What's Germany's most popular tourist attraction: Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria?
Or the Frauenkirche Church in Dresden?
What about the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg?
Or something else entirely? To find out, we took a look at visitor statistics for 2022
and the results were surprising. In addition to well-known attractions,
there are some newcomers to the ranking. You can also enter many of them for free!
Surprisingly, Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria comes in at 15th place.
You might think of this fairytale castle
as the country's top tourist spot, but the stats say otherwise.
Many tourists from Asia were not able to come last year due to pandemic-related restrictions.
Although Neuschwanstein Castle is the most-visited castle in Bavaria,
it's not Germany's most popular castle.
The most popular German castle is in Heidelberg!
Although large parts of it are in ruins, it doesn't seem to bother visitors.
Instead, it's part of the castle's charm and what makes it so fascinating.
What do you think?
Plus, its picturesque location above the old town makes it a great destination for romantics.
Dinosaurs may have died out 66 million years ago, but they still have a large fan base,
including in Berlin. Take a deep dive into the past at Berlin's Museum of Natural History.
Here, you'll have plenty of opportunities to learn about
lots of plant and animal species as you browse the museum's exhibits.
Spoiler alert: it's not the only museum in our ranking!
Tourists in Berlin often ask how to get to the Berlin Wall.
It's not always obvious, since not much of it is left.
A good place to start
is the memorial on Bernauer Strasse,
where part of the former border fortifications
have been transformed into an open-air exhibition.
You'll learn how
insurmountable the Wall was,
and how many people lost their lives
trying to get to the West.
Still in the German capital,
next we see Berlin's Fernsehturm,
or TV tower. It measures 368 meters, and is the tallest structure in Germany.
Take an elevator up 203 meters to the observation deck – it takes only 40 seconds!
And you'll love the views over the city!
You might be wondering why so many Berlin attractions made it onto the ranking.
It's simple: in 2022, more than 10 million tourists came to Berlin.
That's more than in any other German city!
Now it's time for the top ten.
Let's visit Dresden!
In 10th place is Dresden's Frauenkirche church.
With its large, elegant dome,
it's a masterpiece of Baroque architecture.
Dresden has plenty of stunning churches, but the Frauenkirche is definitely a visitor favorite.
This might be due to its unique past. The church was completely destroyed during
World War II and rebuilt decades later as a symbol of hope and reconciliation.
Two more churches made it into the top ten. Can you guess which ones?
Let's move on to #9:
the Deutsches Museum in Munich.
It's one of the largest
science and technology museums in the world.
It has around 28,000 objects on display, related to everything from aviation to seafaring.
It's also very hands-on, with plenty of opportunities to see
how things work up close and personal!
St. Michaelis, called Michel for short,
is a landmark in the city of Hamburg.
For centuries, the church's tower helped
sailors navigate their ships safely.
From the outside, the church may seem a bit plain,
but inside, it's spectacular.
Every day at noon, there's a prayer service
where you can hear the impressive organ in action. It's free to enter.
It's a great place to take a breather before continuing to sightsee around Hamburg.
You still have a lot to check out there!
When a model railway opened in Hamburg's Speicherstadt district 20 years ago,
few visitors cared to pay it a visit. But those days are long gone!
Every year, more than a million people of all ages
come to see the world's largest
model train layout.
New miniature worlds are being added all the time.
There are already small-scale models of places in Italy, the USA,
Patagonia, Austria and, of course, Germany and Hamburg.
It's like taking a tiny world tour with plenty of little technological tricks
that are sure to keep you entertained!
A newcomer to our top ten list
is the Humboldt Forum in Berlin.
Although it may look like a historic building,
it actually opened just two years ago and has already become a visitor favorite.
It's primarily a reconstruction of the old Berlin Palace,
which was destroyed during World War II.
Inside is a modern museum and exhibition space
with lots on offer from artworks from all over the world
to exhibitions about natural sciences and Berlin history.
Admission to most exhibitions is free.
Although many come simply to see the impressive new building.
The Zollverein coal mine industrial complex in Essen
lands in fifth place on our list.
It was once the largest coal mine in the world.
Today it's an industrial monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Concerts, festivals and film screenings are held on its extensive grounds.
There's a lot of industrial history too.
It's large tower has even been dubbed the "Eiffel Tower of the Ruhr" and is a popular photo spot.
Topography of Terror
is a frightening name
for a place where horrible things took place.
From 1933 to 1945,
the area near Berlin's Potsdamer Platz served as the Nazi's Gestapo, SS
and Reich Security Main Office.
Here, many of the Nazis atrocities were planned and organized.
These days, a Documentation Center provides information about perpetrators and victims,
and keeps the memory of this cruel chapter of German history alive.
Now we're getting to the top of our list!
So, what sites do you think made it into the top three? Munich's Marienplatz?
Or the Brandenburg Gate?
What about Berlin's East Side Gallery?
If those were your guesses, you're going to be disappointed!
Although all three places are high on the tourist popularity scale,
they aren't found in the rankings since visitor numbers to public places don't count.
But now the moment you've all been waiting for: The three most-visited places in Germany.
In third place is Berlin's Museum Island,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Five museums are located here. They display art treasures spanning 6,000 years of human history,
including world-famous works like the bust of Queen Nefertiti from ancient Egypt,
or the Pergamon Altar, which is currently being restored.
On the first Sunday of each month, admission to
many of Berlin's museums is free, including those on Museum Island.
In second place is the Elbphilharmonie
concert hall in Hamburg.
This spectacular building
is a blend of old and new, with the brick foundation
of an old harbor warehouse at the bottom, and a whimsical glass structure on top that's
reminiscent of ocean waves. It fits in well with the harbor city of Hamburg, doesn't it?
The Elbphilharmonie is now six years old, but it can still be tough to score a concert ticket.
Fortunately, there are other ways you can marvel at the architecture.
Head up to the visitor platform for great views of the city.
It's also free to access!
The most popular place to visit in Germany
is the Cologne Cathedral!
4.3 million people visited it in 2022!
We can't say enough about how spectacular this church is.
At 157 meters, it's the third-largest church in the world!
The central area is 144 meters long and can hold 4000 people.
And it took over 600 years to complete!
Climb up 533 steps to enjoy the magnificent views of Cologne!
Cologne Cathedral is a Gothic masterpiece, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
and the most popular sight in Germany!