Things to do in Germany

Germany is a federation of sixteen states. For most of their history they were separate countries, and it still shows. Beer, food, architecture and accent change every few hundred kilometres. A week here is a choice between two or three regions, not a lap of the country.

The other thing to know is that the twentieth century is not a museum subject here. It is on the street in Berlin. It is in the rebuilt centres of Dresden and Frankfurt, and in memorials that sit inside ordinary towns.

Where the tours actually go:

• Bavaria. The Alps, the castles Ludwig II bankrupted himself on, and Munich as the base for nearly all of it.
• Berlin and Brandenburg. Wall and Cold War routes, the Nazi-era sites, and Potsdam with the Prussian palaces half an hour out.
• The Rhine and the southwest. The gorge between Bingen and Koblenz on the UNESCO list, Heidelberg's castle above the Neckar, the Black Forest behind it.
• Franconia. Nuremberg, Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Bamberg — walled towns and smoked beer, and a different Bavaria from the Alpine one.
• The Danube. Passau at the confluence of three rivers, and the river-cruise traffic that turns around there.

The offer follows that geography. Most of it is a day out by car with a driver-guide, because the gaps between the sights are longer than the sights. Trains connect cities, not castles. Walking tours handle the centres, which are compact and best seen on foot.

Several routes cross a border without ceremony. Salzburg and Hallstatt run from Munich, Strasbourg from Frankfurt, Cesky Krumlov and Prague from Passau. Nobody checks a passport, and the day is priced as a German day out.

Practical

• Season. May to September is the reliable window. Alpine passes and lake boats run summer only, and Christmas markets are the other high season, late November to late December.
• Getting between cities. ICE trains are fast and expensive on the day, cheap booked weeks ahead. Regional tickets covering a whole state for a day exist and are worth asking about.
• Cash. Germany is more cash-attached than its neighbours. Small restaurants, bakeries and some museums still refuse cards.
• Sunday. Shops close, nearly all of them. Plan the supermarket run for Saturday.
• Castles. Neuschwanstein is timed-entry and sells out days ahead in summer; the ticket is for a slot, not a day.
• Quiet hours. Ruhezeit is taken seriously — nights, and all day Sunday, in apartment buildings.
• Tipping. Round up, or add about five per cent, and say the total when you pay rather than leaving coins.