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10 odd tourist attractions in Germany you shouldn’t miss

Though these tourist attractions range from a little quirky to downright creepy, you’ll want to add them to your list of must-sees in Germany.

Published: 25 June 2018 16:00 CEST
Updated: 1 June 2023 17:26 CEST

The upside-down house in Trassenheide, Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Stefan Sauer

Are you the kind of person that enjoys seeking out the strange or quirky attractions?

Maybe you’ve already seen the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Cologne Cathedral or Munich’s Glockenspiel, so you want to find something a bit more off the beaten track. If so, look no further.

We’ve compiled some of the most peculiar attractions nationwide that can offer something much more memorable than the typical big-name sights.

1. Dachshund Museum

Dachshund Museum Regensburg

Seppi Küblbeck (l) and Oliver Storz with their three dachshunds in front of the Dachshund Museum in Regensburg. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Armin Weigel

If you love these short-legged sausage dogs, then the Dachshund Museum may already be at the top of your list for “awwws”.

Formerly located in Passau, Bavaria, but recently reopened in Regensburg, this museum claims it’s the only one in the world dedicated solely to these pint-sized canines. With 5,000 exhibits ranging from the history of the Dachshund as a hunting dog in Germany to characteristics of the breed, this museum is jam-packed with Dachshund-themed toys, trinkets, photos and more.

And no need to worry: dogs are allowed to visit too.

2. The world’s narrowest alley

Narrowest street in the world Reutlingen — A man squeezes along the narrowest street in the world in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Franziska Kraufmann

Want to see something your mates have probably never seen? Then Spreuerhofstraße may just be what you are looking for.

Located in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, Spreuerhofstraße is the bonafide Engste Straße der Welt (narrowest alley in all the world). That’s at least what the Guinness Book of World Records says.

Not ideal for the claustrophobic, this lane (you could probably call it a crack) ranks in first place as narrowest street by measuring in at 31 centimetres at its narrowest and 50 centimeters at its widest.

3. The Great Heidelberg Tun

Now, this one is just a rip-roaring good time.

The Great Heidelberg Tun, or Großes Faß, is a gigantic wine vat housed within the cellars of the majestic Heidelberg Castle.

The container itself is made of wood from over 130 different oak trees and has a capacity of roughly 219,000 litres. Talk about a good wine party.

Today, the vat is not used to store wine, but does attract tourists from around Europe. As an added bonus, a dance floor has been constructed on top of the vat, in case the boozy atmosphere makes you feel a bit footloose.

5. Frankenstein Castle

Frankenstein Castle Hesse

Frankenstein Castle (or “Burg Frankenstein”) in the sunlight in Mühltal, Hesse. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Boris Roessler

If you also had to read Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in school, you may want to see the spooky home that is believed to have inspired it all.

Burg Frankenstein, or Frankenstein Castle, lives up to the book’s creepy reputation. The large castle sits broodily on a hill overlooking the city of Darmstadt in Hesse; it is believed to be the inspiration for the sci-fi novel given its name and the related history that occurred within its walls.

Johann Conrad Dippel, a real-life scientist who is said to have experimented with human body parts, once resided in the castle. That, combined with its secluded location in the middle of the Odenwald forest, makes this castle one of the scariest places in Germany.

If you are looking for a good scare, be sure to visit this haunted home for Halloween; the castle annually hosts a big Halloween programme filled with monsters and booze.

6. Upside-Down House

The upside-down house in Trassenheide, Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Stefan Sauer

This one is literally topsy-turvy: a cottage-style house built from floor to ceiling completely upside down.

This giggle-inducing house is located in the town of Putbus on Rügen Island, which is a part of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. With the roof on the ground floor and wine cellar in the sky, this house offers full tours for a small fee for those seeking a bit of whimsy.

The Kopf Über Haus (Upside-Down House) promises an ideal Instagram-able moment, because really, where else will you be able to stand on the ceiling above an immaculate breakfast table?

7. Ferropolis

Ferropolis

The eerie abandoned industrial machinery at Ferropolis. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Jan Woitas

If you are trying to see something other-wordly, this place may be the dystopian fantasy you are seeking.

Ferropolis, also called “the city of iron”, is an open museum filled with huge, old industrial machines from the 20th century. These gigantic structures measure up to 30 metres high, 120 metres long and weigh as nearly 2,000 tonnes.

While the place may look like something out of the movie Mad Max, this odd attraction in Gräfenhainichen, Saxony-Anhalt, gives a decent look into the industrial boom of the past.

Attention music lovers: built on the site of a former strip mining operation, Ferropolis is also where many of Germany’s prominent music festivals take place, including Melt!, Splash! and Ferropolis in Flammen (Ferropolis in flames).

8. The Berlin Museum of Medical History at Charité Hospital

Exhibits on display at the Berlin Museum of Medical History. Photo: picture alliance / Britta Pedersen/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa | Britta Pedersen

Medical oddities are on display in this museum located in a Berlin hospital. Charité is a word-renowned hospital that has often been at the forefront of medical procedures, but not without having a few mishaps along the way.

In this museum, visitors will find all sorts of gory goodies, like the permanent exhibition of deformed brains, and one of the largest collections of skulls, diseased organs, fetuses and limbs in the world.

But this attraction is certainly not for the faint of heart. Director Thomas Schnalke told Spiegel Online that visitors have even fainted at the sight of some exhibits, falling down and “hitting their heads against the building’s stone floor.”

9. Kunsthofpassage’s Singing Drain Pipes

The famous singing Funnel Wall in Dresden’s Kunsthofpassage. Photo: picture-alliance / dpa | Matthias_Hiekel

While most of us love sightseeing in the sunshine, this Sehenswürdigkeit (attraction) is seen best in rainy weather.

Dresden’s Funnel Wall, also called the singing drain pipes, is part of the city’s hip student district and this art piece is like no other. When it rains, the funnel pipes actually play music.

Created by sculptor Annette Paul and designers Christoph Rossner and Andre Tempel, the musical pipe system uses the rainfall to create an orchestra-like sound with its various horn instruments.

10. Wuppertal Suspension Railway

Wuppertal’s historic Suspension Railway. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/WSW Wuppertaler Stadtwerke GmbH | Stefan Tesche-Hasenbach

If weird travel excites you, maybe this attraction should be next on your list of sites to see.

The Wuppertaler Schwebebahn, or Suspension Train in Wuppertal, North Rhine-Westphalia, is an electric elevated railway that hangs high above the city centre. It’s the world’s oldest railway of its kind, topping out at 117 years young, and is still in normal use.

The high-rise train has transported more than 1.5 billion passengers in its long life between its 13.3 kilometres of track, offering scenic views of the river Wupper and local life.

While maybe a bit out of the way for a short train ride that doesn’t leave the city of Wuppertal, for train geeks, the Schwebebahn offers the chance to experience a very unique kind of historic train.

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REVEALED: Germany's most popular cycling routes for summer

With the summer holidays fast approaching, it’s the ideal time to start making plans for the long, sunny days and time off work or school. And for most German families, it just wouldn’t be summer without at least one cycling tour in the countryside.

Beyond its enchanting natural landscapes, Germany boasts an incredible 100,000 kilometers of dedicated cycling trails – so it’s no wonder exploring the great outdoors on two wheels is something of a national pastime.

Each year, the German Cycle Club (ADFC) conducts a poll of its members to pin down their five all-time favourite cycling routes – and this year there’s truly something for everybody.

With some stretching as long as 1,300km, these choices aren’t for the faint-hearted, but more casual cyclists will no doubt have fun picking a part of the route that takes in some breathtaking locations and sights, whether it’s the peaks of the Alps or the meandering banks of the Rhine.

Elbe Cycle Route (Elberadweg)

A view of the Elbe in the Saxon Switzerland

A view of the Elbe from the peaks of Saxon Switzerland. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Robert Michael

Length: 840km in Germany, 1,270km in total
Difficulty: Easy to Medium

If you want a taste of how varied and unique different German regions can be, travelling the length of the Elberadweg from the Bad Schandau in Saxony to the North Sea coast is a great place to start.

Following the banks of the Elbe up from Dresden, you’ll take in cultural landmarks such as Dessau, the birthplace of Bauhaus, Lutherstadt Wittenberg and the imposing Magdeburg Cathedral. But arguably the highlight of this 840km route is the stretch of the Elbe that winds through the breathtaking rock formations of Saxon Switzerland as you cycle away from the Czech border.

Further to the north, the Elberadweg takes you through the atmospheric port city of Hamburg and includes HafenCity and the famous Elbphilarmonie. Leaving the hustle and bustle and weaving along the estuary, you’ll end up the quiet coastal town of Cuxhaven in Lower Saxony where the Elbe flows into the North Sea.

The ADFC recommends doing the full trip in 13 stages, taking around two weeks. But if you’re really up for an adventure, you can spread over three weeks in 22 stages by starting in the Czech Republic and traversing the full 1,270km route from the Elbe’s source at Špindlerův Mlýn in the Bohemian Mountains.

Rhine Cycle Route (Rheinradweg)

Tourists take photographs of the scenic view atop Loreley, Germany

Tourists take photographs of the scenic view atop Loreley, a legendary cliff next to a curve in the Rhine. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Thomas Frey

Length: 1,320km in total, 800km in Germany
Level: Easy to Medium

For a route that encompasses everything from Alpine panoramas to the industrial Rührgebiet, look no further than the Rheinradweg, otherwise known as Euro Velo 15.

One of the most modern and well-maintained cycle routes in Europe, the full Euro Velo 15 stretches all the way from the source of the Rhine in the Swiss Alps to the Hook of Holland, but by far the longest stretch runs through Germany.

If you start the route a little earlier in Switzerland, you’ll ride along the banks of idyllic Lake Constance before reaching Basel and weaving your way up through Baden-Württemberg. Along the way, you’ll take in the Black Forest and the elegant city of Karlsruhe, not far from the university towns of Freiburg and Heidelberg.

Just a stone’s throw from the border with France, this part of Germany is known for its exceptional wine, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to relax with a chilled glass of Riesling after a long day of cycling. The route also takes in the Middle Rhine Valley, a romantic stretch of the river dotted with medieval castles and ancient forts, as well as the legendary Loreley Rock.

At the northern end of the trail, you’ll pass through Bonn and Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia before reaching Arnhem on the Dutch border.

Doing the entirety of the Rhineradweg takes around 24 days, but if you’re staying entirely in Germany, it can be done in 2-3 weeks, depending on your fitness and how much time you factor in for enjoying a tipple or two.

Baltic Sea Coast Cycle Route (Ostseeküstenradweg)

Views of the ocean on Rügen

The famous white cliffs of Rügen. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/dpa-Zentralbild | Jens Büttner

Length: 1,140km
Difficulty: Medium

If summer makes you yearn for sea, sand and rugged coastlines, the Baltic Sea Coast route will definitely tick all of your boxes.

Starting in the northern seaside town of Flensburg near the Danish border, this charming route takes in pristine beaches, unspoilt islands and UNESCO World Heritage sites as it weaves through Schleswig-Holstein and into Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania.

Highlights of the tour include the historic Hanseatic towns of Lübeck and Wismar, the upmarket seaside resort of Heiligendamm with its iconic white houses, and the cascading cliffs on the island of Rügen.

Along the way, you’ll also traverse the imaginatively named Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula, which boasts unbeatable bathing spots, and pass through Griefswald, the birthplace of romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. The tour culminates on the beautiful island of Usedom, near the Polish border.

Depending on your fitness and how much time you want to spend in the beach resorts and towns along the way, you should set aside around two weeks for the complete route. If you only have a week to spare, the route is easy to split the into two halves, travelling from Flensburg to Lübeck or Lübeck to Usedom.

Weser Cycle Route (Weser-Radweg)

A stretch of the Weser cycle route near Hamlin.

A stretch of the Weser cycle route near Hamlin. Photo: picture alliance / Deike Uhtenwoldt/dpa-tmn | Deike Uhtenwoldt

Length: 520km
Level: Easy

When it comes to Germany’s most popular cycle routes, the Weser-Radweg often comes out on top: this year, it landed in the German Cycling Club’s top five for the fifth year running.

Taking in six diverse regions of the country, each with its own unique character, it’s easy to see why this route is so beloved.

You’ll start just outside Kassel in the town of Hann Münden and set off through the the Weser Upland Hills; a romantic nature park alive with fragrant wild flowers, rare lichens and peaceful moorlands. Passing through central Germany, you’ll take countless medieval villages and old castles in the rolling hills and can even stop off at the Pied Piper’s house in Hamlin.

Culminating in Cuxhaven on the North Sea Coast, the route cuts through the Weser Marshes, taking in Bremerhaven with its famed Maritime Museum as well as the Hanseatic city of Bremen with its beautifully preserved Old Town and striking Gothic Town Hall.

At just 520km, the Weser-Radweg can be completed in just over a week, but those who prefer a more leisurely cycling holiday can stretch it out to 2-3 weeks.

Danube Cycle Route (Donauradweg)

Passau in Bavaria

A view of the Danube in the historic town of Passau, Bavaria. Photo: picture alliance / dpa | Armin Weigel

Length: 2,800 in total, 560km in Germany
Level: Easy to Medium

If it’s awe-inspiring scenery you’re after as you explore the great outdoors, the Donauradweg may well be the ideal choice. Starting in the picturesque town of Donaueschingen in the Black Forest at the source of the Danube river, this 560km route will take you on a mesmerising ride through Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, all the way to the Austrian border.

Pedalling along the serene banks of the Danube, you’ll pass through Ulm, home to the world’s tallest church steeple, and Regensburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its well-preserved medieval Old Town. But the unrivalled highlight of this tour is undoubtedly the stretch that cuts through Bavarian Forest, where the river weaves along dramatic gorges and verdant valleys.

As you continue eastward, you’ll arrive at the vibrant city of Passau, situated on the Austrian border at the confluence of three rivers. Here, you can admire the baroque architecture and enjoy a hearty meal or even a leisurely boat trip as you congratulate yourself for your endeavours.

Despite Bavaria’s mountainous backdrop, the Donauradweg is relatively flat and shouldn’t pose a problem for seasoned cyclists. Depending on your fitness level and pace, you’ll want to set aside around 1-2 weeks to complete the stretch in Germany, though the full route through Austria and Hungary will take a fair bit longer.

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