Cool places to visit in Germany?

Question

I'm going to be in Munich and Berlin in July. Anybody have recommendations of things to see/places to go that you really enjoyed and would recommend?

Answer 1

The old city center in Munich is really cool, one of the more historic areas in Germany, if you will. Make sure to take in a beer garden or two while you're there.

Answer 2

Bavaria - With  mountainside castles that appear as if they must be from fairy tales,  Bavaria has a storybook atmosphere.  In many ways, this is the image that many of us carry in our heads of the German Alps.  Bavaria is a part of Germany that visitors should see and explore.

Munich - München, although a large and sophisticated business center, is a city that carries a warmth and charm unlike many of Germany's major urban areas.  It appears that the Prussian formalism ingrained in much of country missed Munich.  The city's inhabitants genuinely like to party (e.g. Oktoberfest) and it is infectious. You should expect great food and lots of nightlife during your visit. In addition, München offers galleries, museums, opera houses and world class symphony orchestras, as balances to its more earthy side.

Augsburg

Offering fine churches, good food, and a pleasant location, Augsburg should be considered  as a base for touring the Romantic Road and surrounding countryside.  As one of Bavaria's larger cities, it provides a range of lodging opportunities.

Founded in the in 15 B.C. as an outpost of the Roman Empire and named in honor of the emperor Augustus, Augsburg is the oldest city in Bavaria.  It offers many interesting museums (including the Roman Museum and the Maximillian Museum), and attractive historical buildings. Augsburg was an important city during the Renaissance.

The Old Town  offers outstanding historic buildings and several magnificent fountains. Be sure the see the Rathaus (City Hall). Although severely damaged in World War II, this beautiful building has now been restored to its former glory and its Golden Hall is worth seeing.

Answer 3

Berlin is fantastic, there is so much to see:

Most unmissable sights are in and around central Mitte. The east-west axis of Unter den Linden is a good place to start. Frequent buses run the length of the tree-flanked boulevard, linking it with Bahnhof Zoo in the west. The western end is marked by the iconic Brandenburg Gate, once closed off between East and West Berlin, which leads on to the huge Tiergarten park. North- west of the Gate is the government quarter and the revamped Reichstag, crowned by Norman Foster’s magnificent glass cupola (Platz der Republik, 2273 2152, www.bundestag.de). Trips to the top are free, and the view is magnificent, but expect to queue. To the south side of the Brandenburg Gate is the recently completed Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe (Cora-Berliner-Strasse 1, 2639 4336, www.holocaust-denkmal.de). The controversial design by Peter Eisenmann has 2,700 columns of varying heights in an undulating space the size of a city block.

South of Unter den Linden is Gendarmenmarkt. Topped and tailed by the German Cathedral (Deutscher Dom, 2273 0431, closed Mon) and the French Cathedral (Französischer Dom, 229 1760, closed Mon), it is one of Berlin’s most beautiful squares. At the eastern end of Unter den Linden is Museum Island (Museumsinsel), a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose clutch of superb collections includes the Pergamonmuseum (Am Kupfergraben, 2090 5577, www.smb.spk-berlin.de, closed Mon), incorporating the Babylonian Gate of Ishtar. The majestically porticoed Altes Museum (Lustgarten, 2090 5577, www.museen-berlin.de) and the 19th-century art at the Alte Nationalgalerie (Bodestrasse 1-3, 2090 5801, www.museen-berlin.de, closed Mon) are also worthwhile. Other attractions are the Berliner Dom (Am Luftgarten, 2026 9128, www.berliner-dom.de) and Deutsches Historisches Museum (Zeughaus, Unter den Linden 2, 203 040, www.dhm.de), which has a swanky new wing by IM Pei.

Eastwards is the communist-era concrete expanse of Alexanderplatz, and the landmark ball-and-spike TV Tower (Fernsehturm, 242 3333, www.berlinerfernsehturm.de), with a revolving observation deck; south are the reconstructed medieval Nikolaiviertel and remnants of the original medieval wall.

North of Alexanderplatz, the renovated Scheunenviertel (‘Barn Quarter’) is packed with galleries, bars and shops. Its focal point is the Hackesche Höfe, a warren of jugendstil (art nouveau) courtyards full of boutiques and cafés. Nearby Auguststrasse is the art scene’s main drag, while the revived Jewish Quarter centres on the Neue Synagoge (Oranienburger Strasse 28-30, 8802 8451, www.cjudaicum.de, closed Sat).

Prenzlauer Berg has gentrified rapidly and, though containing few specific sights, is a relaxed area for a meal or a drink. Friedrichshain has a more communist and post-industrial feel. The lively, youthful nightlife around Muhlenstrasse and Simon-Dach-Strasse contrasts with the eerily wide main drag, Karl-Mar x-Allee, which is a treat for fans of Stalinist architecture.

Kreuzberg & Schöneberg



Once Berlin’s nonconformist heart, Kreuzberg remains fascinatingly diverse. Its museums include the exhibit about the Berlin Wall at the Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (Friedrichstrasse 43-45, 2537 250, www.mauer-museum.com), and the Daniel Libeskind-designed Jewish Museum (Lindenstrasse 9-14, 2599 3300, www.jmberlin.de), where the remarkable deconstructivist building almost upstages the already quite memorable exhibition within.

Neighbouring Schöneberg offers some great bars in its northern reaches, and is the hub of Berlin’s thriving g*y district.

Tiergarten

Tiergarten is dominated by the park of the same name. At its south-east corner is a clutch of museums, including the Mies Van der Rohe-designed Neue Nationalgalerie (Potsdamer Strasse 50, 266 2651, www.museen-berlin.de, closed Mon) and the Filmmuseum Berlin (Potsdamer Strasse 2, 300 9030, www.filmmuseum-berlin.de, closed Mon). The latter is in the new complex at Potsdamer Platz, among buildings from famous architects such as Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano. At the south-west corner of Tiergarten is the beautifully landscaped Zoo and Aquarium (Hardenbergplatz 8, 254 010, www.zoo-berlin.de).

Other Districts



To the south-west lie the vast Grunewald woods, the watery pleasures of the Wannsee and assorted smaller lakes – Strandbad Wannsee is Europe’s largest inland beach – and the Dahlem museum complex. The extensive and authoritative Ethnologisches Museum (Lansstrasse 8, 830 1438, www.smb.spk-berlin.de, closed Mon) is remarkable in itself, but the same building also houses terrific museums of Indian Art, East Asian Art and European Culture. Heading south-east, you can drink in the villagey charms of Köpenick, or sample at your leisure the products of the Berliner Burgerbräu brewery at Friedrichshagen, which throws open its gates for an annual summer beer festival. Boat trips can be taken on the nearby Muggelsee.

• Tourist information: Europa-Center, Budapester Strasse, Charlottenburg (250 025, from outside Germany 01805 754 040, www.btm.de).

Answer 4

If you want to see the tourist sites there are so many and they are easy to find just check out www.frommers.com and they give you the lowdown on everything of a tourist variety. My recommendation would be to www.couchsurfing.com and find someone who lives in these city's and ask them to be a guide since they live there they will know about the super cool things that the average tourist doesn't experience.   It has worked for me so far.