Germany is one of Europe's top tourist destinations thanks to its rich history, its stunning landscapes and the vast array of diverse experiences on offer. Tradition and modernity sit side by side here – from half-timbered houses to skyscrapers, classical music to Kraftwerk, Roman-style wines to currywurst – in a country that's changed a lot in the last 100 years.

Click through this gallery to discover our ranking of the 48 things visitors love most about Germany... 

Helgoland is Germany's 'only island in the high seas', being some 44 miles (70km) off the mainland in the North Sea. Famed for its colourful harbourfront houses and red sandstone cliffs, the island also has two nature reserves, white-sand beaches with great seal sightings and the guillemot cliff – Germany's only bird cliff. Helgoland's slogan is 'the island that breathes', as it is virtually pollen-free and boasts superb air quality thanks to the lack of cars and other vehicles.

Germany is world-renowned for its technical innovation, particularly when it comes to cars, and one of its lesser-known engineering feats is this suspended monorail in the western city of Wuppertal. The Schwebebahn, which hangs upside down rather than running on rails and largely travels above the river Wupper, opened to much fanfare in 1901 – with Kaiser Wilhelm II one of its first passengers. Nearly 125 years later it's still going strong, and carries more than 80,000 people each day.

Dinner for One is the most famous British comedy sketch you've probably never heard of unless you've spent New Year's in Germany. First released in 1962, the 18-minute-long sketch – based on a British play and featuring UK actors – is traditional TV viewing on 31 December in Germany, as it is in several other European countries. The story centres around Miss Sophie, who asks her butler to impersonate her four dearest, and long deceased, friends for her 90th birthday, during which he gets increasingly drunk on port, Champagne and more.

Bureaucracy reaches into many facets of German daily life. Advocates argue that it makes the country efficient, while critics find it overwhelming and overcomplicated. Nevertheless, adhering to the rules is key to how things are done in Germany, and this manifests itself in everything from in-person appointments for basic admin tasks to waiting patiently at a pedestrian crossing even when the road is empty. Visitors breaking even quite small rules should be prepared to hear about it.

Porcelain has long been one of Germany's most luxurious exports, and ceramics from the Meissen factory near Dresden were the first true, or hard-paste, porcelain in Europe – produced here since 1710. Visitors can learn all about it at the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, the oldest of its kind on the continent, or follow the 342-mile (550km) Porcelain Route, which runs from Bamburg to Bayreuth and all the way to Czechia, where the first Bohemian porcelain factory was founded.

Kraftwerk are a German band that are widely considered pioneers of electronic music. Founded in Düsseldorf in 1970, Kraftwerk's music has reverberated through the development of contemporary pop ever since. Indeed, David Bowie credited their hit Autobahn with inspiring his cultural shift towards Europe and not the US. While there isn't a permanent venue dedicated to Kraftwerk as such, they are often the focus of special exhibitions at museums – particularly in their home city of Düsseldorf.

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Germany is very proud of its social welfare system, so it shouldn't be surprising to anyone that it is also the site of the world's oldest social housing complex still in use. The walled town of Fuggerei in Augsburg was founded in 1521 for the city's needy Catholic inhabitants, with conditions of residence including being home by 10pm and three prayers a day. The 140 flats are still home to 150 Catholic citizens, who pay €0.88 (£0.74/$0.93) in yearly rent. A museum and World War II bomb shelter tell its story.

Germany's love affair with David Hasselhoff dates back to 31 December 1989, when his pop hit Looking For Freedom – a song then virtually unheard of outside German-speaking Europe – became an anthem for reunification when he sang it while suspended above the fallen Berlin Wall. Known elsewhere for his acting work in Knight Rider and Baywatch and not for his music, Hasselhoff still has strong ties to Berlin – which are celebrated at the world's only museum dedicated to the Hoff, in the Circus Hotel.

Carnival, or 'fasching' as it is known in some parts of Germany, largely takes place in the days leading up to Ash Wednesday. Also celebrated in Austria and Switzerland, it is a centuries-old tradition that sees people take to the streets in fancy dress. Each region has its own customs, and those wishing to join in the fun can go to Düsseldorf to see the sarcastic speech of the Hoppeditz jester (pictured), join up to 1.5 million visitors in Cologne for the Shrove Monday parade or head to Mainz for its famous Fastnacht party.

Richard Wagner was a 19th-century dramatic composer and theorist often credited with 'the birth of modern music', although not without controversy – notably around his antisemitism. He is best known musically for his epic four-part 'music drama' the Ring Cycle (Der Ring des Nibelungen), which took 27 years to compose and takes more than 15 hours to perform. You can learn about his life and music at Bayreuth, home to a dedicated museum in his former villa and an annual festival in his honour.

Germans LOVE their cars, and few countries have left their mark on the automotive industry as much as Germany, famed for its precision engineering, high performance and luxury aesthetics. Petrolheads can learn all about the German love affair with cars at sites including Autostadt Wolfsburg, BMW Welt Munich and the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. You can also follow the Bertha Benz Memorial Route, in memory of the woman who set out to prove her husband Carl's petrol-powered vehicle was safe with a long-distance journey in 1888.

Rügen Island is renowned for its traditional seaside resorts and chalk-white cliffs. Situated just off the Baltic coast, Rügen features the nostalgic seaside resorts of Binz and Sellin – with the latter boasting a fine pier and restaurant originally built in 1906. Visitors can travel across the island using the 100-year-old Racing Roland narrow-gauge railway to enjoy the beaches, national parks and fishing villages. Some 100,000 people also come here annually for the Störtebeker open-air theatre festival.

The Rococo gem that is Potsdam's Sanssouci Palace was built by Prussian king Frederick the Great as a summer palace in 1745-47, its name referring to his ideal of 'living without a care'. Frederick wanted his personal sanctuary to "only last my lifetime”, but while this wish went unfulfilled, his wish to be buried here was finally granted in 1991, some 200 years after his death. His great-great-nephew King Frederick William IV made various additions to the palace, most of which can still be seen today.

Karl Marx was a German philosopher, sociologist, historian and economist who is best known for The Communist Manifesto, the revolutionary work he wrote with Friedrich Engels. While his work has been exceptionally polarising, he was undoubtedly one of the most influential figures of the modern era. His birthplace in Trier is now the world's leading museum in his honour, while other tributes can be found elsewhere – including the 1.4-mile (2.3km) Karl-Marx-Allee in what was once East Berlin.

Europa-Park is one of the largest theme parks in Europe and attracts more than five million global visitors each year. Opened in 1975 and designed to celebrate European nations at a time when the continent was divided between East and West, the park has over 100 attractions and 14 roller coasters. In the spirit of its founding, it's split into 20 themed areas with rides including a 100-year-old horse carousel in 'England', a bobsleigh run in 'Switzerland' and a Poseidon water roller coaster in 'Greece'.

Leipzig doesn't tend to be at the top of tourist wish lists, but as Germany's fastest growing city it possibly should be. The city has a rich music heritage with links to composers including Wagner, Bach, the Schumanns and Mahler, while the factories and warehouses of this former industrial powerhouse are now home to arts and culture venues. The colossal Monument to the Battle of the Nations, meanwhile, commemorates the defeat of Napoleon here in 1813. Completed 100 years later, it's 299 feet (91m) tall and truly a sight to behold.

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The Autobahn is perhaps the ultimate symbol of German utility and efficiency. Germany's motorways are famous for being speed limit-free, although some stretches do have limits and the government recommends a top speed of 130 km/h (about 80 miles per hour). They're also something of a cultural symbol and reflect the former divisions between East and West, with the old West German stretches often much smoother than their former GDR (East German) counterparts.

Berchtesgaden near the Austrian border is home to Germany's only Alpine national park, with stunning scenery and plenty of hiking trails. However, the Bavarian town is also home to the Eagle's Nest, Adolf Hitler's mountain retreat at 6,017 feet (1,834m) above sea level. At the end of World War II the US beat competition from its allies to secure the property, which was given to Hitler for his 50th birthday. Wary of it becoming a monument for neo-Nazis, the German government eventually converted it into a restaurant.

Goethe, or Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to give him his full name, is known as the greatest German literary figure of the modern era. Fans of the novelist, poet, playwright, scientist and critic can see the house of his birth and other sites from his early years in Frankfurt; visit the Auersbach Keller in Leipzig, which plays a major role in the tragedy Faust; walk the Goethe Trail in Wetzlar, made famous by The Sorrows of Young Werther; and go to the National Goethe Museum in Weimar.

Frankfurt is Germany's leading financial hub – home to one of Europe's busiest airports and major business organisations like the European Central Bank. But there's more to see here than just skyscrapers, with the Städel Museum the gem of the many cultural venues that make up Museum Embankment on both sides of the river Main. Another key tourist attraction is the Goethe House, one of many buildings destroyed by Allied bombing and reconstructed after World War II.

The Moselle is Germany's oldest and largest wine-growing region. Named after the river flowing through the vine-covered slopes of the valley, the Moselle is renowned for its Riesling white wines, while its speciality grape Elbling is thought to have been cultivated here by the Romans 2,000 years ago. Visitors travelling by car, train or bike can enjoy the beautiful landscapes, half-timbered villages and hilltop castles as well as the wine, with autumn a particularly popular time thanks to the harvest.

Lake Constance, or Bodensee in German, is central Europe's third largest lake and straddles three countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland), meaning there's more than enough to keep any visitor busy all year round. Lindau's picturesque harbour is guarded by an elegant lighthouse and lion statue, while Konstanz is famed for its minster and old town. History buffs will be fascinated by the Zeppelin Museum in Friedrichshafen, while outdoor enthusiasts can swim, cycle and hike to their heart's content.

The Bauhaus was a school of architecture and applied arts that existed in Germany from 1919 to 1933. Founder Walter Gropius's protest against classical architecture through simple and symmetrical forms was revolutionary, and had such an influence on 20th-century design that the Bauhaus buildings in Weimar, Dessau and Bernau now form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bauhaus Museum Weimar opened in a new building in 2019 to mark the movement's centenary, and showcases the treasures of its early era.

The German Bundesliga is one of Europe's top football leagues and is known for its relatively cheap ticket prices and excellent atmospheres, which draw fans from across the world. The average match attendance of 39,467 across 18 clubs was higher than that of any other European league in 2023/24. League rules mandate a '50+1' voting model that gives fans ultimate control of their clubs, which helps maintain fan culture and is the envy of many rival league supporters.

Grimms' Fairy Tales is a collection of German folk stories so ingrained in Western culture that they are listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Registry. Put together by brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm in the 19th century, the stories went on to inspire Disney classics like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Tangled. Visiting bookworms can follow in the brothers' footsteps on the German Fairytale Route, a 373-mile (600km) tour from their birthplace in Hanau to Bremen, home of the four fairytale musicians.

Berlin is Europe's clubbing capital and some districts only come alive after dark. The city became renowned for its nightlife as early as the 1920s, and districts such as Friedrichshain proudly retain this reputation. The party scene reinvented itself after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with Berghain, Tresor and KitKat the most famous clubs, and techno the local speciality. Clubbers needn't worry about getting home early either – it's 24-hour party central with public transport to match.

Germany has some of Europe's best cycling infrastructure, with affordable bike rental, well-signposted routes and excellent public transport options, enabling visitors to easily explore cities and the countryside alike by bike. Top routes include the Berlin Wall Trail following the old East German fortifications around West Berlin, the 100 Castles Route in Münsterland and the Danube Cycle Route along Europe's second longest river, which crosses into Austria at Passau.

The Saxon Switzerland National Park has long attracted visitors as a paradise for walkers and hikers thanks to its sandstone mountain landscapes, its pristine woods and gorges, and the picturesque valley surrounding the River Elbe. The area's most famous attraction is the Bastei (meaning 'bastion'), where giant pinnacles of rock are connected by a 250-foot (76m) stone bridge leading to the ruins of the 11th-century Felsenburg Neurathen fortress that once perched on top of the sandstone towers.

Most of Dresden's city centre was devastated by Allied bombing near the end of World War II, in one of the conflict's most notorious incidents. But today the city is again one of Germany's great cultural centres and most beautiful cities, and it's hard to believe that 80 years ago most of its grand Baroque buildings were all but wiped off the map. Top tourist attractions include the Zwinger Palace, the Semperoper opera house and the Church of Our Lady, while the northern side of the River Elbe has one of the country's best bar districts.

Coffee and cake is pretty much mandatory mid-afternoon in Germany. The 'kafee und kuchen' tradition dates back to the 17th century, when coffee first came to central Europe. It quickly became the hot drink of choice among the aristocracy, who paired it with their favourite cakes. The habit trickled down to the middle classes and now it's part of daily life. The best place to go for cake is a 'konditorei' (pastry shop), but don't expect a menu – choose from what's in the glass display case instead.

German may be a tricky language to learn, but on the upside its liberal use of compound words means there really is a word or phrase for everything. A bat is a 'fledermaus', or 'flutter mouse', while 'kummerspeck' means 'sorrow bacon', referring to the weight gained from comfort eating. Then of course there are terms like 'schadenfreude' that have carried over into English. Literally meaning 'harm-joy', it refers to taking pleasure from someone else's misfortune.

With its skyline dominated by a 12th-century castle, what happens in Nuremberg has long reflected German history. The city's fortress and old town tell of its medieval past, when it was among the most distinguished cities of the Holy Roman Empire. But there is a darker, more recent side too, as it was the place the Nazis held their vast rallies and where many were then prosecuted in 1946 – commemorated today at the Documentation Centre. Nowadays it's known for holding Germany's most famous Christmas market.

Germany's highest peak is the Zugspitze, standing at 9,717 feet (2,962m) on the Austrian border, with nearby Garmisch-Partenkirchen the country's top winter sports destination. The area is popular for hiking in summer and skiing in winter, although anyone can get to the top of the Zugspitze by cable car for stunning views spanning four countries – Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy. There is also a 90-year-old cogwheel train that chugs its way towards the summit.

The Rhine is one of Europe's best-loved rivers, and a cruise is a great way to see a lot of Germany – along with Switzerland, where it starts, and the Netherlands, where it flows into the North Sea – from the comfort of a cabin. Particularly popular with older travellers, river cruises enable passengers to enjoy stunning landscapes, stops in German wine country and historic buildings, including Cologne's grand cathedral and the hilltop castles of the Middle Rhine.

Check out our review of Uniworld's Rhine cruise

The Bavarian capital Munich is Germany's third largest city and perhaps its most liveable, combining an old town air with the confidence of a modern metropolis that houses transnational companies like Siemens. Tradition and modernity sit side by side here, with historic attractions like the Nymphenburg Palace and the Bavaria National Museum accompanied by BMW World and Germany's largest modern art museum. And of course there's the beer, with the city hosting six major breweries and the annual Oktoberfest.

The Black Forest, or Schwarzwald, is a vast woodland of 2,320 square miles (6,009sqkm) bordering France and Switzerland. The region is a paradise for hikers and outdoor enthusiasts thanks to its lush landscapes and panoramic vistas, not to mention one of Germany's highest waterfalls at Triberg. Guests can also explore the old university town of Freiburg and the Art-Nouveau villas of spa town Baden-Baden – with a slice of 'schwarzwälder kirschtorte' (Black Forest gateau) a culinary necessity.

Bread is more than just a meal here, it's part of the culture – so much so that UNESCO has recognised it as part of Germany's intangible cultural heritage. More than 3,000 types of bread and other baked goods are sold across the country every day, with each region boasting their own distinct grains and recipes. A visit to a German bakery can therefore prove somewhat overwhelming for tourists, as they have to sift through everything from Bavarian pretzels to East Frisian black bread and Harz caraway loaves. 

The medieval town of Heidelberg is as much a part of a European grand tour now as it was for 19th-century romantics, with about 12 million visitors coming here each year. Home to Germany's oldest university, a beautiful Baroque old town and a half-ruined Renaissance castle perched on a hill overlooking the river Neckar, it's still easy to see why German poet Goethe waxed lyrical about Heidelberg's beauty, and how it inspired some of JMW Turner's finest landscape paintings.

The Romantic Road (Romantische Strasse) is a 286-mile (460km) route running through southern Germany, from the vineyards of Würzburg to the foot of the Alps by the fairytale Neuschwanstein Castle. Germany's most popular scenic stretch is beautiful to drive or cycle and snakes through gorgeous medieval towns like Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Nördlingen and Harburg, along with beautiful countryside and timbered villages. What's not to like?

Hamburg is Germany's second largest city, its largest port and, many visitors would agree, one of Europe's coolest cities. It is a harbour city in its character as well as its geography, combining Hanseatic elegance with a postmodern edge. Some come here for world-famous nightlife in the Reeperbahn, while others enjoy its historic warehouse district and learning about its maritime past. The 'Venice of the North' is also home to a stunning concert hall and the world's largest model railway.

Cologne Cathedral is one of Europe's most impressive buildings, with its towers looming 515 feet (157m) over the fourth largest city in Germany. Started in 1248 and only completed in 1880, the cathedral is one of Germany's most recognisable symbols despite repeated attacks by Allied bombing during World War II. Luckily its medieval windows had been removed beforehand. Its top treasure is the golden Shrine of the Three Kings, the gilded sarcophagus that originally inspired the cathedral's construction nearly 800 years ago.

Germany's favourite fast food is currywurst – be it a takeaway lunch or a midnight snack – with more than 800 million portions sold each year. The humble meal, which is best bought for a few euros from a street stand (although posher versions are also available), allegedly dates back to 1949 Allied-occupied Berlin, when snack-bar owner Herta Heuwer combined American and British ketchup and curry powder with the German staple, sausage. Meat eaters shouldn't leave the country without trying some.

Rothenburg ob der Tauber is so pretty you need to pinch yourself to check you're not dreaming. Its historic old town is remarkably well preserved, with medieval buildings lining the tight cobbled streets and market square. Rothenburg's most picturesque spot is the Plönlein (pictured), which encompasses a yellow half-timbered house, the fountains in front of it and the two city gates on either side. Another must-see is the Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village, the largest festive shop in Europe.

There is nothing more quintessentially German than Oktoberfest. First held to celebrate the wedding of Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig in 1810, the annual two-week festival sees more than six million people gather on Munich's Theresienwiese to drink beer, eat bratwurst and celebrate the best of Bavarian culture. The mayor traditionally taps the first keg and declares "o'zapft is" ('it's tapped') to open the festival, which served seven million one-litre mugs of beer in 2024 alone.

While the exact origin of Christmas markets remains unclear, it's widely accepted that they date back to German territories in the medieval era. The oldest continually operating ones in Germany are most likely the Dresden Striezelmarkt, which started in 1434, and Nuremberg's Christkindlesmarkt, which dates back to at least 1628. Nowadays every city has its own, and millions from home and abroad wrap up warm to enjoy the festive atmosphere, drink mulled wine and buy traditional gifts each winter.

Germany's favourite alcoholic beverage is undoubtedly beer. Germans consumed 88 litres of beer per person in 2023 and there are around 1,500 active breweries across the country, over half of which are in Bavaria – the southern state that hosts Oktoberfest. Beer tastings and tours can be found across Germany, in which you can sample the distinct styles and flavours of different regions. Alcohol-free options are also available, with even Oktoberfest opening an alcohol-free beer garden in 2024.

Germany is home to some of the most beautiful fairytale castles in Europe, with Neuschwanstein in Bavaria its most famous. The 19th-century 'schloss' was built by 'Mad' King Ludwig II and has over 200 rooms, although the project was never fully finished. Tourists may recognise the castle from 1968 children's classic film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (the book of which was written by James Bond author Ian Fleming) and as the likely inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland.

Berlin is one of Europe's greatest cities. Still bearing the 20th-century scars of the world wars and then the harsh division between East and West, it is now very much a 21st-century city – with everything from major museums and cultural venues to lush public parks and 24-hour nightclubs. The German capital accepts and examines its at-times controversial past, while at the same time being very forward-thinking and offering hope for the future. It's a marvellous city that represents all that's best about Germany and Europe.

Now wonder at the earliest photos ever taken of Germany