German food and café towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed food and café towns in Germany, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Weilburg
A photogenic pocket-sized town in Hesse set on the Lahn river between the Westerwald and Taunus uplands, Weilburg was for centuries the residence of the Nass…
Bad Reichenhall
Salt production with a history stretching back four thousand years defines Bad Reichenhall, a spa town in the Bavarian Alps of Upper Bavaria whose Alpine sal…
Miltenberg
Particularly photogenic small town on the Main river in Bavaria's Lower Franconia region, Miltenberg sits in wine-growing country with vineyards nearby and s…
Schmalkalden
Town on the Schmalkalde river at the southern edge of the Thuringian Forest, Schmalkalden sits in mountain terrain with scenic viewpoints across the surround…
Sangerhausen
Town in Saxony-Anhalt at the southeastern edge of the Harz mountains, Sangerhausen served for several centuries as a centre of non-ferrous metal mining — cop…
Kronach
Birthplace of the Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Elder, Kronach is a town in Upper Franconia where three rivers meet at the edge of the Franconian For…
Annaberg-Buchholz
A mountain town in Saxony's Ore Mountains whose historic old town has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2019, alongside the surrounding histori…
Bad Neustadt an der Saale
This walkable Bavarian spa town where the Franconian Saale and Brend rivers meet, Bad Neustadt an der Saale has a centre with several historic churches, café…
Wasserburg am Inn
This modest Bavarian town whose historic centre occupies a peninsula formed by a loop of the river Inn, Wasserburg am Inn has a strong café and restaurant sc…
Bad Langensalza
This German spa town in Thuringia where a walkable old centre of half-timbered buildings and a tall church tower rising above cobbled streets meets riverside…
Bad Windsheim
This small Bavarian spa town west of Nuremberg is the only therapeutic spa (Heilbad) in Middle Franconia, built around mineral springs that also supply sever…
Borkum
Germany's largest East Frisian Island by area, Borkum sits in the Wadden Sea off Lower Saxony and has built its economy almost entirely around tourism since…
Langeoog
One of the seven inhabited East Frisian Islands in Germany's Lower Saxon Wadden Sea, Langeoog is a dune island with a long sandy beach, cycle paths, and a na…
Husum
Birthplace of the novelist Theodor Storm, who called it "the grey town by the sea," Husum is a walkable North Sea town in Schleswig-Holstein with a café-fill…
Krippen
A little fishing hamlet on the Elbe in Saxony's Saxon Switzerland region, Krippen holds official spa-resort status as a Kneipp health resort and sits in moun…
Nagold
This Black Forest-edge town in Baden-Württemberg where the River Nagold runs through a centre of half-timbered houses and modern architecture, with a walkabl…
Dinkelsbühl
One of only four towns in Germany with completely intact medieval city walls, Dinkelsbühl sits on the River Wörnitz along the Romantic Road in Central Franco…
Mittenwald
Violin-making has defined Mittenwald for centuries, and this small Bavarian Alpine town near the Austrian border carries that tradition alongside dramatic mo…
Eschwege
Walkable town in northeastern Hesse on the Werra river, Eschwege sits in hilly terrain with scenic viewpoints in the surrounding countryside and a centre wit…
Alzey
A wine-country town in Rhenish Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, Alzey sits in a region ringed by UNESCO World Heritage sites and carries a walkable centre with c…
Bad Staffelstein
This small spa town in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, sits along the Main river and is anchored by three landmarks: the Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen, designed by…
Quedlinburg
Quedlinburg's medieval old town, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994, holds more than 2,100 timber-framed houses spanning eight centuries, making…
Grimma
A Saxon town on the Mulde river southeast of Leipzig, Grimma has a walkable historic centre with a concentration of Gothic and Renaissance buildings and a ca…
Bad Sooden-Allendorf
This small spa town in Hesse straddling the Werra river, Bad Sooden-Allendorf drew its wealth from salt-brine extraction for centuries before reinventing its…
Gunzenhausen
This walkable Bavarian town on the Altmühlsee, Gunzenhausen has a centre with a good spread of cafés and restaurants and is nationally recognised as a recrea…
Patersberg
A tiny hamlet in the Loreley district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Patersberg sits in the Rhine wine country with scenic mountain views and is officially recogni…
Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm
This walkable Bavarian town on the river Ilm, south of Munich, with a centre full of cafés and historic churches and mountain views within reach.
Neustadt an der Aisch
This tiny Bavarian town on the Aisch river in Middle Franconia, Neustadt an der Aisch has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size.
Reit im Winkl
This Bavarian village on the German-Austrian border known for reliable snowfall and a ski resort that earned Germany's first-ever Premium Winter Trails Certi…
Wertheim am Main
At the confluence of the Tauber and Main rivers in southwestern Baden-Württemberg, Wertheim am Main is a medieval town best known for its landmark castle and…
Benningen am Neckar
This small wine-country town on the Neckar river in Baden-Württemberg, Benningen am Neckar sits a short distance north of Stuttgart in the Ludwigsburg distri…
Illertissen
A Bavarian town on the River Iller, Illertissen is dominated by a striking white castle complex with an onion-domed tower, complemented by a walkable centre…
Borna
A small Saxon town south of Leipzig with a walkable centre and cafés along the waterfront, Borna serves as the administrative seat of the Leipzig district an…
Erlenbach am Main
This wine-producing town on the Main river in Bavaria's Lower Franconia region, Erlenbach am Main is the largest town in the Miltenberg district and carries…
Volkach
Modest wine town on the river Main in Bavaria's Franconian wine-growing region, Volkach has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size.
Bad Kissingen
This UNESCO World Heritage spa town on the Franconian Saale river in Bavaria's Lower Franconia region, Bad Kissingen holds the oldest spa garden in Europe, d…
Doebeln
This walkable Saxon town on the banks of the Freiberger Mulde river, Döbeln has a centre with a real café and restaurant scene.
Putbus
Founded in 1810 by Prince Wilhelm Malte zu Putbus as a planned Classicist residence town, Putbus is the oldest seaside resort on the Baltic island of Rügen,…
Marktheidenfeld
A modest Bavarian town on the Main river, Marktheidenfeld sits in the wine-growing Spessart hills of Lower Franconia with a café and restaurant scene that pu…
Kurort Oberwiesenthal
Germany's highest town sits in the Ore Mountains on the Czech border, making Kurort Oberwiesenthal a natural base for skiing and mountain recreation.
Kitzingen
A Franconian wine town on the Main river in Bavaria, Kitzingen sits at the centre of the largest wine-producing district in the state, surrounded by vineyards.
Beeskow
This pocket-sized town on the River Spree in Brandenburg, eastern Germany, Beeskow has a café and restaurant scene that punches above its size.
Bad Elster
A little spa town in Saxony's Vogtland hills, Bad Elster is home to one of Germany's oldest mineral and moorland bath resorts, sitting on the White Elster ri…
Heilbad Heiligenstadt
A spa town in the mountains of Thuringia, Heilbad Heiligenstadt has a walkable centre with a concentration of historic churches, cafés, and restaurants, and…
Meiningen
A former ducal capital on the River Werra in southern Thuringia, Meiningen served as the seat of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen from 1680 to 1918 and retains a…
Taufkirchen
A Bavarian village square anchored by a white-rendered church tower and a blue-and-white maypole hung with painted guild figures offers a compact, walkable t…
Rheinsberg
Rheinsberg, a modest Brandenburg town on Lake Grienericksee and the River Rhin, is shaped above all by Schloss Rheinsberg, the palace that dominates its hist…
Metzingen
Metzingen, a Swabian town south of Stuttgart, draws visitors from around the world to its "Outlet City," a former textile-factory district now filled with st…
Luckenwalde
A Brandenburg town on the Nuthe river where an ornate Gothic brick church with a decorative stepped gable dominates the walkable centre, set within easy reac…
Filsen
This tiny German village on the Rhine's edge, with a stone church spire rising above the waterfront and wooded hills behind, set within the wider UNESCO-reco…
Templin
This spa town in Brandenburg's Uckermark district with a walkable centre full of cafés and restaurants, Templin holds official recognition as a thermal brine…
Bad Segeberg
Bad Segeberg, a town in Schleswig-Holstein between Hamburg and Lübeck, has drawn summer crowds since 1952 for its Karl May Festival — open-air theatrical per…
Planegg
Small Bavarian town on the river Würm, just west of Munich, with a café and restaurant scene and a number of historic churches that punch above its size.
Kleinmachnow
A Brandenburg municipality southwest of Berlin, Kleinmachnow is first recorded in 1375 and shaped by the Hake family of knights through much of its history.