Beer & Wine Survival Guide Directory A Z Transport Language Index Map Legend & Symbols Key The Moselle Valley 243 Trier's Roman Monuments Moselle Wine Experience Cochem Traben-Trarbach Bernkastel-Kues Trier Cologne p215 Rhine Valley p229 Moselle Valley p243 Heidelberg p143 Rothenburg p203 Nuremberg p189 Black Forest p155 Neuschwanstein p133 Berlin p35 Potsdam p85 Dresden p175 Munich p97

3 10 PLAN YOUR TRIP GERMANY S TOP 12 4 Heidelberg The 19th-century romantics found sublime beauty and spiritual inspiration in Germany s oldest university town (p143) and so, in his way, did Mark Twain, who was beguiled by the ruins of the hillside castle. Generations of students have attended lectures, sung lustily with beer steins in hand, carved their names into tavern tables and, occasionally, been sent to the student jail. All of this has left its mark on the modern-day city, where age-old traditions endure alongside world-class research, innovative cultural events and a sometimes raucous nightlife scene. Marktplatz (p146) 5 The Black Forest Mist, snow or shine, the deep, dark Black Forest (p155) is just beautiful. If it s back-to-nature moments you re after, this sylvan slice of southwestern Germany is the place to linger. Every valley reveals new surprises: half-timbered villages looking every inch the fairy-tale fantasy, thunderous waterfalls, cuckoo clocks the size of houses. Breathe in the cold, sappy air, drive roller-coaster roads to middle-of-nowhere lakes, have your cake, walk it off on trail after gorgeously wooded trail, then hide away in a heavy-lidded farmhouse. Hear that? Silence. What a wonderful thing. Black Forest trail Untitled /01/ :13:17 PM

4 GERMANY S TOP 12 PLAN YOUR TRIP 11 MICHAEL DEFREITAS / ROBERTHARDING/GETTY IMAGES CARL BRUEMMER / DESIGN PICS/GETTY IMAGES 15/01/ :13:17 PM Untitled-1 11

5 20 Plan Your Trip 10-Day Itinerary ALAN COPSON/GETTY IMAGES Along the Rhine and Moselle The Rhine and Moselle rivers in Germany s far west cut through mountains and valleys carpeted in vines, passing hilltop castles and quaintly historical towns and villages along the way. 2 Koblenz (p239) The main attractions in Koblenz are the rebuilt Altstadt and the confluence of the Moselle and Rhine. I Koblenz to Bacharach L 30 mins 3 Bacharach (p236) 1 Cologne (p215) This may be a bucolic tour of Germany s most famous pair of rivers, but we start with the big-city vibe of Cologne. Top sight here is the world-famous Kölner Dom, the city s cathedral, its twin towers dominating the cityscape. When you ve negotiated the more than 509 steps to the top of the south tower and the same number down again, head for the Römisch-Germanisches Museum, a superb repository of the Rhine s Roman past. ICologne to Koblenz L 1 hrs 02-itineraries-bc-ger1.indd 20 This is one of the Rhine s quaintest villages and certainly worth a stopover. I Bacharach to Rüdesheim N 50 mins 4 Rüdesheim (p234) This village offers spectacular river views and some of Germany s best wines. From Rüdesheim you now backtrack to Koblenz to join the Moselle on its winding way southwest towards the border with Luxembourg. I Rüdesheim to Cochem (via Koblenz) L 1½ hrs 15/01/ :19:42 PM

6 10-DAY ITINERARY PLAN YOUR TRIP 21 1 Ù# Cologne L 1 hr 2 Ù# Koblenz 30 mins L L 1 hr Cochem 5 Ù# L 30 mins Bacharach L 35 mins 3 Ù# 1½ hrs Ù# L Rüdesheim minsn Traben- Trarbach Trier 7 Ù# 5 Cochem (p252) Touristy Cochem is just half an hour from Koblenz by train and is a gateway to the Moselle Valley. It s the terminus for most boat cruises and boasts an 11th-century castle, the Reichsburg. I Cochem to Traben-Trarbach L 35 mins 6 Traben-Trarbach (p253) The Moselle region is famous for its wines and there s no better place to indulge in a tasting session than Traben-Trarbach. The town straddles the Moselle, Traben hugging the northern shore, Trarbach the southern banks. Away from the crisp whites, a rather unexpected attraction here is the Buddha Museum, though it is housed in a former winery. ITraben-Trarbach to Trier L 1½ hrs 7 Trier (p256) The undisputed high point of any Moselle journey is the town of Trier. Just shy of the border with Luxembourg, Trier boasts Germany s finest gathering of Roman monuments, a fact recognised by Unesco in These include the Porta Nigra Roman gate, the Kaiserthermen Roman thermal baths and an amphitheatre that once held 20,000 spectators. Above left: St Goarshausen (p237) on the Rhine

7 24 Plan Your Trip If You Like... ERWIN PURNOMO SIDI/GETTY IMAGES German Flavours Bratwurst Nuremberg s finger-sized links are top dogs in Germany. Pork knuckle A Munich beer hall such as the Hofbräuhaus is the perfect place for tackling this belt-stretcher. Spätzle Noodle dish from the Stuttgart region, often smothered in cheese or topped with lentils. Black forest gateau Enjoy this liqueur-drenched sponge-cake symphony at Café Schäfer in Triberg, where it was invented. Beer Oktoberfest is the best time to sample Munich s famous brews. Churches Kölner Dom The twin spires of Germany s largest cathedral dominate Cologne s skyline. (p218) Frauenkirche Dresden s most famous church was reopened in 2005 after six decades as a heap of WWII rubble. (p178) Asamkirche Created by the Asam brothers, this small church has one of Germany s most impressive Baroque interiors. (p107) Wieskirche Baroque gem is one of the highlights of the Romantic Road. (p209) WWII Sites Hitler s Bunker Hitler s Berlin bunker is concealed by a parking lot sporting an information panel. (p87) Memorium Nuremberg Trials Visit the courtroom where the famous Nuremberg Trials took place. (p196) Reichsparteitagsgelände Roam the huge site where the Nazis held their pre- WWII rallies. (p197) KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau Germany s first concentration camp is a disturbing experience. (p118)