The most beautiful cities in Germany
Germany’s most beautiful cities and towns stand among the best places to visit in the European Union. They span almost the full range of European variety.
- There are cities with Roman origins and remains such as Trier, Cologne, Regensburg and Mainz.
- Medieval cities such as Nuremberg, Erfurt, Bamberg and Worms and the half-timbered Harz region towns of Goslar, Quedlinburg and Wernigerode.
- Renaissance showpiece cities such as Lübeck, Augsburg or Bremen.
- Cities with Baroque survivals, including Dresden, Heidelberg or Passau.
- Plenty of German cities have beautiful palaces on their streets or nearby, like Potsdam, Munich, Stuttgart, Würzburg and Weimar.
- The great cathedrals such as Cologne, Regensburg, Bamberg, Mainz, Erfurt, Worms, with countless other churches, sometimes in Romanesque but more commonly in the Gothic style. The münster of Ulm has the tallest spire of them all.
- Museums of culture and art among world’s best, including Deutsches Museum, Deutsches Nationalmuseum, Alte Pinakothek and the Pergamonmuseum.
All these places can be reached by train and bus (Quedlinburg is on a branch line). All offer a range of hotels, hostels, guest houses and other types of accommodation. All are very walkable and, like most German towns and cities, are really best seen on foot. But trams and buses help get people to and from hotels or attractions and for the bigger centres, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Nuremberg, there are fast regular options in the form of S-bahn and U-bahn trains and light-rail transport.
Communications
For most travellers in Germany, the only problems with communications will be about making choices.
Telephones
The international dialling code for Germany is 49. When calling abroad from Germany, dial 00 at the beginning. German phone numbers have area codes, which start with a zero (omitted in international calls) and can be separated from the subscriber number by insertion in parentheses or by a hyphen or virgule (slash). Even when the call is local, mobile (cellular) phone users must always dial the area code.
German telephone numbers can be confusing as they can be displayed in various ways, often grouping figures with seemingly meaningless hyphens. But usually a single hyphen near the end of the number will indicate that the last digits are an extension line from a switchboard number. In these cases it is best to dial all the digits and, if frustrated, try again using a zero instead of the suffix after the hyphen – this might prove to be the switchboard. If all else fails, there is an English directory assistance number (tel 11837).
German mobile phone numbers have either four-digit or five-digit network prefixes.
For police emergencies dial 110 anywhere, for other emergencies 112.
The searchable Germany-wide telephone directory Dastelefonbuch translates well in web browsers (except wer/was ‘who/what’ and wo ‘where’).
Numbers with prefixes in the 0800 group (including 0801) are toll-free for diallers, but might not be accessible from public phones. Some may not be accessible from mobiles. To others, the dialler may pay a surcharge (such as 39 euro cents per minute). Charges on numbers beginning with 0900 or 0190 to 0194 will be high.
Deutsche Telekom’s public telephones, marked in pink, no longer operate. Many have been repurposed.
For Skype calls see the Skype section below.
Area codes
Some of these codes will be six digits, which leads to some very long phone numbers (up to 11 digits, excluding the country code) because the tally of digits in phone numbers grows to cover the increasing mass of subscribers. Here is a short guide to Raven Guides destinations and other tourist centres:
Aachen 0241, Amberg 09621, Augsburg 0821
Bamberg 0951, Berlin 030, Bonn 0228, Bremen 0421
Cochem 02671, Cologne 0221
Dinkelsbühl 09851, Dortmund 0231, Dresden 0351, Düsseldorf 0211
Erfurt 0361
Frankfurt am Main 069, Füssen 08362
Görlitz 03581, Goslar 05321
Hamburg 040, Hannover 0511, Heidelberg 06221
Koblenz 0261
Leipzig 0341, Lübeck 0451, Ludwigsburg 07141, Lutherstadt Wittenberg 03491
Magdeburg 0391, Mainz 06131, Mannheim 0621, Meissen 03521, Munich 089
Nuremberg 0911
Passau 0851, Potsdam 0331
Quedlinburg 03946
Regensburg 0941, Rostock 0381, Rothenburg ob der Tauber 09861
Schwerin 0385, Stralsund 03831, Stuttgart 0711
Trier 0651
Ulm 0731
Weimar 03643, Wernigerode 03943, Wismar 03841, Worms 06241, Würzburg 0931
Xanten 02801
Mobile phones
Mobile communications is a complex area and the choices can be bewildering for some travellers. This starts with the basic matter of whether the mobile phone will work in Europe.
Germany’s cellular phone network is GSM-based. CDMA phones or dual-band GSM phones in North American use can only work on German networks if they are unlocked and appropriate SIM cards are inserted. Dual-band GSM phones will not function on European networks in their North American configuration as frequencies are incompatible, while tri-band phones will be limited in their usefulness. Europe uses 900 and 1800 MHz frequencies.
Buying a prepaid German mobile phone (Mobiltelefon or, more usually, Handy) for use through the local call providers is an option for regular users. The main providers, Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile, Vodafone and O2 have language on their homepages that translates well in browsers, though terms and conditions take some navigating. An alternative is available at Congstar. To browse these sites in English, search the provider name and use the Google Translate option.
To compare the offers above, visit Mygermanphone.de.
Network coverage and reception on so-called D-networks (such as T-Mobile and Vodafone) is regarded by many users as wider than on E-networks (O2 and E-Plus), although users of the E-networks can be switched to D-network providers as necessary. It is possible E-networks are better in some urban areas and they use less power.
The budget supermarkets Penny (using T-Mobile) and Aldi offer prepaid mobile phone and internet deals.
Otherwise, phone service providers in the home country might offer options. But mobile phone users are advised always to have a full and clear idea of the cost of using their devices on international networks – and dialling home.
Ortel Mobile offers SIM cards for travellers in Germany and operates a fully functional English site, as well as delivery to home countries.
Skype
For prepaid calls using Skype credit, early 2023 monthly charges (add tax) for Skype credit calls for extended or unlimited minutes to phones start at:
€2.81 - US
€6.08 - US and Canada
€6.08 - UK or Ireland
€6.63 – Australia or New Zealand (restricted minutes) or Singapore (unlimited)
€7.01 - India
€11.73 - South Africa
Per-minute call charges range from 2 to 3.5 euro cents.
World accounts start at €5 (190 minutes).
Full details and updated fees are at skype.com.
Internet
Free public wi-fi hotspots have become more common in Germany since legislation changes removed burdens of responsibility for illegal online activity by users that once rested with providers. Wi-fi in Germany is generally referred to as WLAN.
Cafes and fast-food chains typically offer free wi-fi access. Alternatively, users can find currently available hotspots with the hotspot finder apps downloadable free at the App Store or from GooglePlay.
Finding accommodation with free or cheap access is important. Some establishments advertising internet access offer only a chance to sit at a linked PC or access from a lobby or common room. Not all major hotel chains have free WLAN room access, but many independent hotels offer it. Networks such as German Hotspot sometimes provide networks to accommodation houses, requiring a straightforward and free account registration from users. Big hotel chains sometimes provide branded networks for guests' use. Reception desks will provide instructions at check-in or take guests through the sign-up procedures, which can vary considerably.
For users on the move, wireless-enabled carriages run Deutsche Bahn main-line ICE and IC trains (such as Hamburg-Frankfurt-Stuttgart-Munich, Frankfurt-Cologne-Düsseldorf-Essen and Mannheim-Freiburg), international routes and a growing list of regional routes. Visit the DB wi-fi page for details.
DB offers 30 minutes of free HotSpot access is available at about 130 stations. For details in English, visit the bahnhof.de wi-fi page.
Some long-distance bus companies also provide on-board wi-fi access.
Post
Most Deutsche Post outlets are now agencies handling basic postal transactions, part of businesses with stationery supplies, newspapers and magazines or lotto outlets (this is true of main rail stations). In Raven Guides destinations (see the Quick Guides sections) full post offices (and recognisable by their status as Postbank Finanzcenters) are preferred. These are open M-F 8-18 or 9-18, Sa 9-12 or 9-13. As well as stamps (Briefmarken), packaging supplies are available. Ordinary stamps are also dispensed by yellow coin-operated vending machines where stamps can be selected by buttons on the right.
Poste restante items (Postlagernde Briefe) are claimable at central post offices on production of identification.
German street addresses give the street name first, followed by the house or building number. The postal code (Postleitzahl or PLZ) comes next, a five-figure number sometimes given with the prefix D- (Deutschland) – unnecessary for internal mail and redundant for mail sent internationally and addressed to the country. Then comes the city or town name. A post office box is called Postfach.
An address will usually read like this (in the case of the Canadian embassy):
Embassy of Canada
Leipziger Platz 17,
10117 Berlin
The Postleitzahl is used for many purposes and online searches for all sorts of online services usually require it. They can be searched at the Deutsche Post website using the link on the homepage or use the ‘Postleitzahlensuche’ search box. A summary of all services and postal specifications is included on the site, where there are links to a cost calculator. All this reads quite well, for the most part, in a browser translation.
Deutsche Post postage charges for a letter (Brief) or postcard (Postkarte) in Germany are: postcard €0.70, standard letter (up to 20 grams) €0.85, letter up to 50g €1.
The international rate for a postcard is €0.95, for a letter up to 20g €1.10 (21-50g €1.70). Letter categories also have size restrictions that could push postage into a higher cost bracket. But the ‘letter’ category can be quite large, including packages 51-500g (€3.70), 501-1000g (€7) and 1001-2000g (€17). Books and magazines can be sent a little cheaper by specifying economy post.
Delivery times by air mail (Luftpost) vary but Deutsche Post claims average delivery windows in working days as follows: Australia 6-13 days, Canada 5-9 days, India 6-10 days, Ireland 3-6 days, Malaysia 6-13 days, New Zealand 6-13 days, Singapore 6-13 days, South Africa 6-13 days, US 5-9 days. Actual delivery times to destination can be longer.
Air mail packages cost a good deal more than economy post (which has delivery times in weeks). Package postal costs can be calculated at the Deutsche Post website by size and weight. Package postage or delivery is made possible through the international delivery arm DHL.
Valuable packages are worth registering, which means the sender gets a shipment receipt. Items sent through Deutsche Post or DHL can be tracked by sender or receiver with the shipment number (Sendungsnummer) on the receipt. This can be typed in at the inquiry window at the link.
The package may be valuable enough to consider postal insurance, although this may not be cheap. Inquire when posting about whether insurance is available to the destination country and the costs and benefits. Again, a shipment number will be provided for each insured item (Wertbrief).
