Touring Germany is a pleasure, whether you drive yourself, take a coach or relax on a boat; that’s because there’s a lot to see and the roads are excellent, so travel is easy.

Whether you’re looking for romantic castles, picturesque villages with twisting alleys and narrow gabled houses, mountain landscapes or vibrant nightlife in a modern metropolis, everything is within easy reach.

Try this Tour Route

You’ll notice that my suggested general tour route below misses out Duesseldorf, Stuttgart etc. because although major cities they aren’t really what people go to Germany for (unless you’re picking up a Mercedes or BMW).

This Europe tour roughly goes in a circle, so you could go either direction. No problems driving in Germany. You could do the Rhine cruise bit at the beginning if you wanted. The tour would take around 17 days to do, but it would be nice to take a bit longer.

Note: links to the towns go to photo albums on the Travel Signposts website

Frankfurt – Remagen – Cologne – Bremen – Hamburg - Lubeck - Celle (Luneburg Heath) – Hannover – Berlin – Leipzig – Dresden – Weimar – Erfurt – Wartburg – Wurzburg – Bamberg – Bayreuth – Nuremberg – Rothenburg – Romantic Road – Nordlingen - Dachau – Munich – Lake Chiemsee – Berchtesgaden – Garmisch (Bavarian Alps): Linderhof/Ettal/Oberammergau/Steingaden/Neuschwanstein – Lindau (Lake Constance) – Meersburg/Konstanz (ferry) – Freiburg – Lake Titisee (Black Forest) – Baden-Baden – Heidelberg – Rudesheim/Boppard (Rhine Cruise) – Koblenz – Cochem – Rudesheim – Marksburg Castle – Frankfurt

Don’t know where a place is? Try this map (opens in new window): Map of Germany

Or visit our zoomable Google Satellite Map Page

TRAVEL TO GERMANY WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Other Germany pages:

Travel to Germany: a Europe Tour that’s a lot more than Beer, Lederhosen and Cuckoo Clocks!

When to travel to Germany for your tour: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of Germany

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in Germany online

Book your hotels in Germany online HERE

Coblenz

Kaiser Wilhelm’s Monument

Miltenberg

Nuremberg

Passau

Regensburg

Remagen

Rüdesheim

• Festivals
• Public Holidays
• Visas
• Health
• Time
• Electricity
• Weights & Measures
• Money, Banks etc.
• Useful Telephone Numbers

Festivals

Music festivals are big in Germany, Bach in March (bit early) Wagner in Bayreuth in July, lots of stuff in Autumn, including the Oktoberfest, but most Bavarian towns and villages have some kind of beer festival and they’re smaller scale and more enjoyable. Christmas fairs are great but you’re unlikely to be there.

I did a search on a few events at the German Tourist Board website and came up with 146 events between April and October, and I didn’t check everything!

EVENT CALENDAR SEARCH

German Public Holidays

The holidays marked with an asterisk are only observed in these areas:

* Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt
** Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland
*** Saarland and catholic areas of Bavaria
**** Bradenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia
***** Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate, North Rhine Westphalia, Saarland, catholic areas of Thuringia.

Although not an official holiday many shops and businesses are also closed on Carnival Rose Monday (Cologne and Rhine region), Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Visas:

EU citizens can enter on an official identity card. Americans, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders and Japanese just need a valid passport (no visa). Unless you’re a citizen of a developing country, you can probably stay up to three months.

Health risks:

The cost of medical care – come with insurance

Time:

GMT/UTC +1 (+2 in summer)
Current German time

Electricity:

220V, 50Hz, 2-pin (round) plug

Weights & measures:

Metric (same as France)

Metric Weights and Measures and their equivalents

Clothing and shoe sizes conversion: US, UK, Europe

Money:

The Euro (€)
Check out our Euro Guide (with pictures)

• As of January 1, 2002, the euro (€) replaced the national currency of 12 countries within the European Union, including Germany. You can exchange currency at any bank branch (hours are listed below). Automatic cash machines can be found in most commercial centres.
• Bank Opening Hours
  Banking hours in Germany are usually  from 10am to 5pm,  Monday to Friday. Throughout the rest of Germany, banks are usually open from 10am to 1pm, and 3pm to 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday. Banks often close earlier the day before a public holiday.
• Currency exchange
  Currency exchange can be carried out at all bank branches and Post Offices. Bureaux de change can also be found in large department stores, railway stations, airports and near to tourist sites. Please note: although the exchange rate is fixed, commission rates are not. By law these must be clearly displayed.

Check out the current Euro exchange rate with your currency here (close the new window to return): TRAVEL SIGNPOSTS CURRENCY CONVERTER

Useful telephone numbers :

• Police 110
• Fire Brigade 112
• Ambulance 112
• Operator (0180) 2001033
• National Directory Enquiries 11833
• National Directory Enquiries (in English) 11837
• International Directory Enquiries 11834
• National Rail Enquiries 01 80 59 96 633
• Lost Property (Rail) (0180) 5 99 05 99

Lost Credit Cards/Travelers’ Cheques

• American Express (069) 97 97 10 00
• Diner’s Club (05921) 86 12 34
• EC and Bank Cards (069) 74 09 87
• Euro/Mastercard (069) 79 33 19 10
• VISA (0800) 89 49 1000

Other Germany pages:

Travel to Germany: a Europe Tour that’s a lot more than Beer, Lederhosen and
Cuckoo Clocks!

Tour Routes in Germany

When to travel to Germany for your tour: weather and seasons

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in Germany online

Book your hotel in Germany online

Coblenz

Kaiser Wilhelm’s Monument

Miltenberg

Nuremberg

Passau

Regensburg

Remagen

Rüdesheim

TRAVEL TO GERMANY WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS

Reichstag, the German Parliament in Berlin

Most people associate travel to Germany with either big modern cities and Mercedes thrashing down autobahns or quaint wood-beamed houses, men in lederhosen and buxom barmaids holding gigantic steins of beer in each hand while cuckoo clocks chime in the background.

OK, I’m exaggerating,

but sometimes Germany does seem to have a split personality (especially when tourist organisations are involved). Travelling in Germany can obviously involve visits to a major metropolis like Duesseldorf or Stuttgart, but are you really touring Germany to see them? I don’t think so.

What you’re really out to see:

A pleasant summer drink in Bamberg

• Historic cities, romantic castles, rural farming villages, picturesque lakes, renowned spa towns and awe-inspiring fortresses.
• Twisting alleys and narrow gabled houses, romantic half-timbered cottages and picturesque old town centres, lush winegrowing areas and mediaeval free cities.
• Romanesque monasteries, gothic cathedrals and village churches, the Alps, the Baltic, wineries, pubs, bistros and gourmet restaurants.
• “Little Red Riding Hood” forests and places of sagas, myths and Grimms’ fairy tales, the Romantic Road, the Black Forest (and cake), scenery, cuisine and ambience.

And if that’s not enough, you can visit the Ries Crater at Nordlingen where American astronauts trained for their moon walks, and yes, the largest cuckoo clock in the world at Schonach…

Our other Germany pages:

Tour Routes in Germany

When to travel to Germany for your tour: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of Germany

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in Germany online

Book your hotel in Germany online

Coblenz

Kaiser Wilhelm’s Monument

Miltenberg

Nuremberg

Passau

Regensburg

Remagen

Rüdesheim

TRAVEL TO GERMANY WITH US: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS