COVID-19 travel information

Travel to and within Germany is possible with some rules because of the incidence of COVID-19 (popularly called Corona). The German government has set rules for autumn and winter that are set to last until April 7 next year.

Cases of the so-called BF.7 Omicron sub-variant have appeared in Germany. This strain has emerged from the dominant BA.5 version.

The general advice to travellers visiting Germany is to get fully vaccinated and boosted and carry recognised proof, along with a FFP2/N95 face mask, especially for travel on public transport.

On September 20, Germany reported almost 57,000 new cases, representing a national seven -day incidence rate of 264 cases per 100,000 people. This was a slight rise from earlier in the month, but a fall from early in August, when the figure stood at about 400. The estimated seven-day reproduction number was 0.92, meaning infected people passed on their infection to 0.92 others.

From October 1, Germany considers everyone with two doses of an approved vaccine and a third-dose booster to be fully vaccinated. Travellers who received the Johnson & Johnson-Janssen single-dose vaccine need a second-dose booster. In Germany, on September 19, about 77% of the population had had a basic vaccination and about 62% a booster.

Germany's approved COVID-19 vaccines are produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson-Janssen and Novavax. Complete vaccination with vaccines recognised in the WHO emergency use list, including Covaxin, is also accepted.

Arrival in Germany: Travellers arriving in Germany will not need to show proof of vaccination or recent COVID-19 recovery. Holders of an EU Digital COVID Certificate (see below), which shows vaccination, recovery or a negative test, are allowed to travel freely within the EU or Schengen zone without the need for extra tests or quarantine.

Germany has no risk list of countries for overseas arrivals, although residents China need to show an important reason to enter. The national health authority RKI says the designation of risk areas will apply only to regions of high incidence of variants with higher virulence than the Omicron variant. Travellers who stop in such areas 10 days before arrival in Germany have to meet more stringent rules, including 14 days' quarantine.

For current listings of virus-variant risk areas in English, check HERE. Following a stay in a future-declared risk area, there will be a special obligation to register before entering Germany at www.einreiseanmeldung.de and carry the confirmation of registration and proof of a negative PCR test result. Carriers and border police may check this. Vaccination or recovery proof would not be sufficient and 14-day quarantine periods would apply.

To confrm current entry rules, check HERE.

Valid COVID certificates: For activities in Germany, an EU Digital COVID Certificate (also known as a digital green certificate) is the preferred proof but comparable documents of vaccination in German, English, French, Italian or Spanish will be accepted. WHO vaccination yellow booklets are accepted (but not necessarily for entering venues in all federal states).

Travellers with other certificates showing they meet German entry requirements should still be able to enter the country. Proof must be dated and be accompanied by photographic ID. If entering Germany with an airline or other carrier, travellers should be able to present their test certificate or other proof to the carrier before departure.

The EU Digital COVID Certificate is available to EU residents as a certificate or for uploading to a smartphone app if they are vaccinated in an EU country with an EU-recognised vaccine. It includes a scannable QR code. An EU Digital COVID Certificate holder should be exempt from coronavirus travel restrictions. To issue the pass, the EU will accept either a vaccination certificate or a recent negative test, or proof of recent recovery from COVID-19. Foreign vaccine certificates can be converted to a EU certificate at some pharmacies on production of a certificate and the carrier's passport. The system will operate in Europe until at least June 2023. Visit www.etiasvisa.com/etias-news/digital-covid-certificate for more information.

More than 30 non-EU countries and territories are affiliated with the Digital COVID Certificate and their local certificates are accepted as equivalents. These include European EU associates such as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, the UK, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.

The identity of the person or institution responsible for vaccination or issuing the certificate must be clear on the document. There will generally be a QR code.

The proof of vaccination must show at least the given and family names of the holder and their date of birth or the number of their passport or official photo identification. The dates of vaccination, number of doses, the names of the vaccines and the the name of the disease vaccinated against must be shown.

EU countries accept vaccination certificates for 270 days following the the last dose of the primary vaccination.

Germany-wide social restrictions: A mask-wearing requirement remains on local public transport and long-distance buses and trains. FFP2/N95 or medical masks are acknowledged standards, depending on the area. Travellers on flights to and from Germany, as well as domestic flights, will not face a mask requirement from October 1.

The EU has eased mask rules on flights but airlines may impose their own rules.

There is no general mandate to wear masks in shops, businesses and other premises but these can, however, set and enforce their own mask requirements. Mask requirements imposed by federal states could be reimposed depending on the rate of infection. Look for a Maskenpflicht sign, usually with a mask symbol, denoting masks must be worn. The so-called 3G and 2G rules – meaning people had to show some proof of immunity to enter a venue like a restaurant – are no longer in place across Germany. But restaurants, bars, hotels or cafes could request proof of vaccination or recovery in the form of an EU Digital COVID Certificate.

German state rules: German federal states have the power to introduce their own rules to deal with COVID-19, meaning requirements vary by region. Regions could also define themselves as COVID "hotspots” and put in place some rules, including mask rules, depending on pressure on public health institutions. Regional measures such as mandated 2G or 3G entry rules in public places or businesses could also be reimposed, subject to infection rates.

Under varying state rules, the minimum isolation period for COVID-positive people is five days if they have had no symptoms for 48 hours, or on taking a negative test. People not satisfying the relevant state standard may have to self-isolate for 10 days.

COVID-19 infection rates: Germany has had 32.8 million cases since early 2020. Mid-September hotspots include areas west of Regensburg (800-1000 cases per 100,000 people), south-east of Munich (about 920), near Mannheim (about 600) and in the border city of Passau (about 550). The highest state figure was in the small western state of Saarland (427.5). The Berlin figure was 199.

Getting symptoms: If travellers develop possible COVID-19 symptoms such as coughing, a runny nose, sore throat or fever, they should restrict their movement and call a doctor or the 116 117 health hotline.

COVID-19 tests: Rapid antigen COVID-19 tests are available at testing centres, along with kits for self-administered testing, but come at a €3 government charge. PCR tests are free for anyone showing positive in a rapid test, but otherwise can cost about €50.

COVID-19 variants: Concerns now centre on the dominant Omicron sub-variant BA.5, although BA.4 and BA.2 sub-variants are likely also present. About a quarter of the world's known BF.7 cases have been reported in neighbouring Belgium and about 10% in Germany. The relative severity of the new BF.7 sub-variant is hard to gauge.

Tracing alert and vaccination certificate apps: The official German Corona-Warn-App can be downloaded at the Google Play (Android 6.0 and up) or App Store (most iPhones) and is the only way of getting a full report about official PCR test results. A QR code procedure verifies positive test results, but does not replace the report letter or information from the laboratory, test centre or doctor. The CovPass app (available at the App Store or Google Play) can store vaccination proof on a smartphone by scanning the QR code. Restaurants, hotels and cultural institutions in some parts of Germany also use the Luca app for contact tracing and QR-code check-ins.

Corona-Warn-app users who receive a red warning status notice, showing an increased risk of infection, should contact the German medical assistance hotline at 116 117 or local health authorities.

COVID-19 travel information Travel to and within Germany is possible with some rules because of the incidence of COVID-19 (popularly called Corona). The German government has set rules for autumn and winter that are set to last until April 7 next year.

The general advice to travellers visiting Germany is to get fully vaccinated and boosted and carry recognised proof, along with a FFP2/N95 face mask, especially for travel on public transport.

On November 11, Germany reported more than 26,000 new cases, representing a national seven -day incidence rate of about 260 cases per 100,000 people.

From October 1, Germany considers everyone with two doses of an approved vaccine and a third-dose booster to be fully vaccinated. Travellers who received the Johnson & Johnson-Janssen single-dose vaccine need a second-dose booster. In Germany, on November 4, about 78% of the population had had a basic vaccination and about 62% a booster.

Germany's approved COVID-19 vaccines are produced by Pfizer-BioNTech, Oxford-AstraZeneca, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson-Janssen and Novavax. Complete vaccination with vaccines recognised in the WHO emergency use list, including Covaxin, is also accepted.

Arrival in Germany: Travellers arriving in Germany will not need to show proof of vaccination or recent COVID-19 recovery. Holders of an EU Digital COVID Certificate (see below), which shows vaccination, recovery or a negative test, are allowed to travel freely within the EU or Schengen zone without the need for extra tests or quarantine.

Germany has no risk list of countries for overseas arrivals, although residents China need to show an important reason to enter. The national health authority RKI says the designation of risk areas will apply only to regions of high incidence of variants with higher virulence than the Omicron variant. Travellers who stop in such areas 10 days before arrival in Germany have to meet more stringent rules, including 14 days' quarantine.

For current listings of virus-variant risk areas in English, check HERE. Following a stay in a future-declared risk area, there will be a special obligation to register before entering Germany at www.einreiseanmeldung.de and carry the confirmation of registration and proof of a negative PCR test result. Carriers and border police may check this. Vaccination or recovery proof would not be sufficient and 14-day quarantine periods would apply.

To confrm current entry rules, check HERE.

Valid COVID certificates: For activities in Germany, an EU Digital COVID Certificate (also known as a digital green certificate) is the preferred proof but comparable documents of vaccination in German, English, French, Italian or Spanish will be accepted. WHO vaccination yellow booklets are accepted (but not necessarily for entering venues in all federal states).

Travellers with other certificates showing they meet German entry requirements should still be able to enter the country. Proof must be dated and be accompanied by photographic ID. If entering Germany with an airline or other carrier, travellers should be able to present their test certificate or other proof to the carrier before departure.

The EU Digital COVID Certificate is available to EU residents as a certificate or for uploading to a smartphone app if they are vaccinated in an EU country with an EU-recognised vaccine. It includes a scannable QR code. An EU Digital COVID Certificate holder should be exempt from coronavirus travel restrictions. To issue the pass, the EU will accept either a vaccination certificate or a recent negative test, or proof of recent recovery from COVID-19. Foreign vaccine certificates can be converted to a EU certificate at some pharmacies on production of a certificate and the carrier's passport. The system will operate in Europe until at least June 2023. Visit www.etiasvisa.com/etias-news/digital-covid-certificate for more information.

More than 30 non-EU countries and territories are affiliated with the Digital COVID Certificate and their local certificates are accepted as equivalents. These include European EU associates such as Iceland, Norway and Switzerland, the UK, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore.

The identity of the person or institution responsible for vaccination or issuing the certificate must be clear on the document. There will generally be a QR code.

The proof of vaccination must show at least the given and family names of the holder and their date of birth or the number of their passport or official photo identification. The dates of vaccination, number of doses, the names of the vaccines and the the name of the disease vaccinated against must be shown.

EU countries accept vaccination certificates for 270 days following the the last dose of the primary vaccination.

Germany-wide social restrictions: A mask-wearing requirement remains on local public transport and long-distance buses and trains. FFP2/N95 or medical masks are acknowledged standards, depending on the area. Travellers on flights to and from Germany, as well as domestic flights, will not face a mask requirement from October 1.

The EU has eased mask rules on flights but airlines may impose their own rules.

There is no general mandate to wear masks in shops, businesses and other premises but these can, however, set and enforce their own mask requirements. Mask requirements imposed by federal states could be reimposed depending on the rate of infection. Look for a Maskenpflicht sign, usually with a mask symbol, denoting masks must be worn. The so-called 3G and 2G rules – meaning people had to show some proof of immunity to enter a venue like a restaurant – are no longer in place across Germany. But restaurants, bars, hotels or cafes could request proof of vaccination or recovery in the form of an EU Digital COVID Certificate.

German state rules: German federal states have the power to introduce their own rules to deal with COVID-19, meaning requirements vary by region. Regions could also define themselves as COVID "hotspots” and put in place some rules, including mask rules, depending on pressure on public health institutions. Regional measures such as mandated 2G or 3G entry rules in public places or businesses could also be reimposed, subject to infection rates.

Under varying state rules, the minimum isolation period for COVID-positive people is five days if they have had no symptoms for 48 hours, or on taking a negative test. People not satisfying the relevant state standard may have to self-isolate for 10 days.

COVID-19 infection rates: Germany has had 35.8 million cases since early 2020. Mid-November hotspots included areas west and south of Hannover with seven-day case incidences between 1,000 and 1,700. The highest state figure was in the city state of Bremen (358.9). The Berlin figure was 219.7.

Getting symptoms: If travellers develop possible COVID-19 symptoms such as coughing, a runny nose, sore throat or fever, they should restrict their movement and call a doctor or the 116 117 health hotline.

COVID-19 tests: Rapid antigen COVID-19 tests are available at testing centres, along with kits for self-administered testing, but come at a €3 government charge. PCR tests are free for anyone showing positive in a rapid test, but otherwise can cost about €50.

COVID-19 variants: Concerns now centre on the new Omicron BQ.1 family of sub-variants. It it is expected to account for half the COVID-19 cases in most parts of Europe leading up to Christmas, growing case numbers, but is not notably severe. The sub-variant BA.5 likely accounts for most other cases.

Tracing alert and vaccination certificate apps: The official German Corona-Warn-App can be downloaded at the Google Play (Android 6.0 and up) or App Store (most iPhones) and is the only way of getting a full report about official PCR test results. A QR code procedure verifies positive test results, but does not replace the report letter or information from the laboratory, test centre or doctor. The CovPass app (available at the App Store or Google Play) can store vaccination proof on a smartphone by scanning the QR code. Restaurants, hotels and cultural institutions in some parts of Germany also use the Luca app for contact tracing and QR-code check-ins.

Corona-Warn-app users who receive a red warning status notice, showing an increased risk of infection, should contact the German medical assistance hotline at 116 117 or local health authorities.

Tourist information

In Germany there is no shortage of high-quality travel information in English. Tourism is an important and well organised industry, standing next to the marketing of congress and trade fair opportunities.

Tourist information centres

Most of Germany’s city tourist information centres stand with the world’s best in service, resources, co-ordination and location. Visitors can step out of main rail or bus stations and be within five minutes of all the information and professional advice necessary to enjoy their experience. Sometimes there are information kiosks in stations, supported by the central office. Big cities have multiple sites, though all are not necessarily open at once. Almost everyone speaks English well.

Free guides are plentiful in English and translations are generally of reasonable standard. Maps are excellent and, though not always available free, will rarely cost more than €1.50.

Tourist services are supported by detailed and user-friendly information websites, but the English versions of tourist office websites (or transport sites) do not always have identical scope and detail. Sometimes the tourist information component is incorporated in the local civic site.

Germany – The travel destination, the brand for the national tourist board Deutsche Zentrale für Tourismus, is responsible for international marketing. Its website www.germany.travel/en/index.html can provide some thematic ideas.

Tourist offices in the biggest cities are generally open seven days, M-F 9 or 10-18 (between April and October this can extend to 20.00) and until 17.00 Saturdays. Sunday hours can be shorter (often 10-16) and secondary offices might be closed. Public holidays will affect opening hours.

A booking service for hotels or other rooms (Zimmervermittlung) will usually be provided, though not necessarily from the same desk or for the same hours. Sometimes there will also be information or ticket sales for entertainments and events. Official guided tours (or tour guides) can usually be arranged and booked.

Here are the official sites for key destinations:

Aachen: www.aachen-tourismus.de/en
Amberg: www.tourismus.amberg.de/index.php/home-en.html
Augsburg: www.augsburg-tourismus.de/de/international
Bamberg: www.bamberg.info
Bautzen: www.bautzen.de/en
Berlin: www.visitberlin.de/en
Bonn: www.bonn.de (click on the tab 'Tourismus' and select English)
Bremen: www.bremen-tourism.de
Cochem: www.cochem.de/tourismus/en/index
Cologne: www.cologne-tourism.com
Dinkelsbühl: www.dinkelsbuehl.de/englisch/tourist-information
Dresden: www.dresden.de/en/tourism/tourism.php
Düsseldorf: www.duesseldorf-tourismus.de/en/home
Eisenach: www.eisenach.info/en
Erfurt: www.erfurt-tourismus.de/en/all-about-erfurt
Frankfurt: www.frankfurt-tourismus.de/en
Füssen: en.fuessen.de
Görlitz: www.goerlitz-tourist.de (use browser translations)
Goslar: www.goslar.de/home-en
Greifswald: www.greifswald.info
Hamburg: www.hamburg-travel.com
Hannover: www.hannover.de/en/Tourism-Culture
Heidelberg: www.tourism-heidelberg.com/destination/index_eng.html
Koblenz: www.koblenz-tourism.com
Lübeck: www.luebeck-tourism.de
Lutherstadt Wittenberg: lutherstadt-wittenberg.de/en/service/tourist-information
Mainz: www.mainz-tourismus.com/en
Meissen: www.stadt-meissen.de/index-eng.html (click on the Tourism tab)
Munich: www.muenchen.de/int/en/tourism.html
Nuremberg: tourismus.nuernberg.de/en
Passau: tourism.passau.de/Tourist-Information.aspx
Potsdam: www.potsdam-tourism.com/en/home
Quedlinburg: http://www.quedlinburg.de/en
Regensburg: tourismus.regensburg.de/en
Rostock: www.rostock.de/en
Rothenburg ob der Tauber: www.rothenburg.de/welcome/welcome-to-rothenburg
Schwerin: en.schwerin.com/en
Stralsund: www.stralsundtourismus.de/en/welcome
Stuttgart: www.stuttgart-tourist.de/en
Trier: www.trier-info.de
Ulm: www.tourismus.ulm.de/web/en/index.php
Weimar: www.weimar.de/en/tourism
Wernigerode: www.wernigerode-tourismus.com
Wismar: www.wismar.de/Tourismus-Welterbe/en#anker_sprachen
Worms: www.worms.de/en/tourismus
Würzburg: www.wuerzburg.de/en/index.html
Xanten: www.xanten.de/de/tix/besucherinformation (use browser translations)

Tourism organisations

State tourist authorities or associations give an overview of the attractions available and their websites and literature can assist in the discovery of the most appealing destinations or activities. As separate states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen (including Bremerhaven) have their own organisations and sites. Packages and options can be examined and more information or booking pages are linked, although advertising material is included in some sites. In some cases there are pages for individual cities and towns.

The state organisations and their URLs are listed below:

As separate states Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen (including Bremerhaven) have their own organisations and sites (see above).

The state organisations and their URLs are listed below:

Baden-Württemberg: Tourismus Marketing Gmbh Baden-Württemberg www.tourism-bw.com
Bayern/Bavaria: Bayern Tourismus Marketing GmbH www.bavaria.by
Brandenburg: Tourism Marketing Brandenburg GmbH www.brandenburg-tourism.com
Hesse: Hessen Agentur GmbH www.hessen-tourismus.de/en/home
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Tourismusverband Mecklenburg-Vorpommern eV www.off-to-mv.com/en
Niedersachsen: TourismusMarketing Niedersachsen GmbH www.niedersachsen-tourism.com
Nordrhein-Westfalen: Tourismus NRW eV www.nrw-tourism.com
Rheinland-Pfalz: Rheinland-Pfalz Tourismus GmbH www.romantic-germany.info
Saarland: Tourismus Zentrale Saarland GmbH www.visitsaarland.co.uk
Sachsen-Anhalt: Investitions- und Marketinggesellschaft Sachsen-Anhalt mbH www.saxony-anhalt-tourism.eu
Saxony/Sachsen: Tourismus Marketing Gesellschaft Sachsen mbH www.sachsen-tourismus.de/en
Schleswig-Holstein: Tourismus-Agentur Schleswig-Holstein GmbH www.sh-tourismus.de/en
Thuringia/Thüringen: Thüringer Tourismus GmbH www.visit-thuringia.com

Other guides

Travellers can afford to ignore pure souvenir shops in their search for the background story. Outside the hours of services, cathedrals and large churches are attuned to tourist needs and information sheets or inexpensive booklet guides in translation are available – look for the recent and detailed Verlag Schnell & Steiner, DKV Kunstführer or Schöning Verlag guides (€2-4). Some churches offer daily tours but visitor services vary and much of the staffing will be by volunteers.

Museum shops are among the best places to browse for literature and reputable book shops are easy to find in the city hubs. The travel literature sections of German bookshops are notable for their wide selections and English editions are often included.

At sites such as castles or palaces, there is usually good information in English – perhaps a whole shop – along with the inevitable postcards and souvenirs.

Historic Highlights of Germany is a tourist marketing initiative by a group of 17 historic cities. The website offers good short guides to each city or thematic options for travellers. Visit www.historicgermany.travel. A similar site is available at matadornetwork.com/read/travel-guide-germanys-historic-cities.

For an excellent online guide with lots of German destinations, including pictures, and locally based tips including the top activities and sights, visit www.tourism.de.

Maps

German street addresses give the street name first, followed by the house or building number. The pattern of street numbers will generally be odd numbers on one side and even on the other, but there are many exceptions and in parts of Berlin it is possible to find an odd street number where an even one would be expected – Kantstraße numbers sequentially up one side then down the other so that No.148 is more or less opposite No.20. In Berlin, too, as with other cities in the former GDR, some street names have changed in the past 20 years, which can add to confusion if old maps are used. If using traditional hard-copy maps, it is better by far for travellers to seek recent editions.

Road atlases

The 1:200,000 scale AA Road Atlas Germany is available for purchase online but its A3 format big brother, superbly detailed at 1:150,000 scale, is now scarce. Seek out the German edition, ADAC MaxiAtlas Deutschland 2017/2018. A Germany 2016 road atlas including adjacent countries at 1:300,000 is available from Michelin.

Motorists can go to www.theaa.com for a route planner for point-to-point journeys including map and directions with distances and approximate travel times. Times over longer distances assume motorway or freeway (Autobahn) travel.

Sheet maps

Excellent foldout city and 1:150,000 regional maps are available from the German publisher Falk, generally including street or placename registers. Falk City Plans are among the best of the type, including public transport routes (although these can become outdated quickly). Freytag & Berndt offers 1:20,000 plans of main cities and inexpensive 1:10,000 thematic pocket tourist maps of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Regensburg and Nuremberg.

Among regional maps Marco Polo Mairs (1:200,000) and Kümmerley+Frey (1:275,000) are high-quality – K+F is particularly strong in outdoor activity maps. Falk, AA and Marco Polo publish Germany foldout road maps at 1:800,000 or 1:900,000.

The Austrian publisher Freytag & Berndt is a leading purveyor of general and outdoor activity maps but has German stores only in Nuremberg and Regensburg. However its online store, www.freytag-berndt.at, has an English-language version.

The general bookstore chains Hugendubel and Thalia have excellent map selections among their ranges of guidebooks and other travel literature.

Online maps

Google’s maps and satellite photos, including Google Earth, cover Germany intensively and can provide detailed directions, distances and guides to travel times for routes. But Google's Street View function is limited to some major cities – the result of a long public controversy over privacy provisions and extensive opting out.

Google street views are available for Berlin (but not Potsdam), Hamburg, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Bonn, Dresden, Leipzig, Frankfurt am Main, Bremen, Hannover, Stuttgart, Munich, Nuremberg, Mannheim, Bielefeld and areas of the Ruhr industrial region including Duisburg, Dortmund, Essen and Wuppertal. Not all inner-city thoroughfares are covered, though sometimes Panoramio street images (contributed and sometimes unreliable in terms of map placement) can be used. Many of the existing Street View images are now outdated, sometimes going back to 2008, and have been blurred in the interests of privacy or in cases of significant changes to the streetscape.

Bing Maps offers wide coverage in maps and aerial images but visuals from its Streetside coverage were disabled indefinitely in 2012. Its Bird's Eye feature however offers useful views when zoomed. The detailed maps of Here.com (wego.here.com) are especially good for street numbers but do not offer street-level images.

The website www.stadtplan.de has detailed maps with an excellent point-to-point function that will provide directions in English along with a way marker line and interim distances.

The online maps of www.hot-map.com include dozens of excellent maps of German cities, most based at 1:20,000, and a wide range of 1:100,000 regional maps covering the country. This range takes a little getting used to but can be extremely useful for the traveller, motorists in particular. A range of detailed directions or distances for point-to-point travel can be extracted for journeys over hundreds of kilometres. There is also a handful of thematic maps, such as Frankfurt airport or part of the line of the Berlin Wall.

Websites

There are sites covering German life and culture in English, and sites in German with English versions, that offer useful cultural perspectives.

Translating German websites

Sites in German sometimes translate reasonably well in browsers or using translation programs or functions. Google Chrome has the advantage of automatically seeking out suitable versions for users in English-speaking countries while allowing the option of automatically translating German sites – click “Translate this page” to the right of the URL after any search. An easy view of original text is available by clicking at top right or (on a PC) by hovering a mouse over text sections. Google Translate (translate.google.com) allows travellers (or armchair travellers) to translate blocks of pasted text at will and is especially easy to use when bookmarked in the browser. Google Toolbar also offers translation options (though not always speedy) and a Google Translator addon can be downloaded for Mozilla Firefox.

Microsoft Edge supports the free, downloadable Microsoft Translator tool, using 60 languages. The app automatically detects foreign languages and offers the translation option at top right. A toggle option between languages is available next to the favourites icon.

Note that when searching German words or names with mutated (Umlaut) vowels (ä, ö, ü) it is usual to type 'e' directly after the base vowel (for Würzburg, type 'Wuerzburg'). Where words or names use the character 'ß', type 'ss' (for Hauptstraße, type 'Hauptstrasse'). This will usually be the case where URLs include such names.

Official sites

Two German websites offer multiple links to explore individual interests. Goethe-Institut, Germany’s worldwide cultural organisation and German language teacher, devotes its site, www.goethe.de, to all its work as well as articles on aspects of life, society, the arts and politics. The Deutsche Welle site www.dw.de has much general information in English (and about 30 other languages) including travel articles, the arts and culture, as well as resources for learning German.

Expatriate guides

The practical business of living in Germany, including housing, employment, education and networking, is covered by two European online networks with associated online newsletters. The Spanish-based international site Just Landed, which covers more than 50 countries, has a German page, www.justlanded.com/english/Germany. Basic articles are backed up by an online forum with tips from expats in response to queries, although there are some personal notices and the services section is largely business-based.

Expatica.com is a Netherlands-based enterprise covering 11 countries with a Germany page, www.expatica.com/de. Useful guides and articles on practical matters with links are included but it is best to note the date on the information and sometimes it will be advisable to check further. Again, there is advertising material on the site.

The Local, www.thelocal.de, is a Berlin-based expat site offering news (much with a lifestyle flavour) and links including noticeboards, job ads and blogging. Its Toytown Germany partner site, www.toytowngermany.com, is a networking and chat forum offering advice, opinions and reviews on all manner of topics. There is a searchable resource for the forum as well as lists by region.

Youth sites

For students the Deutsches Studentenwerk site www.internationale-studierende.de (translate to English near top right) can offer tips about studying in Germany and a guide to the range of student services.

Deutschland.de, www.deutschland.de, is a Frankfurt-based online magazine about German politics, business, culture and environmental concerns. There is a related blog, Facebook site and RSS feeds. The related Young Germany site, www.young-germany.de, is about youth lifestyles including education and career opportunities, events, arts, language learning and social media networking.

News

It is not hard to find news in English while on the road in Germany, and some of it comes from German sources.

Newspapers

Newspapers with an international profile – and these are by and large UK or US mastheads – are not difficult to find in big cities at major transport hubs, especially rail stations, large bookshops or other press outlets. Expect a markup on prices. The New York Times International Edition newsstand price in Germany is €3.20. For a guide to online editions see below.

Papers in German are available free in first-class carriages of Deutsche Bahn main-line trains.

Television

In big cities most hotels offer pay TV services and the normal fare of BBC World, CNN, CNBC and Bloomberg makes it easy to stay in touch 24 hours. But this is not normal in budget accommodation such as pensions and youth hostels, although some of these may offer communal rooms with TV access.

Online

For news on Germany, Deutsche Welle's www.dw.de is the leading news site offering English material in depth with breaking news and background stories. Business, culture, science and sports are covered. DW also offers an international perspective for travellers wanting to check the latest.

The Local, www.thelocal.de, is an expat site offering news with other links. Deutschland.de, www.deutschland.de, is an online magazine about aspects of public life in Germany and its place in the world. For more about these see the Websites section.

The site of the German news magazine Der Spiegel has an English version at www.spiegel.de/international, with German news as well as German views on world news. Der Spiegel in English is also available as an iPhone app. Major German daily papers such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Die Welt, the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bild and Berliner Zeitung don’t have English material on their websites. Die Zeit offers some articles online (search ‘articles in English’ at www.zeit.de).

Free website content will suffice for travellers wanting world headlines. A few sites, such as www.guardian.co.uk, offer a wide coverage of international events. But to keep in close touch with home over several weeks or months, consider an online subscription with a favourite news source for tablet or mobile devices. There are also news alert services that are a regular feature offered by larger outlets.

The International New York Times free website material and global digital edition front-page views are available with the New York Times at international.nytimes.com.

Other media from Germany

Deutsche Welle's The Journal, a version of the daily news TV program Das Journal, is accessible in many countries but the online stream is also easy to find at the media centre. Video and audio streams and podcasts for many programs are available. DW sends news and current affairs programs in English through its international radio network.