Things to Do in Germany: City Guides & Audio Tours

Germany is a country of changing borders, historic kingdoms, forests, northern coasts and Alpine mountains. The best things to do in Germany include exploring cities shaped by the Holy Roman Empire, the Protestant Reformation and reunification, as well as discovering its museums, music, architecture and distinctive food culture. Neywo has free audio guides for 60 cities in Germany, with 7,032 narrated places in total.

Germany travel guide: history and identity

Germany’s history reaches back at least 600,000 years. The first Neanderthal fossil was discovered in the Neander Valley, while Celtic-speaking peoples lived in the south and Germanic peoples expanded from northern Germany and southern Scandinavia. The Romans called the area Germania.

The eastern part of Charlemagne’s empire later became East Francia. This territory stretched from the Rhine to the Elbe and from the North Sea to the Alps. From this world emerged the Kingdom of Germany and the Holy Roman Empire.

Northern German regions became an important centre of the Protestant Reformation. Much later, Prussia led the unification that created the German Empire. Defeat in World War One brought revolution and the Weimar Republic. The Nazi rise to power led to dictatorship, World War Two and the Holocaust.

After the war, Germany was divided into West Germany and communist East Germany. That separation ended in 1990, when the former East German states joined the Federal Republic. Germany today carries this long and difficult history within a single reunited country.

What to see and do in Germany

Explore Germany’s historic cities

Germany’s cities reveal different chapters of the country’s past. The capital, Berlin, brings together places connected with the country’s divided and reunited history, alongside major cultural landmarks such as the Brandenburg Gate and Berliner Philharmonie. The city’s Neywo guide includes 480 narrated places.

In the north, Hamburg combines maritime surroundings with architecture and museums. Its narrated places include the Hamburger Kunsthalle, St. Nicholas Church, Chilehaus and Jenisch House. Kiel, also in the north, has places such as Kiel Castle, Christianpris, Dankeskirche and Ansgarkirche.

Potsdam is known through places including Sanssouci Palace, Cecilienhof and the New Palace. Further east, Dresden offers the Church of Our Lady, Dresden Cathedral, Semperoper and Zwinger. Leipzig includes St. Nicholas Church, Gohliser Schlösschen, Königshaus and the Bach-Museum Leipzig.

Discover churches, palaces and medieval towns

The country’s architectural heritage ranges from imperial residences to medieval churches. In Bavaria, Munich has the Glyptothek, Frauenkirche, Nymphenburg Palace and Theatine Church among its 580 narrated places. Nuremberg includes St. Egidien, St. Sebald and St. Sebaldus.

Regensburg brings together Regensburg Cathedral, St. Emmeram’s Basilica and the Goldenes Kreuz. In Würzburg, the Würzburg Residence, Gartenpavillon, Würzburg Cathedral and Spitäle provide a route through the city’s built heritage. Bamberg includes Bamberg Cathedral, Michaelsberg Abbey, Burg and Villa Dessauer.

In Baden-Württemberg, Heidelberg is centred on Heidelberg Castle, while its other narrated places include Thingstätte Heidelberg, St. Bartholomäus and Kreuzkirche. Freiburg includes Freiburg Minster, Munzingen Palace, Dreisamstadion and Ebnet Castle.

Germany’s smaller historic towns offer a different pace. Goslar’s narrated places include Mönchehaus-Museum für Moderne Kunst, Rammelsberg, Stiftskirche St. Georg and Kaiserworth. Quedlinburg includes Gernrode Abbey, St. Wiperti, Goetzsches Mausoleum and Klosterkirche Münzenberg. In Rothenburg, places on the guide include St. James’s Church, Franciscan Abbey, Heilig-Geist-Spital and Schäfertanzmuseum.

Follow literature, music and the arts

German culture has played an important role in European literature and music. Its literary tradition reaches back to the Middle Ages, with figures including Walther von der Vogelweide and Wolfram von Eschenbach. Later, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller became well-known names in German writing.

Music is another central part of the country’s cultural history. Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Händel were influential composers of the Baroque period. Ludwig van Beethoven became a crucial figure as music moved from the Classical era towards Romanticism.

You can explore this heritage in cities with strong musical and artistic identities. Bayreuth includes the Bayreuth Festival Theatre, Margravial Opera House, Ordenskirche St. Georgen and Deutsches Freimaurer-Museum. Bonn includes Beethoven House, as well as Hammerschmidt Villa, Palais Schaumburg and St. Helena-Kapelle. In Leipzig, the Bach-Museum Leipzig is among the city’s narrated places.

Experience Germany’s landscapes

Germany stretches between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea in the north and the Alps in the south. The country rises southward towards the Alpine mountains, with the Zugspitze as its highest point at nearly 3,000 metres.

This geography creates several different climates. The north and west are influenced by oceanic conditions, with moist air carried by westerly winds from the North Sea. Towards the east and southeast, the climate becomes more continental, with greater extremes. Winters can be cold in the Southern Alps, while summers may be hot and dry or cool and rainy.

The landscape combines northern coasts, broad forests, farmland and settled areas. Just over half the land is used for agriculture, while forests cover nearly a third. Beech and oak are among the deciduous trees, while spruce and pine are especially common conifers. Ferns, flowers, fungi and mosses are also part of this Central European natural setting.

For Alpine surroundings, Garmisch-Partenkirchen includes the King’s House on Schachen, Museum Aschenbrenner, Museum Werdenfels and Richard-Strauss-Institut. In the Black Forest region, Triberg includes Maria in der Tanne, Schwarzwaldmuseum, Burg Triberg and Triberg Waterfalls. On the Baltic coast, Rostock includes Bahnhofsbrücke Warnemünde, Palais und Barocksaal and the Stasi Dokumentations- und Gedenkstätte Rostock.

Taste Germany through its bakeries

Bread is a major part of German cuisine. German bakeries produce about 600 main types of bread, as well as around 1,200 varieties of pastries and rolls known as Brötchen. Cheese is another important part of the country’s food landscape, and Germany produces a substantial share of all the cheese made in Europe.

For many visitors, Germany’s food story begins not with a grand meal but with a local bakery. Bread, rolls, pastries and cheese show how much variety the country has created from familiar everyday staples.

Explore Germany with Neywo’s free audio guide

Download Neywo and explore Germany independently with 222 walking tours covering 7,032 narrated places across 60 cities. The app tells the story of each place as you reach it, at your own pace, with no group and no schedule. Narration is available in 11 languages, making it an easy way to discover Germany’s cities while you walk.