Stretching from the Alps to the Baltic and North Seas, Germany makes for inspiring, fascinating and invigorating travel. Spend one day exploring half-timbered medieval towns and spectacular baroque palaces in Bavaria, and the next immersing yourself in fast-paced cosmopolitan cities. Metropolises such as Berlin provide a world of variety, with renowned historic attractions Brandenburg Gate and the Berlin wall right next to the top techno clubs on earth. Art and design explode in continual evolution, with Weimar providing the mecca for fans of Goethe, Schiller, and the Bauhaus Movement, and forward-thinking galleries dotted all over the country. Nature lovers have a paradise to explore, including pristine Alpine pistes, huge glimmering lakes, and thousands of miles of dense forest dotted with curative thermal springs. Culinary enthusiasts will delight in Germany's world-famous beer, sausage, and 'stollen'.
Based on the banks of the Trave River in Holstein, northeast of Hamburg, the medieval city of Lubeck is a major German port and the former capital and Queen City of the Hanseatic League. This picturesque fairytale city is best known for its impressive Brick Gothic Architecture, earning it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Heritage buildings line the city streets with historic medieval merchants’ homes and spired churches. Visitors can look forward to viewing the Holstentor, a red-brick city gate, exploring the old streets of Lubeck’s Altstadt and visiting the magnificent ‘Marienkirche’, St. Mary’s Church, the third-largest church in Germany. Other must-see attractions include the Museum Behnhaus Dragerhaus, the Travemunde, a popular Baltic Sea resort, and Buddenbrookhaus, a museum devoted to the author Thomas Mann.
