Germany 

This Berlin restaurant offers an excellent collection of seasonal European dishes.

Lemke’s beers are very good, and this Berlin spot also offers a wider selection of more interesting beers than most German breweries.

Our favorite cocktail bar in Berlin, Windhorst serves delicious creative cocktails. The vibe is low-key, the service is friendly, and the drinks are great.

This fun, energetic, and slightly chaotic Berlin restaurant serves excellent Vietnamese cuisine.

This is a very popular restaurant in Nuremberg with good food and service. While sitting in a building 450 years old, you’ll get a lovely view of the half-timbered buildings of the old town while eating typical Franconian fare (though it also offers good vegetarian options).

This restaurant serves up reasonably priced and very delicious Bavarian cuisine in downtown Fussen.

You are going to eat a whole lot of meat while in Germany. For something a little different, especially if you want a break from meat heavy dishes, head to this primarily seafood restaurant which has really wonderful and fresh seafood.

This is a good restaurant near Marienplatz serving “Bavarian dishes with a modern twist”. They also serve beer from the Andechs monastery – which is among the best beer in Germany.

This stylish bar has fancy décor and a nice vibe, but unfortunately the quality and creativity of the cocktails don’t quite match up.

This restaurant is located in Hotel zum Hechten, a restored 17th century house, at the base of Fussen Castle and serves up local Bavarian specialties in a casual setting.

This brewery offers an outdoor beer garden that serves up traditional German brews as well as basic food (think sausages and fries) on the shore of a picturesque lake.

This beer garden is the oldest in a town famous for beer gardens and seats at least 7000. Off the tourist track and full of locals, it’s outside and self-serve with great beer, good traditional food huge portions, reasonable prices and a friendly atmosphere.

Set in a former hospital built over the Pegnitz river (actually Nuremberg’s largest hospital), this restaurant is full of carved wood, hunting trophies, romantic candlelight, and good, reasonably priced food. While it’s traditional fare, the menu changes seasonally and you can enjoy it inside or in the lovely outdoor courtyard.

This chocolate shop is the perfect place for a quick treat in Dresden. Whether you’re looking for traditional chocolates, hot cocoa, or ice cream, you can find it here, and it’ll be delicious.

A great spot for lunch or dinner in Dresden, this restaurant/brewery serves traditional German food alongside a solid collection of house beers.

These are our recommendations for spots to eat in Berlin.

This market/indoor food court is housed in a building that opened in 1483, first a grain storage building and later a fire station. The market offers nice picnic supplies and take away food options as well as well-priced drinks -tables indoor and out.

Cologne’s magnificent cathedral and spectacular dome is a striking masterpiece of Gothic architecture. The dome itself was built over six centuries with construction starting in 1248. Rising 144 meters into the sky, the dome and twin spires makes the cathedral a striking site along Cologne’s skyline. If you only see one site in Cologne, it should be this. Guided tours are led throughout the day and can provide more information.

This is the fairytale castle you have seen on a million postcards and the inspiration for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. It’s in a wonderful location in a valley among the Bavarian Alps, and is stunning even if it was a 19th century folly.

How could a country as apparently cultured, civilized, and advanced have produced the Nazis and the Holocaust? This museum does its best to provide an answer. Housed in the enormous Congress Hall built for Nazi rallies and meetings, it traces the rise of the Nazi propaganda movement and how the Nazi party engineered taking over the levers of power.

One of the oldest cathedrals in Europe, this impressive Byzantine church is Charlemagne’s final resting place. More than30 German kings were crowned here, and it’s been a pilgrimage site since the 12th century.

Located around the Aachen cathedral and Town Hall, the Aachen Christmas Market is one of the largest and prettiest in Germany. Enjoy all the typical German treats as well as the famous Aachen Printen cookies. It also has a well-lit carousel for kids.

While this is the oldest parish church in Munich (from 1150), you’re really coming for the 290 foot view. Known by locals as Alter Peter (Old Peter), it stands on Munich’s only real hill.

This museum features artwork from the late 18th to early 19th centuries to present. You’ll see work by Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Monet, Picasso, Klee, and Chagall (among many others).

Germany history spanning 1500 years housed in the baroque Zeughaus. Head upstairs to cover the 6th century AD through WWI. The ground floor covers the rest of the 20th century through reunification. This is the biggest collection of Germany history in one building anywhere in the country.

The Zwinger holds 3 museums: The Old Masters Gallery, Mathematics-Physics Salon and Porcelain Collection. We recommend the Old Masters Gallery (though you have to buy the 3-combo ticket to visit, there aren’t other options. The Old Masters Gallery is Dresden’s big collection of paintings including those by Titian, Rembrandt, Ruben, Raphael, Vermeer.

Wurzburg’s prince-bishop’s palace was built in the early 18th century. It’s an opulent, lavish, 360 room palace. It’s basically a German Versailles. While there you must visit the famous chapel and garden. Sites not to miss: Vestibule and Garden Hall, Tiepolo Fresco, White Hall, Imperial Hall, and the North Wing. After you finish the rooms head to the Baroque Court Chapel (Hofkirche) Chapel and Baroque Residenz Garden. Chapel and gardens are free.

This painting gallery has great works by European masters spanning 13th – 18th centuries. You’ll find works by Durer, Holbein, Bueghel, Rubens, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Caravaggio, among many others. There are 72 galleries that cover 2km so get ready to walk.

Another of Ludwig’s fantasy castles, this one is set on a lake and has a dramatic Wagnerian grotto (a lit cave). This is the smallest of his palaces and the only one he lived to see competed. It has been described as a mini-Versailles. And is Disney-beautiful with spectacular gardens and fountains.

We found this museum fascinating. It covers the stories (and many ways) East Germans crossed the Wall to freedom during the Cold War. The museum itself is somewhat overwhelming with the sheer amount of things, however it’s a very interesting look on how people lived and escaped. You’ll also learn about how the wall was built. You can visit this museum late (it’s open until 10pm).

Famous for its every 10 year passion play (the whole town gets involved with 2000 actors – 2020 is the next one), this a beautiful village with gorgeous mountain views, amazing frescoes found in the Parish Church of St Peter and Paul, and famous wooden handicrafts.

This lovely market dates from 1807 when the town’s market outgrew Marienplatz and moved to the square between Heiliggeist-Kirche and Frauenstrasse.

This is Cologne’s giant modern art museum full of an impressive array of modern art (think Warhol, Lichtenstein, Dali, Rothko, Pollock) and the biggest pop-art collection outside the US.

This is the Mecca of all beer halls situated near Marienplatz. Even if you don’t like beer (and why are you in Bavaria if you don’t?), it’s an experience itself to walk through the most famous beer hall in the world, the building dating from 1880 and seating 5000 people. It’s free to enter and even offers live music during lunch and dinner.

Marienplatz is the center of Munich’s Old Town. It’s been a gathering spot for centuries.

Frederick the Great’s summer home, Sanssouci Palace is at once impressive and comfortable. Despite his military prowess, Frederick was an artist and philosopher at heart, and his true passions come through in the palace’s elegant interior.

This is Berlin’s Parliament building created in 1894. It was burned in 1933 and sat in no-man’s land through the Cold War, finally being rebuilt in 1999. With a visit here climb up the spiral staircase to the amazing glass dome and get a fantastic view of Berlin’s skyline. You’ll need advanced reservations and your passport to enter. Arrive 15 inutes before your appointed time.

A must for World War II history buffs, Cecilienhof was the site of the famous Potsdam Conference, where the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union negotiated the peace following World War II.

On the site of the headquarters of the SS, this museum documents the Nazi Party’s rise to power in Germany and its means of maintaining power. It’s located along a surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall, with additional exhibits and an opportunity to view the foundations of the Gestapo headquarters.

The biggest remaining stretch of the wall is also a huge outdoor art gallery filled with street art. It goes along a mile and is covered with murals (and is a protected gallery).

This is a museum in a Greek temple-style building houses German art – mostly paintings from the 19th century. Start with the top floor and the Romantic German Paintings. You can also see French and German Impressionists and German Realists on other levels.

Containing Germany’s impressive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities, as well as European artifacts dating to prehistory. The highlight is the stunning bust of Queen Nefertiti.

This is Cologne’s Chocolate Museum with both an exhibition and factory component. It covers the journey of the cocoa bean from tree to factory and 5000 years of chocolate history and shows off the German chocolate manufacturing. You’ll get to walk through a tropical forest and sample chocolate at the fountain. There’s also plenty of chocolate to purchase at the end.

Built in the Gothic style in 1488, this is Munich’s most striking church and has been the city’s cathedral since 1821. It boasts onion-domed twin towers and no other buildings in the central city can be taller.

Built by Frederick the Great to demonstrate Prussia’s power and wealth, the New Palace is lavish and impressive.

This church, built in 1746 is one of the most important late Baroque buildings in Germany. The inside is richly decorated in Baroque style by the two brothers Asam who were hoping to ensure their salvation with this gift to the city.

This is Germany’s oldest zoo, founded in 1844, and initially staffed with royal family’s private menagerie. It has zoo has more than 1500 kinds of animals, including pandas on loan from China, koalas, giraffes, penguins, etc. It’s a very nice zoo and a fun place to spend a few hours (especially on a sunny day).

An exhibit on how the the East German communist secret police—the Stasi—controlled all areas of life, this museum is housed in the Stati’s former headquarters. It’s not the most exciting museum, but it’s the best opportunity to learn all about the Stasi.

This church was dedicated to Wilhelm I, first emperor of Germany. You’ll see the new church, bell tower, meeting hall, and bombed-out ruins of the old church which were left standing as a memorial to WWII.

Munich’s equivalent to Central Park, the English Garden was designed in 1789 and stretches 3 miles across the city. On a sunny day it’s teeming with locals.

Erfurt’s cathedral is where Martin Luther became a priest. It’s visually stunning and inside has a lovely preserved choir.

Set on Kaufingerstrasse, this is the final resting place of mad King Ludwig II (of Neuschwanstein). The church was finished in 1597 and at the time was the largest Renaissance church north of the Alps.

Martin Luther entered this monastery in 1505 and spent 7 years living here (through becoming a priest and part-time professor) until he moved to Wittenberg. Inside the church is a small collection of Luther artifacts and the cell where he lived as a Monk.

Berlin’s museum carrying a collection of communist era artifacts. It gives a good oversight of life in communist Germany.

Dresden’s Royal Palace was the residence of the Saxon kings and was totally destroyed during WWII. The painstaking work to reconstruct the Renaissance building is still occurring, but it currently houses the Historic Green Vault and the New Green Vault, both holding jewels and treasures.

Kathe Wohlfahrt’s Christmas Village shop is both historical museum and store. You’ll see the history of the German Christmas through Christmas decorations through the ages (including the Nazi era). It’s an impressive explosion of Christmas and will get anyone in a celebratory mood.

The tallest building in Berlin, the Soviet-era TV tower offers the best view in town, as well as what the future must have looked like in 1964. There’s also a decent bar and restaurant on a rotating ring that will give you panoramic views while you eat and drink.

Munich’s largest public park, some manicured, some wilderness. Be sure and check out the artificial waves on the Eisbach river (you may see surfers) or consider au natural sunbathing on the Schonfeld meadow (after all that’s what the locals do). A greta spot to visit on a sunny day.

This Christmas Market is set in the old quarter around Domplatz, Fischmarkt, and Willy-Brandt-Platz. It has more than 200 stalls and sells traditional handicrafts including blue-dyed fabrics and pottery as well as Thuringian bratwurst and erfurt schittchen (a fruit bread).

This is a highly entertaining tour of medieval Rothenburg, and honestly, can’t be missed. Follow the Night Watchman and his lite lamp while you follow him through the town listening to tales of medieval Rothenburg.

Founded in 1434, the Dresden Striezelmarkt Christmas Market is Germany’s oldest. On top of enjoying many craft stalls, you can’t miss the 45 foot high Chirstmas pyramid. Because the market is actually named after the German cake-bread Stollen, you can’t miss this treat at the market. Other Christmas Markets in Dresden include Augustusmarkt, Christmas Market […]

This Christmas market sits in the historic market square surrounded by the Gothic Chapel and plenty of Baroque architecture. It hosts 120 wooden stalls all serving up handmade holiday decorations.

The walking tour through the Old Town offers information and insights on all of the historical aspects of the city including the churches, the castle, the fountains and wells as well as the city itself both past and present.

This two-hour tour leads you through Munich’s beautiful old town while you learn about 850 years of Munich history.

This is a small yet charming Christmas Market set in the main town square. While significantly smaller than most cities’ (Rothenburg itself is small) it’s charming purely for its location.

Berlin’s riverside views aren’t as impressive as those of other European cities, but a cruise along the Spree river is a delightful way to spend an hour. You’ll see the city’s charming waterfront, as well as some of Berlin’s most important architecture. Several companies offer cruises in the area across the river from the Berlin […]

This hotel is in the perfect location – walking distance to old town, train station (10 minute walk), and, depending what time you’re visiting, the Oktoberfest grounds. It’s located in an old mansion in a residential neighborhood.

When it’s time for a gelato after your castle exploration, this is the place.

This is a well-located hotel with updated rooms and friendly staff in a place that’s been a hotel since 1896. Located near the train station and just inside the town gate, make it an easy place for everything you’ll want to explore in Nuremburg. Parking is available at the hotel.

Located a few steps from the main square with a good breakfast – a good deal. Some rooms share bathrooms