LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION
Itinerary: The Grand Circle
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FOUR WEEKS / BERLIN TO BERLIN
Germany is a rich quilt of exciting cities, awe-inspiring scenery and spirit-lifting culture, as this grand, 1800km loop reveals. It can be ‘done’ in three weeks but more time lets you connect more deeply with this land and its feast of treats, treasures and temptations.
Your epic Germany adventure launches with a few metro-intense days in Berlin, followed by a spin around the royal splendours of Sanssouci Park and Palace in Potsdam before plunging south to Dresden, a city that’s literally risen from the ashes of WWII. Consider a quick detour to ruggedly romantic Saxon Switzerland with its fairy-tale rock formations, then hook west to Weimar, the cradle of the German Enlightenment.
Head south to picture-perfect Bamberg, with its pristine Altstadt (old town) and excellent breweries, then compare its splendours to Regensburg, one of Europe’s best preserved medieval towns. After your big-city fix in Munich make the pilgrimage to the world’s most famous palace, Neuschwanstein, a sugary confection dreamed up by ‘Mad’ King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Freiburg, your next stop, is a bustling university town and gateway to the southern Black Forest.
Work your way north through cuckoo-clock country to historic Heidelberg, idyllically snuggled into the steep Neckar Valley, and the castle-studded Romantic Rhine between Mainz and Koblenz. Then follow the sinewing Moselle to Trier to wander among the best-preserved Roman ruins north of the Alps. Heading east across the gentle Eifel mountain range, you’ll arrive in Cologne, whose glorious twin-towered cathedral can be spotted edging into the sky from afar. Swing by Aachen, with its splendid Dom (cathedral) founded by Charlemagne, before heading up to Hamburg, a bustling port city with a kicking nightlife and first-rate museums. Wind down your tour by catching the Hanseatic spirit in the cities of Lübeck and Schwerin before travelling back to Berlin.
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