Travel advice for Germany
From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Germany
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written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 25.03.2020
But Hamburg’s alternative side is in rude health and full voice too. Ranging from seediness and vice all the way to seething anti-establishment protest, here’s how to experience the full gamut of Hamburg's edginess for yourself.
9 days / from2263 USD
A self drive exploration of UNESCO Sites in Southern Germany
Explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites across different German states. This self drive trip allows you to design your own days with recommendations stated for each day.
view tour ⤍7 days / from2905 USD
Explore Berlin and Potsdam in depth
The German capital Berlin has plenty to offer: from historical sites to world-class museums and a vibrant nightlife. Enjoy this private tour to explore a wide range of activities in Berlin and Potsdam, including several UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
view tour ⤍8 days / from1501 USD
Explore Northern Germany on Your Own
From Bremen to Stralsund - Northern Germany offers plenty of gems to explore. With well-developed public transportation links, this itinerary is suited for everyone wanting to explore on their own - getting lost on the cobble-stoned streets of many UNESCO World Heritage Highlights.
view tour ⤍15 days / from6264 USD
Capitals of Europe - Berlin, Prague, Vienna and more
This trip is ideal for all city & culture lovers: the Reichstag in Berlin, the castle in Prague, historical Cesky Krumlov, St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, the fortress above Salzburg and Schloss Neuschwanstein near Munich - these are just some of the highlights of this incredible roundup trip.
view tour ⤍11 days / from4212 USD
Castles across Austria and Czechia
Austria and Czechia are home to some of the world's most beautiful architecture and culture gems, such as Schloss Schönbrunn in Vienna, Prague castle, the fortress above Salzburg and many more. Finish your tour with a visit to Schloss Neuschwanstein before flying out of Munich.
view tour ⤍12 days / from4536 USD
Best of Germany
Germany has a lot to offer to visitors: history buffs will enjoy guided tours in Berlin and Dresden, children (and those at heart) will marvel at Schloss Neuschwanstein, scenery lovers will appreciate Rothenburg and the Black Forest. This trip truly has something for everybody!
view tour ⤍11 days / from3510 USD
Exclusive trip to Prague and Austria
Explore the main highlights of Central Europe: fascinating Prague & historical Cesky Krumlov, the highlights of Vienna, Salzburg and Innsbruck in Austria and then further on to Germany - get in the Disney spirit at Schloss Neuschwanstein.
view tour ⤍8 days / from1134 USD
Discover Saxony
Saxony is one of Europe’s most versatile destinations for art and culture. However, it is not just a treasure trove for culture buffs and city breakers but also features stunningly beautiful landscapes for adventures and active breaks in the great outdoors.
view tour ⤍12 days / from5346 USD
Oktoberfest in Germany & Beer culture in Austria & Czechia
Oktoberfest is a 2-week festival held in Munich/Germany. The first weekend of October is traditionally the last weekend of the festival, so plan accordingly. Before or after, head to Austria and Czechia for some more insights in to European beer culture.
view tour ⤍5 days / from1058 USD
Saxony - a first impression
Embark on an exploration tour through Saxony starting in Dresden. A 5-day “taster journey” combines cultural highlights and romantic spots in and around the state capital and make your way to Leipzig. The ideal tour for a perfect "first impression".
view tour ⤍11 days / from4212 USD
Beer culture in Czechia, Austria and Germany
Beer is an important part of Central European culture and this trip allows you to get to know this part in more detail - Pilsner brewery in Czechia, the famous Hofbräuhaus in Munich, the small and unique Stiegl brewery in Salzburg - get your taste buds ready for lots of Beer-liciousness.
view tour ⤍8 days / from4298 USD
An active outdoor trip for the whole family in Germany & Austria
Discover 'The Sound of Music' in Salzburg, swim in the lake at Zell am See, go hiking in the mountains of Kitzbühel, and get to know the world's most famous castle Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. Start and end to the tour is Munich and you can easily extend your days here.
view tour ⤍7 days / from3375 USD
Self Drive from the Rhine Valley to Bavaria
Explore the heart of Germany on a road trip from Heidelberg to Rothenburg to Nuremberg, concluding in Munich. Immerse yourself in rich history, visit castles, and delve into local culture at each stop. This self-drive adventure promises a journey through diverse landscapes and cultures.
view tour ⤍Your flight here was probably half-full with stag-do-goers, their sights set on the bawdy bars and brothels of the 1km-long Reeperbahn. Hamburg’s Kiez – as the red-light district is known here – has made a long career of chewing men up and spitting them out. Even the Beatles (who spent their professionally formative years in Hamburg) had their eyes opened by “Sin Mile”.
But it's also a tourist destination for those with no interest in titillation. Come for the people-watching alone: you could fill a novel with the gritty stories and characters associated with venues such as Zum Silbersack bar and Mojo Club.
You can also ignore the sex entirely – many locals do. The St. Pauli Theater overlooks the Reeperbahn, studiously ignoring the goings-on before it, while the Kiez also boasts Cuneo, one of the city’s finest Italian restaurants.
The Reeperbahn may be located in the St. Pauli neighbourhood, but this area doubles as the beating heart of Hamburg’s anti-establishment identity. The local football team, with its skull and crossbones regalia, is the most visible symbol of this attitude, and FC St. Pauli’s culture of punk, tolerance and anti-establishment resistance is tremendously refreshing. Catch a game if you can.
Step off the Reeperbahn and the mood changes utterly. St. Pauli is a peaceful, leafy, village-like place down streets such as Wohlwillstrasse and Grüner Jäger. On the former you’ll find St. Pauli’s tourist office, which looks like a minimal, artfully dishevelled café-cum-art space. Its gift items include indie bands playing cards, vegan and Fairtrade products, and badges depicting a Swastika-crushing fist.
If you're a music lover (or even if you're not), a Beatles-themed tour of the district is a must.
St. Pauli is home to the Jägerpassage, a courtyard off Wohlwillstrasse where John Lennon had the photo taken for his Rock ‘n’ Roll album. With toys and other domestic paraphernalia lying around, it’s as if the courtyard’s flats have been turned inside out: you’re looking at an example of Hamburg’s particularly bohemian way with communal living. Called “Wohnprojekt”, these buildings were squatted in the 1980s and eventually allocated to the squatters by the city.
While the Jägerpassage is essentially residential, another of Hamburg’s squatting hubs, the Gängeviertel, welcomes visitors for tours. It’s reminiscent of what the Chinese call a “nail house”– homes whose residents refuse to bow to development, so that a motorway or mall or some other imposing development has to be built around it.
In this case, the squatting artists moved in when development stalled because of the financial crash. What they’ve produced is a pleasing visual mess of bunting and shrubbery, bicycles and ragged art, mannequin limbs sticking out of walls, graffiti and grubbiness, smack bang in the city centre. The counterculturalists use innovative ways to duck and dive bureaucracy – and the developers – not least by presenting everything to do with the site as art (the bar, for example, was termed a “Contemporary Drinks Museum”).
The Schanzenviertel – known as the Schanze – lies just to the north of St. Pauli. Here, on Schulterblatt, you’ll find the Rote Flora site, the most resonant symbol of Hamburg’s countercultural, leftist-anarchist identity.
Originally a theatre, Rote Flora was subsequently a cinema and department store before squatters occupied it in the late 1980s. Any attempt to change this state of affairs is met with heated opposition. You can get chatting to some of the Schanze’s alternatives by visiting the popular Saturday-morning flea market.
Separated from the Schanze by the city’s former abattoir, the Karolinenviertel neighbourhood is undergoing a lurch towards gentrification. That said, it’s still a place of vintage stores and veggie grub, awash with a bohemian vibe.
Things are grittiest in the immediate environs of rock venue Knust on Neuer Kamp. This is one of Germany’s music hubs, a home for indie record labels and vinyl stores – check out Groove City and hip hop-inspired Gefundenes Fressen, purveyors of Hamburg soul food.
The city's countercultural force is given joyful vent in the city’s festivals. The fantastic Internationales Sommerfestival – one of Europe's largest contemporary performance arts festivals – is set to mystify the city with its wonderful weirdness for much of August. There’ll be site-based events but also an array of avant-garde interventions disrupting the city’s everyday.
Hamburg’s most popular conventional attraction is its Miniature Wonderland, full of tiny scale models. The Sommerfestival’s director, András Siebold, says that they’ll be having one of those too – but theirs is going to have rioters, he promises.
Top image: Beautiful view of famous Speicherstadt with dark clouds before the storm in Hamburg © canadastock/Shutterstock
written by Rough Guides Editors
updated 25.03.2020
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From travel safety to visa requirements, discover the best tips for traveling to Germany