These Are the 100 Most-Loved Sights in Germany and We Bet You Haven't Even Heard of the Top 5

25.09.2024 - 14:41 / matadornetwork.com

I think of myself as a well-traveled individual with a very solid knowledge of geography and tourist sights. Most of the people at Matador Network see themselves in the same way. After all, we live and breathe travel day in, day out. Yet, apparently, none of us know much about Germany.

When the German National Tourist Board sent me a list of the country’s top-100 sights and attractions, I already had the first five clearly listed in my head — or so I thought:

When I clicked the link to the ranking, however, the top five were not what I had anticipated.

To make sure I was not the only one with a distorted idea of what Germany had to offer, I asked my coworkers what they thought were the top sights and attractions in the country. Their responses mostly mirrored mine, except for a few; many also suggested Berlin’s nightlife, the Black Forest, the Bavarian Alps, Frankfurt’s Old Town, and the Cologne Cathedral, among others.

In reality, after the German National Tourist Board asked international visitors, as well as more than 25,000 people from around the world, their favorite sights and attractions in Germany, this is what the top five looked like:

The city of Berlin, the capital of the country, doesn’t even crack the top five, Neuschwanstein Castle ranks as #11, and Oktoberfest is found at the 37th spot.

If you’ve never heard of most of the entries on this top-five list, you’re not alone. Neither have I and neither have my travel expert colleagues. But these are the German sights and attractions that the public chose, so let’s dive a little deeper to see what they are all about.

Holder of the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest model railroad system, Miniatur Wunderland is a cross between a museum and a theme park. Like its name indicates, it is a miniature representation of parts of the world, including Italy, the US, and Switzerland, as well as airports, train stations, train lines, and events like the Monaco Grand Prix, among many others. Miniatur Wunderland covers a total of 107,639 square foot in the center of Hamburg’s Speicherstadt District and is home to 292,110 Wunderländer, the mini inhabitants of this fantastic world. Miniatur Wunderland keeps expanding to include more and more geographic locations and details; a Rainforest section, as well as as an miniature Atacama Desert should be added at the end of 2025.

Photo: Preisler /Shutterstock

Europa-Park, located in the city of Rust in Southwest Germany, is the country’s largest theme park. There are over 100 rides and shows on offer at Europa-Park, including dozens of rollercoasters, magic shows, dance shows, train rides, carrousels, boat rides, water slides, and many more. There are on-site hotels and restaurants to cater for the more than