8 reasons to visit Germany in 2026 

You may not think it from the international headlines, but the economic powerhouse of Europe has its far softer side. Its cities may bristle with skyscraper banks, but dig a little deeper and you can find rich seams of culture and history. And given its diversity of landscapes, from the island-rich Wadden Sea, via the bucolic winelands of the Rhine, to the foothills of the Alps, it’s a lovely place to go looking.

Massively damaged in World War II, a rebuilt Dresden has emerged like a butterfly from a chrysalis. Once the home of the Elector of Saxony, it is particularly rich in palaces. So much so that Italian painter Caravaggio’s 17^th century depiction of its riverside earned it the nickname of the Florence on the Elbe. Recently the city has taken that Italianate comparison seriously, creating the Elbe Venetian Carnival, which will be in its fifth manifestation this February. There are loads of other cultural events through the year, not least of which is the Dresden Music Festival, now with theatre too, which runs for a month from mid-May.

Dresden Music Festival: Tickets

Elbe Ventian Carnival: Additional Info & Tickets

To stay in Burg Trendelburg, in a castle on a hill surrounded by forest rich in wild boar, is to step straight into a Grimm’s fairytale. The castle’s five towers make it a natural candidate for a Rapunzel to let her hair down, particularly as Trendelburg is a key stop on the popular Fairytale Road, which is celebrating its 50^th anniversary through to spring 2026.  Other highlights of the route are Sleeping Beauty’s castle of Sababurg, nearby (still asleep for renovation, but the grounds are open at weekends). And Hamelin, where the Pied Piper play, which takes place every Sunday, is this year celebrating its 70^th birthday. In these places, it is hard to believe you are in one of the world’s foremost industrialised nations.

More info: Fairytale Road 50th Anniversary

Rural Bavaria has a lovely tradition of erecting maypoles in Spring, each of them differently adorned with flags and village insignia, and with their own timetable of local celebrations. Meanwhile its capital city Munich has its own Spring Festival (17 April to 10 May 2026), which this year is marking its 60^th anniversary. It takes place in the same location as the famous Oktoberfest, and has much the same popular formula:  giant tents in which lederhosen-dressed folk do a lot of eating, singing, and drinking Bavarian beer, with an enormous funfair attached.

More Info: 60th Munich Spring Festival

The upside-down suspension railway of Wuppertal first opened for business 100 years ago, in 1901, and its 13-kilometre route remains a vital part of the city’s transport network. Hanging underneath its track, the train offers unique views of a handsome city, and this year will celebrate its legacy through events like ‘125 Suspension Railway Stories’. The latter will no doubt include the one where the elephant fell through the floor (it landed in water below and was unharmed). The railway also now has its own museum, the Schwebodrom.

More Info: Schwebodrum

Everyone knows Neuschwanstein, the iconic castle in the foothills of the Alps which is supposedly the model for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty’s Castle. But there are four others, each remarkable in its own way, and in 2026 all four will be celebrating the first anniversary of being recognised by UNESCO for being of World Heritage significance. The glorious four are Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee, and the royal pavilion at Schachen, and all sprung from the imagination of Bavaria’s eccentric King Ludwig II, who died young in mysterious circumstances. Linderhof is a little gem, Herrenchiemsee is a mini-Versailles on an island in Lake Chiemsee, and to get to Schachen, an extraordinary Turkish pavilion in the Alps, you have to hike for three hours.

More Info: Bavarian Palace Administration

Whatever time of year you go, there’s always something special going on in Berlin. This year the city is celebrating one of its landmarks, the iconic Funkturm (radio tower), which will be 100 years old. This Berlin Eiffel offers a great view from its observation deck and a classic restaurant halfway up.  It’s also the anniversary of the foundation of the Hamburger Bahnhof, 30 years ago, the modern art gallery in a beautifully converted former railway station which majors on the likes of Pop Art and Minimalism. And finally, if you’re here in September, a new festival, DesignDays, showcases the city’s UNESCO City of Design designation, while Berlin is also hosting the Women’s Basketball World Cup this month.

More Info: Visit Berlin

Hamburg’s revamped docklands was controversial when it was first mooted – the cost of its giant wave-topped concert hall the Elbphilharmonie in particular – but HafenCity has become a huge success over the years. The old, converted spice warehouses are the home to Miniatur Wunderland, far more than just a model railway and regularly Germany’s top tourist attraction. For 2026, it is adding rainforest, Andes and Atacama Desert sections.  In addition for 2026 there will be a new visual experience nearby, the Hamburg Digital Art Museum, created by Japanese creative collective teamLab. Visitors will be immersed in moving artworks that lead from one space to the next.

More Info: Miniatur Wunderland

More Info: Hamburg Digital Art Museum

This is the country of the three B’s, Brahms, Beethoven and Bach, but 2026 celebrates yet another well-known composer. The city of Bayreuth is synonymous with Richard Wagner, who had an opera house built here to his specifications. Every year this place is the focus of a festival dedicated to Wagner’s music. This year is its 150^th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, an additional 150 stages will pop up throughout the city and the surrounding region. The extended festival’s theme is “From the last 150 to the next 150 years” so it will encompass a broad range of music, theatre and art from Wagner’s work to the present day.

More Info: Bayreuth Festival

See Wanderlust’s Good to Go List 2026 for more ideas on why you should visit Frankfurt and other destinations in Germany.