Which of these German Cities are the best for a tourist? Munich, Berlin, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt?

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stativi

Well, Berlin is of course the capital and has the most tourist attractions (regarding history, museums, sights, nightlife, bars...), so it has to be number one, but keep in mind that the city is very big and still much under construction due to the fall of the wall and has also it's ugly areas, but it's also very cheap, if you know where to go.
Munich is the second one which comes in mind as a tourist destination. Not as big as Berlin, with a more beautiful landscape (the alps) in it's back and more polished and old buildings than Berlin, also much culture, but also a bit more boring (at least for me - regarding clubs and people) and more expensive.

Then Stuttgart and Frankfurt, similar in size and culture, Frankfurt the modern skyscraper and business city, Stuttgart the more beautiful and laid back city, both rather expensive.

Dusseldorf isn't that great for tourists, except you're into shopping (fashion), japanese culture (they have the third largest japanese community in europe) or modern architecture.

Other suggestions:
- Dresden (city with the most beautiful buildings in germany, top-notch museums, not that expensive, laid back and much culture)
- Hamburg (second biggest city of germany, beautiful city with much water, very big port, good nightlife and shopping, but not so much art and culture besides music/musicals, modern art and subculture, medium expensive)
- Cologne (rather ugly city, but with great museums, the best city for shopping, good for nightlife and if you like big rivers, medium expensive)

Regarding beer: Depends on your taste of course. I don't like the cologne beer (Koelsch) for example, also the Duesseldorf Bier (Alt) isn't really my taste, and since a few years even the munich beer (considered normally the best in germany) isn't mine. In Berlin and Hamburg you have of course a very big variety regarding Beer, but for many people their local beer isn't top of the drinks. For me it would be Dresden, as they have the very good Radeberger and the nearby Koestritzer (a great dark beer) (though you'll get the two very often in Berlin also) and many smaller breweries.

My top list of bigger german cities for tourists (over 400.000 inhabitants) and the minimum time you should spend there:
- Berlin (min 4 days)
- Muenchen (munich) (min 3 days)
- Hamburg (min 2 days)
- Dresden (min 2 days)
- Koeln (cologne) (min 2 days)
- Stuttgart (min 1 day)
- Frankfurt (min 1 day)

ginamax10

Hi,I live in germany and can tell You, that there are many interesting towns and places. The Tophighlight,of cours, is Berlin,our capitaltown. There are so many sights and a very nice zoo;-)In Bavaria and Munich ,You have many sights too and also very good beer;-)
Hamburg with his big harbour is also a very interesting town.
I wish You a great time in Germany;-)

Lee L

It solely depends on what you want to do and see outside of the inside of a pub.

Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich have small breweries (like the Wichtel - brewery in Stuttgart) that sell their brew directly from the production process. In the different parts of Germany, you have different sorts of beer. North Germany beer drinkers prefer Pils, while in Cologne, you won't get around "KÃ¶lsch", and in South Germany you'll have WeiÃŸbier or Dunkles Bier / Malzbier (which is a strong beer and not to be confused with "Malzbier" in the rest of Germany, where it's a pretty much alcohol-free drink that children endjoy).

All the cities you listed do have their merits for tourists. Berlin and Cologne are certainly a must-see, and if you want "cliche Germany" as presented in Disneyland, you certainly don't want to miss Munich's "Oktoberfest". If you travel by train, I'd recommend travelling through the Rhine-valley by IC, or if you have the time, by commutter train. Most towns in the Rhine valley have their own wine-production.

fliege52000

German Beer is everywhere great.
The cities: Munich, Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt/M., Hamburg, Cologne are great.

Becci

I think Berlin or Munich. Berlin is the capital and a great city, but Munich is in the area of the alps and the landscape is very nice (and my uncle lives there!!!) But a North Sea island like "Sylt" is very beautyful, too. You can go swimming and it's quietly there.

woko51

Talking about tourist spots the correct answer is: HEIDELBERG.
But all the others are OK too. And we have the Neu Schwanstein castle in the South and many others. Berlin definitely is the greatest of the big cities. Rothenburg ob der Tauber is also a high light (full of old wooden houses 500 yrs. old and Japanese :). Many other towns have an antique centre with those houses.

Felix

Dresden is definitely our most beautiful city, and apparently it is yet to get more popular among tourists. Dresden is full of art, full of history (destruction and resurrection), full of mixed emotions, gorgeous buildings.
It's full of amazed italian tourists all the time ;) They must love it.
Needs at least 3 days, for me even 4 are not enough.
It's not the "typical" german buildings though, which you rather find in smaller towns like Rothenburg, TÃ¼bingen, Quedlinburg, RÃ¼desheim and so on.
MÃ¼nchen (Munich) has a feeling of the typical Germany as well though, as en example of a larger city.

So if you are less into nice buildings and art, there's Berlin (also great buildings, but different and not typical german, more like Paris).
Cologne is really ugly (I live here), but it rocks in terms of shopping and nightlife (and the beer sort "KÃ¶lsch").

Hamburg is not my cup of tea really, but many people really love it.
Stuttgart and Frankfurt I'd miss out, nothing special. You might wanna replace them by Heidelberg and TÃ¼bingen maybe, or Leipzig.

Oh and the other author is absolutely right...
make sure you get an IC (not ICE!) connection from KÃ¶ln to Mainz or Frankfurt, sit at the river side of the train, and you will see one of the most sceneric parts of Germany with hills and old medieval castles! It's amazing!

berliner

In this order:
* Berlin - It is Germany's capital city and has many attractions to offer, among them historical/architectural (a lot of old and new architecture, but if you're expecting "typical" German village buildings like in the movies, this is not the place), artistic (the largest modern art collection in the world is in the Hamburger Bahnhof museum; the Pergamon museum with its archeology, etc.), nightlife, culture, etc. It is also a great base to discover (through day-trips) cities like Leipzig (Bach's HQ), Dresden (beautiful city, probably worth a night stay), or Potsdam (with the Sanssouci Palace, etc.); and to explore the Spreewald area or other areas in rural Brandenburg.

Regarding beer - I disagree with those claiming that "Munich has the best beer". It is only well reknown, mostly for the Oktoberfest.. You can get beer from Munich in Berlin, but not the other way round. There are some small private breweries in Berlin, as well as beer gardens (you have of course just missed, because the largest beer festival in the world is in August in Berlin). You can read more about Berlin at:
http://www.berlin.de
http://www.europeanbeerguide.net/berlpubs.htm
http://www.gablinger.com/nightlife.html
If you decide to visit only one city on your list, make it Berlin

2. Munich - of the cities you've mentioned, this is the second one that has interesting tourist attractions and can also serve as a base to explore Bavaria further.
Try:
http://www.muenchen.de
http://www.toytowngermany.com/munich/

3. Hamburg - another very interesting city, with a large port (I think one of the largest in Europe), beautiful small streets, nice museums. A bit windy even in the summer because of its location.
http://www.hamburg.de

4. Cologne - good nightlife, good place to explore the Rhine area; interesting Cathedral

5. Frankfurt - could be covered in a day, perhaps two if you strech it. Beware the area near the central train station, it is one of the most revolting places in all of Europe
http://www.frankfurt.de

6. Duesseldorf - mostly known for having a very good "fashion high street" and in general for shopping; although of course there are interesting attractions there

I haven't been to Stuttgart so I can't really comment, but it is a small city in comparison with Berlin, Hamburg, Munich.

Another city you should check out is Bremen.

sixxtwo42

In terms of good beer....definitely Munich. There are many breweries you can go to and take a tour. Also, the Oktoberfest will be starting on september 22nd which is the world's biggest beer festival...lol...(supposed to be a fair, but it's really about the beer). I live in Munich, I know.
Other than that, Cologne is a beautiful city.
Personally, I am not a big fan of Berlin, but I am sure you can have a lot of fun there too. Definitely a lot of chances for going out at night and such.

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