From ice caves to deserts: These spectacular places really exist in Germany
Why travel far when Germany has so many spectacular places and natural wonders to offer? Many of them are ideal for a spontaneous weekend getaway.
We’ll show you – including a map.
When the rocks glow in the light of the rising or setting sun, you might almost think you're standing in Antelope Canyon in the western United States! But the Altschlossfelsen rocks are located in Germany, more precisely in the Palatinate Forest on the border with France.
Over thousands of years, wind and weather have shaped the red sandstone massif, creating bizarre rock formations. Clearly visible are four towers standing close together and the actual main rock.
The towers also bear traces of a former fortification. It was probably built by the Counts of Zweibrücken-Bitche after 1279. In 1991, the rock massif was declared a protected monument.
The Altschlossfelsen are a natural monument in the Palatinate Forest.
Source: imago images/imagebroker
No human hand was involved here: The 14-meter-high rock sculpture was created by nature. It looks like a tabletop on a pillar—aptly named the Devil's Table. It's located near Hinterweidenthal in the Palatinate Forest.
The sculpture was created by erosion, which removed softer parts of the rock. Incidentally, a pine tree sits atop the Devil's Table. Anyone who wants to touch it will have to climb.
Could be in Arizona, but it's the Devil's Table in the Palatinate Forest.
Source: imago images/Chromorange
Tüchersfeld should definitely be on your must-see list. Why? Because it's a rock village! Stone giants embrace the small half-timbered houses and courtyards of this village, which is about an hour's drive from Bamberg and Nuremberg.
Tip: If you don't want to stroll through the village in a crowd of other tourists, come between November and March.
Tüchersfeld really does exist, in Franconian Switzerland. The stone cliffs practically embrace the half-timbered houses.
Source: imago images/Panthermedia
Externsteine sounds like a fantasy name, and they look like something out of a fairytale. But you can actually find them in the real world – in the Teutoburg Forest.
The stones, which rise 40 meters into the sky, are made of sandstone. This sandstone was forced upwards about 70 million years ago when the mountains formed. People have been able to climb them since the 19th century, when stairs were carved into the rock and an observation platform was built.
Externsteine, that sounds like a fantasy name, and they look like something out of a fairytale book.
Source: imago images/blickwinkel
Here you'll immerse yourself in the Middle Ages: Eltz Castle is one of the most famous and beautiful castle complexes in Germany. This hilltop castle in Rhineland-Palatinate sits in a spectacular location on a rock, 129 meters above the Elz Valley, a tributary of the Moselle. It is surrounded by dense forest, with no modern buildings in sight.
Eltz Castle sits enthroned on a rock in the middle of the forest.
Source: imago images/haveseen
The eight- to 35-meter-high residential towers, bay windows, half-timbering, and spires make the building the epitome of a medieval knight's castle. Its walls have never been breached by force since their construction in the 12th century, and the completely preserved complex has been owned by a single family since its construction.
It's hard to imagine a more Instagrammable motif: The Rakotz Bridge in Saxony is located in the 200-hectare Azalea and Rhododendron Park near Görlitz. Completed in 1882, it spans Lake Rakotz. Time has left its mark on the structure: Because it was in danger of collapsing, it underwent four years of renovation until July 2021.
However, you can only admire the bridge from a distance; walking across it is prohibited. The semicircular arched bridge with a span of 35 meters is part of the so-called Rakotz Ensemble.
The Rakotz Bridge in Kromlau, a district of Gablenz, is located in eastern Germany near the Polish border. Following the completion of the renovation in 2021, the entire ensemble surrounding the bridge will also be visible again.
Source: imago images/lausitznews.de
While the Breitachklamm may not be as impressive as the Grand Canyon in Arizona, it is still very impressive. At 150 meters deep, it is Central Europe's deepest gorge.
Its formation began more than 10,000 years ago with the melting of the Breitach Glacier, after which water slowly ate its way through the rock. The Breitach Gorge in Bavaria was made accessible in 1905 at the suggestion of a pastor, when a path was built through the gorge.
Today, more than 300,000 visitors flock to the 2.5-kilometer-long hiking trail each year. Tip: It's less busy in the morning before 10 a.m. and in the afternoon.
Opening hours: vary by date, more information here | Admission: 7.50 euros for adults and 2.50 euros for children (up to 15 years)
A hiker is walking in the Partnach Gorge.
Source: PantherMedia / Wenzel Fickert
Equally impressive, although only about half as high at 80 meters, is the Partnach Gorge in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Here, too, it's hard to imagine the enormous masses of water that have carved out the rocks over millennia. It's about 700 meters long.
The iron bridge on which you can cross the river was built in 1914.
Opening hours: October to May from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and June to September from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Admission: Adults 10 euros, children (6 to 17 years) 5 euros
The Lieberos Desert is about five square kilometers in size—okay, compared to the famous Sahara, the second largest desert in the world at 8.7 million square kilometers, that's certainly tiny. But: The Lieberos Desert is located in Germany, more precisely in the Lower Lusatia region of Brandenburg.
It was created by a large forest fire in 1942, and later the area became a military training area for the National Socialist military.
Today it is part of the Lieberoser Endmoräne nature reserve. In summer, temperatures on the hot sand can reach up to 70 degrees Celsius, reports the Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung.
Lichtenstein Castle stands 250 meters above a tributary of the Neckar River on the Albtrauf (Alb River ridge) and overlooks the Swabian Alb in Baden-Württemberg. The castle, along with its courtyard and extensive gardens, can be visited as part of a guided tour.
The most spectacular view of the buildings, however, is from the "View of Lichtenstein Castle" vantage point. Also worth seeing are the views from Honau and Traifelberg.
Lichtenstein Castle stands 250 metres above a tributary of the Neckar on the Albtrauf and overlooks the Swabian Alb in Baden-Württemberg.
Source: IMAGO/Depositphotos
Fun fact: The castle is the only one in the world built in the neo-Gothic style between 1840 and 1842, based on a novel. The inspiration came from Wilhelm Hauff's "Lichtenstein."
A fjord landscape in Germany? Above the Saar Loop, you'll actually feel like you're in Norway .
Tip: Head to the Cloef viewpoint early in the morning. Then you'll be able to gaze at the river landscape through the twilight and mist.
Morning mood over the Saarschleife in Saarland.
Source: imago/allOver-MEV
Completely bizarre: There really is a sea of rocks in the Odenwald forest. Two giants are said to have created it in a dispute by throwing boulders at each other. That's the legend, but the reality is less mystical: The sea of rocks was formed by weathering.
There is actually a sea of rocks in the Odenwald. According to legend, it was formed when two giants threw stones at each other during a dispute.
Source: imago images/Westend61
Even the Romans used the sea to extract stone. At the upper end of the Felsenmeer (Sea of Rocks) is a small spring, whose trickle flows between the rocks down into the valley and eventually empties into the Graulbach stream. You can discover the Odenwald, which is steeped in many more legends, on a hike along the Nibelungensteig trail.
The Bastei near Rathen boasts the royal viewpoint of Saxon Switzerland. Every year, the striking rock formation with its viewing platform attracts around 1.5 million visitors, who gaze from the sandstone bridge built in 1851 between the steep cliffs into the picturesque Elbe Valley and across the surrounding Elbe Sandstone Mountains.
Tourists can also visit the ruins of the medieval Neurathen Castle on the 305-meter-high plateau. Due to unstable conditions, some sections of the popular Bastei viewing platform were temporarily closed. However, a free-floating viewing platform has now been installed, allowing visitors to access the Bastei viewing platform again.
Sunrise on the Bastei Bridge, on the right the Altrathen castle ruins, in Saxon Switzerland.
Source: imago images / Hanke
Drachenburg Castle was built in record time between 1882 and 1884, at the request of Stephan von Sarter. It was originally intended to be his prestigious residence, but in the end, the Franco-German financier barely lived there.
It stands 150 meters above the Rhine near Königswinter. Visitors enjoy a magnificent panoramic view; on clear days, even Cologne can be seen. The ascent to the Drachenfels takes the Eselsweg (Donkey Trail). It is also possible to take the Drachenfels funicular railway directly to the castle gate (middle station).
Spectacularly beautiful: Drachenburg Castle in Königswinter.
Source: IMAGO/imagebroker
In the past, black alum slate was mined here; today, visitors can expect a unique spectacle in the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes in Thuringia.
The disused mine is known primarily for its colorful stalactites and unique cave landscape. As the "most colorful show grottoes in the world," the Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes have even been listed in the Guinness Book of Records since 1993.
The Saalfeld Fairy Grottoes show mine impresses with its spectacle of colors.
Source: IMAGO/imagebroker
The Schellenberger Ice Cave is a natural karst cave in the Schellenberger Forest in Upper Bavaria, near the Austrian border. It is the only accessible ice cave in Germany. The explored length is over 3.6 kilometers, of which 500 meters can be visited on guided tours.
In the Schellenberger Ice Cave, the largest ice show cave in Germany.
Source: IMAGO/Westend61
The tour lasts about 50 minutes, during which visitors see magnificent halls and ice formations that have formed a permanent ice sheet in the cave since the last Ice Age.
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