Ten reasons tourists love Germany

Berlin's power to fascinate is unbroken. 13.5 million people visited the German capital in 2018. Even though city promoters are now concentrating more on cultural tourism than on party-goers, both are possible in Berlin: exploring the eventful history of the city during the day and hitting one of the legendary clubs or discos after nightfall.

Saxony is in vogue with tourists from both Europe and overseas. In 2018 more foreign visitors than ever strolled over Brühl's Terrace to the Zwinger Palace and the rebuilt Frauenkirche. Leipzig, with its musical history and institutions, and the Erzgebirge mountains were also popular destinations in Saxony, though Saxon Switzerland registered the highest growth, with a plus of ten percent.

Beer just goes with Bavaria. Huge quantities of it flow every year at Munich's Oktoberfest, which increased its attendance slightly in 2018, with 6.3 million visitors. Once again, Bavaria was the state most popular with tourists from abroad. The New York Times has recommended its theatres, museums and opera houses, putting Munich far in front in Germany in its arts and ambiance.

Resorts with beaches on the Baltic Sea, like Binz on the island of Rügen, Hanseatic cities like Stralsund and Rostock, pristine nature in the interior — in the hot summer of 2018 Mecklenburg-West Pomerania led the pack where growth in overnight stays by German tourists was concerned.

In 2018 this state in southwest Germany achieved a record number of overnight stays, just under 55 million. A traditional destination is still in fashion: the Black Forest, the country's largest low mountain range. In 2018, tourists from abroad traveled here mainly from Switzerland, the Netherlands and France .

Nobody knows exactly how many thousands of castles and palaces there are in Germany. What's certain is that Neuschwanstein in Bavaria is the best known. In 2018, despite restoration works inside, 1.5 million visitors went to see the castle built by the Bavarian "Fairytale King," Ludwig II.

Cellar tours, walks with vintners and wine tastings – wine tourism is all the rage, whether in the Rheinhessen region, Franconia or along the Moselle. A tenth of wine tourists come from abroad, especially from the Netherlands and US. On average, they spend more than other tourists: more than 5.5 billion euros annually — thus securing about 75,000 jobs.

Although controversial from an ecological point of view, river cruises are booming — not just on the Danube and Rhine, but also on the Elbe between Dresden and Hamburg. A popular place to stop off is the 1200-year-old Elbe metropolis of Magdeburg, with its cathedral and the Green Citadel, a building designed by the Austrian-born artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

Nowadays there are Christmas markets all over the world, but the only one that lasts 365 days is at Käthe Wohlfahrt Christmas Village in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. That and the medieval look of the town make it especially popular with tourists from the US and Asia. Two million visitors come here annually. In 2018 there were even more: overnight stays were up by more than ten percent.

In 2019, Germany is celebrating the centenary of the Bauhaus, the famous school of architecture and design. Exhibitions are taking place not only in large cities such as Berlin, but also in Weimar and Dessau (picture). With the opening of their Bauhaus museums, the towns hope to attract record numbers of visitors in 2019.