Germany Travel Guide

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Occupying a prime position in the heart of Europe – both literally and figuratively – today’s Germany is an endlessly engaging destination: a land of high culture, frothy beer, half-timbered villages and dynamic cityscapes. Anyone expecting a homogenous country conforming to rigid Teutonic stereotypes is in for a surprise. Germany has shaken off the shackles of its inglorious past to stand as a country of remarkable diversity, as notable for its avant-garde architecture as for its horizon-wide countryside vistas.

Tourists will encounter a heady mix of untamed nature, fine arts and youthful creativity. The capital, Berlin, has a reputation (forged by the legendary “Roaring Twenties”) as a hip and hedonistic community where almost anything goes. In contrast, the quiet academic surroundings of historic university cities like Heidelberg and Freiburg convey a peacefulness quite at odds with the atmosphere of the capital.

Geography

Germany borders Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland. The northwest has a coastline on the North Sea while the Baltic coastline in the northeast stretches from the Danish to the Polish border.

The country is divided into 16 states (Bundesländer) and has an exceedingly varied landscape. In what was once known as West Germany, the Rhine, Bavaria and the Black Forest stand as the three most famous features, while in the east, the country is lake-studded with undulating lowlands. River basins extend over a large percentage of the region.