Worth a Visit - Germany's Top Tourist Attractions
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Cologne Cathedral and Hohenzollern Bridge
(© picture-alliance/Lonely Planet Images)
Foreign tourists have voted: Neuschwanstein Castle is the favorite among foreign guests to Germany. Europa-Park in Rust came in second in rankings, while Cologne Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage site, took third place. The German National Tourist Board (DZT) conducted the survey among foreign tourists in Germany for the second time as a way of determining the most popular tourist attractions in Germany. From July 1, 2012 to the end of March 2013, tourists were able to name their “TOP tourist attractions” on the DZT website. Almost 700 tourist highlights were entered and subsequently ranked. The DZT counted over 46,000 clicks for the survey, which was available in 26 languages.
The Top 10:
- 1: Neuschwanstein Castle, Schwangau/Füssen, Bavaria
- 2: Europa-Park, Rust, Baden-Württemberg
- 3: UNESCO World Heritage Site Cologne Cathedral, North Rhine-Westphalia
- 4: The Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
- 5: The Berlin Wall (East Side Gallery, Mauerpark, Mauerweg, etc.)
- 6: Lorelei in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Upper Middle Rhine Valley, Rhineland-Palatinate
- 7: Wildlife parks in the Black Forest, Baden-Württemberg
- 8: Heidelberg Castle, Baden-Wuerttemberg
- 9: Lake Constance and Mainau island, UNESCO World Heritage Site, Lindau, Prehistoric Pile Dwellings, Burg Meersburg, Lake Constance, Baden-Wuerttemberg
- 10: UNESCO World Heritage Site Museumsinsel Berlin
The balanced geographical spread of the 100 tourist highlights confirms that from the perspective of foreign visitors, all German states have attractive travel destinations to offer. The UNESCO World Heritage Sites also proved to be particularly popular among visitors: 19 of the 37 German UNESCO sites gained a place among the top 100 tourist attractions.
The Neuschwanstein Castle was also a hit on this side of the Atlantic in 2013. Hundreds of visitors lined up to have their pictures taken in front of a large photo of the castle at the EU Open House. The event was co-hosted by the French and German Embassies and visitors were very excited to see the castle and pretend, for a day, to be in scenic Bavaria.
Related Links:
German Tourism Association (DTV - in German)
