Destination: Germany

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Mid-German Meanderings

TWO WEEKS / DüSSELDORF TO LUTHERSTADT WITTENBERG

This itinerary proves that ‘lesser known’ doesn’t have to mean ‘lesser’. Classic and quirky discoveries abound along this 600km-long belt cinched around Germany’s surprising middle.



Kick off your west–east corrida in bustling Düsseldorf, a magnet for fans of art, shopping and a rollicking good time in the earthy pubs of the Altstadt (Old Town). Those with a penchant for the offbeat will hit the mother lode on the Industrial Heritage Trail ribboning through the nearby Ruhrgebiet. Quirky delights include former gas tanks now filled with art, blast furnaces turned into free-climbing zones and a colliery doubling as a concert venue.

Follow the A44 east, perhaps stopping in Soest and Paderborn, both famous for their churches. Next up, plunge into the world of fairy tales in Hamelin, the quaint and cobbled Renaissance town of Pied Piper fame. From here it’s not far to convincingly restored Hildesheim, celebrated for the huge bronze door gracing its cathedral. Continue on to charming Goslar, which counts a 1000-year-old mine and an 11th-century palace among its considerable assets. It’s also the gateway to the Harz Mountains, whose natural splendours are perfect for spending a day or two in the slow lane. Don’t leave without sampling the small-town beauty of Wernigerode, which is famous for its colourfully painted medieval houses and for being a terminus of the narrow-gauge Harzquerbahn railway to Nordhausen in Thuringia.

Continue on to charming Quedlinburg, a well-preserved symphony in half-timbered houses. From here make a beeline straight for Dessau, a city that’s synonymous with the groundbreaking Bauhaus school of architecture. Take a ramble around the lush gardens of Wörlitz before ending your tour in the birthplace of the Reformation, Lutherstadt Wittenberg.