Relaxing family getaways in Germany off the beaten path.
Less-touristed family getaways 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…
Schönau am Königssee
This photogenic tiny town in the Bavarian Alps at the northern end of the Königssee, a fjord-like lake reaching depths of up to 190 metres and home to the ch…
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…
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…
Moritzburg
The Baroque hunting castle Schloss Moritzburg is the centrepiece of this tiny Saxon town between Meissen and Dresden, set on a lake and reached by a narrow-g…
Baiersbronn
Baiersbronn, a town in Germany's Black Forest, holds an outsized reputation for haute cuisine — accumulating eight Michelin stars across its restaurants, a c…
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…
Neuruppin
Birthplace of the novelist Theodor Fontane (1819–1898), Neuruppin is a Brandenburg town on the water with a Neoclassical centre rebuilt after a fire in 1787…
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…
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…
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…
Merseburg
Merseburg, on the river Saale in southern Saxony-Anhalt, is one of central Germany's oldest towns, with a history stretching back to at least the 9th century…
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,…
Juchen
This North Rhine-Westphalia municipality between Mönchengladbach and Grevenbroich is shaped by two contrasting features: the moated castle of Dyck, set withi…
Eschweiler
Town on the river Inde in the Aachen district of North Rhine-Westphalia, Eschweiler has a walkable centre with cafés and historic churches, and is known loca…
Neubrandenburg
Neubrandenburg is known as the "City of Four Gates" for its four medieval city gates, and holds what is described as the world's best-preserved defensive wal…
Woerlitz
The Wörlitzer Park, part of the UNESCO-listed Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm designated in 2000, draws visitors to this small village on the left bank of the El…
Bitterfeld-Wolfen
This town in Saxony-Anhalt formed in 2007 from the merger of Bitterfeld and Wolfen, sitting alongside the Goitzsche — a nature reserve with a large lake — an…
Spiekeroog
A car-free East Frisian Island in the North Sea off Lower Saxony, Spiekeroog sits within the Wadden Sea UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Lower Saxon Wadden…
Kirchheimbolanden
A small wine-country town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Kirchheimbolanden has a café and restaurant scene that holds a surprising number of options for its size,…
Hemer
A town in the northern Sauerland region of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hemer takes its nickname — Felsenmeerstadt, or "Sea of Rocks City" — from the Felsenmeer,…
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…
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…
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…
Reinickendorf
Berlin's northwestern borough of Reinickendorf sits along Lake Tegel, a stretch of water connected to the Havel river, and draws visitors to its waterside se…
Dessau
Dessau-Roßlau holds two UNESCO World Heritage listings: the Bauhaus buildings, which made this Saxony-Anhalt town a landmark of 20th-century architecture and…
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.