What is the best area to visit in Germany for a week-long stay?

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haggesitze

The Dresden Cathedral is BAROQUE, for goodness' sake, and your best bet would be Cologne. There is plenty of nightlife, don't miss a boat trip up the Rhine, take an elevator down into the underground excavations of the Roman city, go to Maria Laach in the Eifel mountains (Romanesque abbey), see St Anne's in Cologne, where the crypt is wallpapered with human bones arranged in artful patterns.

Another place is Frankfurt where you get all the nightlife you want, and within easy reach are the cathedrals in Mainz, Speyer, and best of all, Strassbourg over the border (which you won't notice nowadays) in France. It is the one Gothic cathedral that has kept most of its original character, and the medieval old town surrounding it is well worth a visit on its own.

Have fun whatever you choose, and good luck.

julie travelcaster

Well, I have a couple of ideas for you.

Koeln/Cologne has the biggest cathedral in Germany, AND it's gothic, and it is on the Rhine. It is really very much worth visiting. And if you'd like something a tad older, there are the many Romanesque churches in that area, as well as, for real old history, the Roman museum, since Koeln/Cologne was the capital of the Roman colony for a while.

South of Koeln, and right on a great integrated transit system, is Bonn. Bonn has some great things to offer, and can easily be visited from Koeln. Bonn has a university, so some of the nightlife you are looking for is likely to be there, although I can't tell you exactly where.

You can also catch the K-D steamships south on the Rhine from Bonn/Koeln, and spend a day touring wine country, maybe even make it down to the Rhine Gorge (though you may want to do this on the way to or from Frankfurt if you travel out of there - as it is on the direct path.

Another area, and one that will have the nightlife that you are looking for, is Berlin. Berlin's history is old, not quite as old as Koeln's but with some pretty exciting 20th Century history. There are also fantastic museums, and all that East Germany stuff to visit. I imagine you can take it from there.

Petra M

I would recommend Hamburg, but then I am biased because that's where my father's side of the family comes from, and the largest city in Germany - Berlin. In Hamburg, the downtown area near City Hall and Alster Lakes is where the major shopping district is, as well as bar cellars, restaurants, etc. Berlin is so different, it just sprawls everywhere so there are lots of busy nightlife areas - especially the restaurants in and around the "Hackeschen HÃ¶fe" offer similar hospitality.
Located in the district Mitte, within easy reach of Alexanderplatz, they are an ideal starting place for setting out in the evening to get a taste of Berlin's night-life. Kollwitzplatz in Prenzlauer Berg and GoltzstraÃŸe in SchÃ¶neberg are two more venues for enjoying Berlin's vibrant nightlife.

Some websites to check out:
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-1881.html
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/hamburg/101_indnight.html

Cheers,

Petra M, Vancouver

Matthias

In addition to the answers above (all very good and I can only encourage you to go anywhere), another possible region would be Bavaria. You could stay in Munich and visit the nice gothic cathedral in Regensburg on a day trip. Regensburg is a great old city with an interesting nightlife (lots of small bars). There's a lot of great day trips from Munich and things to do in Munich. Check the archives for people asking about things to do around Munich.

Wherever you go, have fun!!!

Borsa Bella

I would recommend Koln (Cologne) for the cathedral. I haven't been to Dresden or Berlin. Frankfurt will probably have a good night life and I have heard Berlin does. Have fun!

Jasmine

I reccomend Berlin, Amsterdam , Stuttgart and Frankfurt. Germany is an all over beautiful country. When you're in Europe make sure to take the train and go to Paris..beautiful city and TONS of art

janj

We will be traveling to Germany for 1 month in November and have been doing extensive research for our trip. It appears to me that if you want to see a good part of Germany in a short time it would be best to select two separate home bases ie. Munich and Dresden and then take day trips to various cities of interest. From Munich you could take day trips to Passau a beautiful city in the south eastern part of Germany, King Ludwig's castle's near Fussen and travel north from Fussen along the Romantic Route, Regensberg also appears to be a very beautiful city with a lot of architecture and cathedrals, another must appears to be Rothenburg. From Dresden you could travel to Bayreuth, Coburg, Bamburg, Nurrnburg, Leipzig and North to Berlin. When returning from your day trips you could avail yourselves to the nightlife of the cities that are your home base. Another plus to this type of travel is that if you stay at least 3 nights you get a discount on your Lodging. Email me and I will give you a listing of web sites that I have found useful and the book that I am using for a list of day trips.

eelliko

KÃ¶ln is the best suggestion so far, it's a good base for trips to
the cathedrals in Aachen, Bamberg, Speyer, Mainz, Worms.
In the east (if you want to go to Dresden) I'd suggest Magdeburg and Erfurt (for the cathedrals only, no nightlife).
The cathedrals I named above count as the most impressive in germany, some of them are romanic though.
KÃ¶ln is your best choice when it comes to nightlife.Forget Bonn.
Yes, it does have a university, but so does every small town.

Vlad

Hamburg's a great city..I had a blast when i was there

Our Man In Bananas

Definitely Berlin ...

You can visit Potsdam (the Bruges or Versaille of Germany), take an overnight trip to the the beautiful city of Dresden ... which has not only the stunning Cathedral (now fully restored) but is also packed with funky bars...

Plus Berlin has the nightlife ... and fantastic hostels like the Circus ..

yes, definitely Berlin.

You will love it - have a great time

Philip

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