Historic Rudesheim am Rhine - a Germany must!

Lying at the foot of the Neiderwald, on the approach of the Lorelei, on the banks of the Rhine; a stop or overnight in Rudesheim is a must for any travelers to the Rhine area of Germany. Though a year-round tourist destination, Rudesheim maintains it's quaint and quintessential German feeling. Stroll along quaint cobble stoned Drosselgasse, discover the town's nook and cranny's and stop for a gelato overlooking the beautiful Rhine River. The feeling of Rudesheim is relaxing. Visit and relax.

Must Do's:

Georg Bruer: Sample local wine and champagne at Georg Bruer. The Bruer family cultivates over 33 hectacres of vineyards in Rudesheim and the surrounding areas. We recommend this to be your first stop in Rudesheim.

Middle Ages Torture Museum: Come and view the instruments used for torture in the middle ages. Learn about the methods of torture, witches, funeral piles, witch-hunts, witchcraft, the Inquisition, and the Medieval punishments.

Shopping: You will find a host of German craft shops in Rudesheim. You can be assured to find souvenirs of your time in Germany.

Cruise on the Rhine: If the weather is fine, there is nothing better than to take a cruise on the Rhine. You will see green mountainsides dotted with castle ruins along the entire Rhine.

Siegfried's Mechanisches Musikkabinett: Music-lovers and history buffs will delight in the collection at this wonderful museum. Visitors will find phonographs, music boxes, player pianos and more.

Niederwald Monument: This majestic statue, over 30 feet tall, sits atop Rüdesheim's National Monument. The ride up and the view is amazing!

Rheingau Wine Museum Broemserburg Castle: This medieval castle now serves as a museum of wine and local history.

Stroll the Drosselgasse: Less than 500 feet long, Drosselgasse is a narrow, pub-lined lane, which is abuzz with music and merrymaking from noon until well past midnight every day from Easter through October.

Benedictine Abbey of St. Hildegard: A very lovely abbey with nuns living here and running it. There is also a shop were you can buy things what are made here. The views you have from here are stunning.

Dinner at the Rudesheimer Schloss: Breuer's Rüdesheimer Schloss's restaurant serves food from the Hesse region. A variety of wines from the hotel's own winery can be tasted and purchased. In the summer, you are lucky to eat in the courtyard famous for it's glockenspiel. Live music plays daily. The food is fabulous and the atmosphere is amazing!

Rudesheim am Rhine is a must for any travelers to Germany, especially if you are visiting the Rhine region. It is an easy day trip from Frankfurt. But, Rudesheim is also a great base for exploring the Rhine region. We recommend staying at Bruer's Rudesheimer Schloss. The atmosphere is amazing!

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Palaces of Potsdam

Potsdam is best known for the magnificent palaces and parks that date back to its time as the former royal seat of Prussia.It would be a shame to visit Potsdam without checking out one of her many beautiful palaces. Here are some of the top palaces to visit while in Potsdam, Germany:

Babelsberg Palace, Babelsberg Park
Babelsberg Palace lies in the eponymous park and quarter of Potsdam, the capital of the German state of Brandenburg. For over 50 years it was the summer residence of Prince William, later Emperor William I and his wife, Augusta of the House of Saxe-Weimar. The building, designed in the English Gothic style, was built in two phases over the period 1835–1849.

Cecilienhof Palace, New Garden
This historic country house is the site where Truman, Churchill and Stalin met at the famous Potsdam Conference following World War II.

Marble Palace, New Garden
The Marmorpalais (marble palace) was a royal residence in Potsdam, eastern Germany, built on the grounds of the extensive Neuer Garten on the shores of Lake Heiliger See. The palace was commissioned by Frederick William II of Prussia and designed in the early classicist style by the architects Carl von Gontard and (from 1789) Carl Gotthard Langhans, designer of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.

Marquardt Palace
This Baroque Castle slumbers in a fairytale park in prestigious Potsdam. The castle has an exceptional and beautiful location in a nature park in an area of lakes and forests.

Little Palace in Babelsberg Park
Little Babelsberg Palace, also known as Kleines Schloss, is located in the most picturesque part of the park on the banks of the Havel River. It began as a simple structure and was later transformed into a palace. It was rebuilt in two stages, first in 1834 and then in 1842, by architect Ludwig Persius. The English Tudor-Gothic style of the building was requested by Princess Augusta. This beautiful white palace still retains it grandeur.
   

New Palace, Sanssouci Park
The New Palace is a palace situated on the western side of the Sanssouci royal park in Potsdam, Germany. The building was begun in 1763, after the end of the Seven Years' War, under Frederick the Great and was completed in 1769. It is considered to be the last great Prussian baroque palace.
  

Sacrow Palace
Frederick William IV acquired the Sacrow estate shortly after his accession to the throne in 1840, so that he might further beautify the Potsdam garden landscape. At the same time the king had the Church of the Savior, designed by Ludwig Persius in the shape of an early Christian basilica, built very nearby. Peter Joseph Lenné took over the scenic design of this outstanding, royal park complex.    
   
Sanssouci Palace, Sanssouci Park
Sanssouci is the former summer palace of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, in Potsdam, near Berlin. It is often counted among the German rivals of Versailles. While Sanssouci is in the more intimate Rococo style and is far smaller than its French Baroque counterpart, it too is notable for the numerous temples and follies in the park. The palace was designed/built by Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff between 1745 and 1747 to fulfill King Frederick's need for a private residence where he could relax away from the pomp and ceremony of the Berlin court.
   
Orangery Palace, Sanssouci Park
The Orangery in Sanssouci Park is an impressive example of the buildings created by Frederick William IV, who was known as the "Romantic on the throne." The imposing building complex - including greenhouses and the central Orangery Palace, sculptures, fountains, arcades and terraces - brings a bit of the Mediterranean sun to Potsdam, while graphically documenting Frederick William IV's ardent admiration for Italy. Italian Renaissance villas served as its models.
  

Satzkorn Manor House
A lineage of knights ruled the village of Satzkorn for many centuries. In 1731, the bourgeois private physician of Frederick William I was able to purchase a manor in Satzkorn with the help of the king, and bit-by-bit enlarge it with the inclusion of all the former knights' domiciles. In 1739, Friedrich Brandhorst ordered the construction of the manor house which still exists today. The manor dominated the village for a long period of time - until its political and legal independence came to an end in 1928.
   

Charlottenhof Palace, Sanssouci Park
Charlottenhof Palace or Charlottenhof Manor is located southwest of Sanssouci Palace in Sanssouci Park at Potsdam, Germany. It is most famous as the summer residence of Crown Prince Frederick William (later King Frederick William IV of Prussia). 

Visit the Palaces of Potsdam on your next self-drive tour of Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Potsdam Biosphere

It is summer all year long at the Potsdam Biosphere. With more than 20,000 precious and fascinating tropical plants, the Potsdam Biosphere takes visitors into another world, full of excitement and jungle feeling. A vast range of animals in the tropical garden, an underwater world in the style of a historic submarine and the butterfly house captivate guests. Highlight of a visit to the Biosphere world is the hourly thunderstorm with lightning and thunder, tropical rain, and wafts of mist. Adults and children will be given plenty of chances to gain great insight into the colorful diversity of the rain forest. Travel to Potsdam to visit the Potsdam Biosphere. It is a great for families or just adults!

Cecilienhof Palace - a Piece of History

Cecilienhof Palace is the perfect blend of museum, brewery and inn for the history buffs traveling through Germany. Located in Potsdam, Germany; the castle grounds are picturesquely nestled in the "Neuer Garten" park landscape close to the "Jungfernsee" lake.

Cecilienhof was the last palace built by the Hohenzollern family that ruled Prussia and Germany until 1918. But this UNESCO World Heritage Site is best known as the location of the Potsdam Conference. Churchill, Truman and Stalin wrote world history in the venerable halls of Cecilienhof Palace, and discussed how to partition Germany.

Visit the thought-provoking museum and mosey through the beautiful garden then pop into the brewery pub for a drink and a bite to eat. History buffs and Germany travelers will find a rewarding experience at Cecilienhof Palace in Potsdam, Germany. Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations.

Sanssouci Park and Palace

The terraced Sanssouci Park, in Potsdam, Germany, started when Frederick the Great wanted to cultivate plums, figs and wine on Potsdam’s doorstep. Frederick the Great loved the garden with it's magnificent views so much that he had his summer residence built above the terraced vineyard. Sanssouci Palace is considered the major work of Rococo architecture in Germany. Paintings by Watteau, Panini and Pesne are on exhibit in the picture gallery.

Sanssouci Park and Palace welcomes thousands of tourists from all over the world and is a must see for anyone visiting Potsdam, Germany. Plan to visit on your next Germany vacation with Celtic Tours World Vacations.

Potsdam: a land of gardens, parks, palaces and lakes.

Potsdam is best known for the magnificent palaces and parks that date back to its time as the former royal seat of Prussia. Prussian pomp and splendor, a heritage of great architects and scholars, and a focal point during the Cold War: Potsdam offers a breathtaking panorama of culture and history.

Visit Potsdam on your next vacation to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Hannover: What to see

Cultural diversity, top universities, location for science, exciting tourist attractions - this is Hannover, the capital of Lower Saxony.

Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen
The Herrenhausen Gardens are an internationally famous ensemble of garden arts and culture that ranks among the most important historical gardens in Europe.

Berggarten
Botanical treasures and a world-famous orchid collection.

City Centre
When you walk out of Hannover Central Station towards Ernst August Platz you are almost in the middle of Hannover's city centre. The centre is rather large for a city of half a million. It has grown over the centuries between the old town down by the river, the Aegidientor in the west, the Steintor in the east and the Central Station.

Marktkirche
The Marktkirche - the church at the market place - was built in the 14th century

 

Maschsee Lake
One of the city's most popular destinations and recreational areas

The Old Town
Half-timbered buildings, museums and sights in Hanover's old core

Tiergarten
The deer park of Hannover - one if its most popular attractions. The 112 hectares of this recreational forest are inhabited by a large number of wild animals, making it one of Hannover's most popular attractions. From the beginning it was not the production of wood, but hunting and the beauty of the wild animals and the forest that stood in the foreground. Thanks to this attitude a very old tree population could develop, creating a scenery of rare beauty and serenity.

The Old Town Hall
A historical building dating back to 1500 a.d.The old Town Hall was built over a period of more than 100 years. The earliest part (from 1410) overlooks the Schmiedestrasse (Blacksmith Street), the later wing next to the market was erected on the foundations of the 13th century trade hall. The adjacent wing in the Koebelinger Str. is called the "Chemists' Wing ("Apothekenflügel"), because it was the location of the Town Hall's pharmacy. This wing was later rebuilt in Italian Romanesque style, after a citizen's "action group" led by a well known neo-Gothic architect, Conrad Wilhelm Hase, managed to save the entire building from demolition in 1844. Hase was subsequently commissioned to renovate the remaining wings in their original style of 1500, with its exceptional gothic gables and the ornamental frieze.

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Dresden: a synonym for culture.

There are many ways to interpret or define culture. But it can be easily summarized with just one word: Dresden. The sheer abundance and splendor of the city's cultural treasures are enough to take your breath away. And since Dresden also just happens to be set amidst a stunning river landscape, your amazement is soon accompanied by pure delight.

Though the attribute 'world famous' is dished out all too readily, it is a befitting term in the case of Dresden. The city is famed not only for its three major landmarks – Zwinger Palace, Semper Opera House and the Church of Our Lady – but also for Brühl Terrace and the Royal Palace, for the Elbe palaces on the Loschwitz hillside, for the exclusive villas of Blasewitz, the garden city of Hellerau and, of course, for the twelve Dresden State Art Collections. And not forgetting the city centre's prime position on the western bank of the Elbe, at the apex of one of the river's gently sweeping meanders.
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Dusseldorf: catwalk of Germany.

Dusseldorf becomes the focus of the fashion world when the city reveals the latest in designer fashion and high-street trends. 'The Gallery Dusseldorf' emerged from Igedo (the world's biggest fashion show in its day) and is now a biannual event that attracts international fashion designers and buyers in their droves to the Rhine city.

What to see in Dusseldorf?

Konigsallee
The Konigsallee is an urban boulevard in Dusseldorf, state capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. The Konigsallee is noted for both the landscaped canal that runs along its center, as well as for the fashion showrooms and luxury retail stores located along its sides.

Schloss Benrath
Schloss Benrath is a Rococo maison de plaisance near Dusseldorf, Germany, erected for the Elector Palatine Charles Theodore by his garden and building director and garden supervisor, Nicolas de Pigage. It was begun in 1755, and by the time it was completed in 1770, some elements of Neoclassicism were detectable in its interior finishing.

Neandertal
The Neandertal is a small valley of the river Dussel in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about 7.5 mi east of Dusseldorf, the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia. The valley belongs to the area of the towns Erkrath and Mettmann. In 1856, the area became famous for the discovery of Neanderthal 1, the first specimen of Homo neanderthalensis to be found.

Museum Kunstpalast
The beginnings of the Collection of the Kunstmuseum is dated back in the early 18th century and is increased to more than 100.000 Paintings, Sculptures, Drawings, Graphics, Photographies, applied arts objects and glass.

Dusseldorf-Kaiserswerth
Kaiserswerth is one of the oldest parts of the City of Dusseldorf. It is in the north of the city and next to the river Rhine.

Tonhalle Dusseldorf
It was built in 1926 as a planetarium, the biggest in the world at the point of construction. During the 1970s it was converted into a concert hall.


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Trotting to Thuringia - Self-Drive Vacation

Whether traveling to Germany for the quaint towns, the outstanding natural beauty, the cultural heritage or to follow the Luther trail, Trotting to Thuringia puts you right in the center of it all. Stay in fabulous hotels, eat true German cuisine and enjoy the state of Thuringia.

Your Trotting to Thuringia - Self-Drive Vacation includes:

• 2 Nights Accommodations in Weimar 
• 2 Nights Accommodations in Eisenach 
•  4 Day economy automatic car rental 
•  Breakfast Daily
  
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Museum Island in Berlin

The Museum Island in Berlin is the northern tip of the Spree Island - and it is also a magnificent work of art itself, involving five world-renowned museums gathered in an extraordinary ensemble. The many outstanding exhibits include the Nefertitit and the Pergamon frieze.

Since 1999, the museum complex in the city center of Berlin has been the only architectural and cultural ensemble that is considered part of UNESCO world heritage. At the southern part of the island, near the Schlossbrücke bridge and the Berlin Cathedral, the Altes Museum (Old Museum) can be found, which is located nearby the Lustgarten. In the northern part, there is the New Museum as well as the Alte Nationalgalerie. On the Kupfergraben side of the island can be found the Pergamon Museum. And last but not least there is the Bode- Museum.

Pergamonmuseum
The three-winged Pergamonmuseum by Alfred Messel has about one million visitors per year and thus is the most visited museum in Berlin. Currently, preparations are underway for reconstruction work. Permanent exhibits in the museum such as the Pergamon frieze and the Market Gate of Miletus have already been restored.

Bode-Museum
After six years of restoration work, the Bode Museum reopened in 2006. The museum houses an extensive collection of sculptures and treasures of the Museum of Byzantine Art and the Numismatic Collection. In the summer, the shore on the other side is a popular place for young people to meet each other and hang out.

Neues Museum
In 1841, Friedrich August Stüler started building the Neues Museum (New Museum). He used steam power and industrially fabricated support structures, which was a structural engineering sensation at the time. During the war, the museum was destroyed, and laid in ruins until 1999. Only then did the reconstruction work begin, which ended up lasting for ten years. Since reopening in 2009, the Egyptian Museum and the Museum of Prehistory and Early History have once again found a place to display their treasures in the museum. The showpiece of the New Museum is the bust of Nefertiti.

Alte Nationalgalerie
Like an ancient temple, the museum Alte Nationalgalerie along with its stairway rises above the Museum Island. The model that inspired the architect Friedrich August Stiller was the Acropolis of Athens. It was the first museum to be renovated here and has been open to the public since 2001. Built between 1867 and 1876 the museum Alte Nationalgalerie features works of Classicism, Romanticism, the Biedermeier era, Impressionism and early Modernism.

Altes Museum
The architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel designed a neoclassical building for Altes Museum (Old Museum) with a rotunda, dome and portico in 1830. It was thus the first public museum in Prussia. After being destroyed in the war and being rebuilt in the 1960s, the Altes Museum is undergoing renovation work. The museum's permanent exhibition entitled “New Antiquity in the Old Museum" (collection of classical antiquities and gold treasury) presents Greek and Roman art and sculptures.

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Top 9 Berlin Museums

Berlin is a city of art, artists and museums. More than 170 museums, including those on the famous museum island, put the treasures of the world on public display. Culturally minded visitors from all corners of the globe come to Berlin to see performances by leading orchestras – such as the internationally celebrated Berlin Philharmonic – and to attend ballets and operas at the three major opera houses. A multitude of theaters specializing in plays, variety, revue and cabaret offer stage entertainment in all its forms.

With over 170 museums in Berlin it is hard to choose which ones to see. In addition to Museum Island, here are the top 9 most popular museums in Berlin, Germany:

1. Deutsches Historisches Museum (German History Museum)
The German History Museum is the official national history museum of the Federal Republic of Germany. The museum’s objective is to present German history from its beginnings to the present day in terms of its international impact as well as its regional diversity.

2. Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum is quite possibly one of the most exciting examples of contemporary architecture in Berlin. Opened on 9 September 2001, the form and style of the museum reflect a complex concept consisting of ciphers, codes and philosophical themes.

3. Gemäldegalerie (Masterpieces of occidential art)
The gallery at the Kulturforum at Potsdamer Platz shows masterpieces of old occidental art. It is home to one of the most important collections of European painters from the 13th to 18th centuries world-wide, and comprises approx. 2,700 masterpieces of all epochs of Italian art between the 14th and 18th centuries, Dutch painings of the 15th to 16th centuries, and old German masters of the late gothic and renaissance eras. In rooms suffused with daylight, world-famous paintings like Jan Vermeer’s ‘Young lady with string of pearls’ and one of the world’s largest collections of Rembrandt’s works beckon the visitor, as do paintings by van Eyck, Bruegel, Dürer, Raffael, Tizian, Caravaggio and Rubens.

4. Museum für Naturkunde (World's biggest dinosaur skeleton)
Visitors are greeted in the entrance area by the head of a giant dinosaur that appears to be looking through the wall. The dinosaur exhibition has recently been completely redesigned: the interactive multimedia display now shows life as it was 150 million years ago in Tendaguru, East Africa.

5. Martin-Gropius-Bau (International art in historical building)
The Martin-Gropius-Bau is Berlin's main exhibition hall and is one of the world’s leading exhibition venues. The building, which until 1989 was directly located at the Berlin Wall and once housed the Museum of Decorative Arts, is named after the man who built it, the great uncle of the famous Bauhaus architect Walter Gropius.

6. Deutsches Technikmuseum (Technology: on land, on water and in the air)
The German Technology Museum (Deutsches Technikmuseum) offers a comprehensive insight into technical cultural history in Germany. With its 26,000 sqm of floor space, the Technical Museum is one of the largest in Europe and carries on the tradition of other famous technology museums, which used to welcome visitors in Berlin before World War II.

7. Hamburger Bahnhof - Museum of Contemporary Art (Art in the train station)
The Hamburger Bahnhof is the former rail station for trains running between the capital and the hanseatic city of Hamburg. Its station building houses the museum for contemporary art, which belongs to the Nationalgalerie and counts as one of the world’s most successful exhibition spaces for contemporary art. Here, works can be found by artists such as Andy Warhol, Joseph Beuys, Keith Haring as well as many innovative contemporary artists.

8. DDR Museum - FDJ, stasi, trabants, pre-fabricated high-rises – experience every-day life as it was in the old GDR in this unique museum
The GDR museum is one of the newest and most visited in Berlin. For a good reason: it is the only museum that deals exclusively with life in the former German Democratic Republic, while at the same time offering an objective perspective of the topics ‘stasi’ and ‘wall’, as well as various aspects of every-day life during that period.

9. Mauermuseum - Haus am Checkpoint Charlie (The Berlin Wall - history and events)
Today, the house at Checkpoint Charlie shows an almost incomprehensible number of original means and tools that people used in their escape out of the "DDR": from the hot-air balloon to the Trebant up to the chairlift.

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Berlin, the German Capital

Berlin, the German capital, is renowned for its exceptional variety of attractions, its flourishing cultural scene and a way of life that's both fast-paced and relaxed.

Contrasts between historical buildings and modern architecture, between the traditional and the modern are what set the city apart from the rest. The sights of Berlin – from the Brandenburg Gate to the Federal Chancellery – tell the story of an entire nation. Germany's capital is home to all the major goverment buildings, most notably the historic Reichstag, seat of the German parliament.

Berlin is a city of art, artists and museums. More than 170 museums, including those on the famous museum island, put the treasures of the world on public display. Culturally minded visitors from all corners of the globe come to Berlin to see performances by leading orchestras – such as the internationally celebrated Berlin Philharmonic – and to attend ballets and operas at the three major opera houses. A multitude of theatres specialising in plays, variety, revue and cabaret offer stage entertainment in all its forms.

The famous Kurfürstendamm, grand old Friedrichstrasse and the independent boutiques in and around the Hackesche Höfe offer endless scope for shopping.

Nowadays, people look to Berlin for the latest trends in lifestyle, music and art. Inspired by this outpouring of creativity, growing numbers of artists are arriving in the city from around the world, making it one of Europe's most exciting destinations.

A feature of Berlin, aside from its exuberance, is the way it continuously reinvents itself.

But Berlin also has a relaxed vibe and lots of open spaces for a breath of fresh air. No city in Germany is greener than Berlin with its forests, lakes and sprawling parks. This laid-back way of life can be found throughout the city. When the weather gets warmer, life in Berlin moves outdoors to the beach bars, pavement cafés and open-air cinemas and theatres – perfect for enjoying the sunshine and the balmy summer nights.

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Bavarian Alps and the Bodensee - Self-Drive Vacation in Germany

Relax and enjoy the natural and scenic beauty of Southern Germany on this spectacular self-drive journey through the Bavarian Alps to Lake Constance (the Bodensee) and onto Munich. This Germany vacation offers a relaxing pace for you to explore fairytale castles, festive beer halls and the beautiful city of Munich.

Your Bavarian Alps and the Bodensee - Self-Drive Vacation includes:

• 2 Nights Accommodations in Fussen
• 2 Nights Accommodations in Friedrichshafen
• 2 Nights Accommodations in Munich
• 6 Day economy automatic car rental
• Breakfast Daily
  
  
  
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Hamburg: wanderlust and a maritime world city

Hamburg, Germany is a gateway to the world, beautiful seafaring hub, maritime capital of the north – even the normally reserved locals find it hard to conceal their pride in their home city, its ambiance and its cosmopolitan charm.

What to see?

Museum of Hamburg History
A great museum to visit if you love Hamburg and want to know more about its history from the Middle Ages to the present days. Theatre and art, fashion, home life and design are well represented and displayed here as is Jewish life in Hamburg.

Chocoversum
You can find out all about the phenomena of chocolate in the CHOCOVERSUM. Following the motto “discover – experience – participate” our experts take you on a gourmet trip. You will discover what impact crushers and broker have on chocolate, you will see live how chocolate is made on historical machines, and we will reveal the secret of 500 aromas. All your senses will be involved and you are more than welcome to try all production steps of the chocolate!

International Maritime Museum
Learn about the history and future of shipping, and Hamburg’s importance, at this tremendous museum. Artifacts include ship models, paintings, uniforms and nautical devices.

The Warehouse District
The 100-year-old Speicherstadt, the world's largest warehouse complex, is situated between the Deichtor Halls and Baumwall. It is a very pretty quarter – not at all the kind of place visitors expect to find in an international port – with its Wilhelminian brick Gothic buildings, unusual gables, little towers and winding lanes. Behind the thick walls, high-value goods such as coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, tobacco and now computers are stored in a temperature-controlled environment. This is also the location of the world's largest Oriental carpet store. The Speicherstadt is one of the main attractions on the great harbour tour.

St. Pauli's District
The Reeperbahn in the St. Pauli district, where the Beatles shot to fame in the 1960s, is Hamburg's top entertainment quarter. It has everything and anything you could wish for. The street on which the 100-metre ropes or reep were once braided is now home to any number of bars, pubs, discotheques, clubs, snack bars and, of course, red light establishments. There's also plenty of more wholesome entertainment on offer at venues ranging from the 'Operettenhaus', Schmidt Theatre and Schmidt's TIVOLI to Café Keese and the Quatsch Comedy Club.

Hamburg Port and Fishmarket
Gateway to the world, beautiful seafaring hub, maritime capital of the north – even the normally reserved locals find it hard to conceal their pride in their home city, its ambiance and its cosmopolitan charm.

St. Michael's Church
Hamburg's famous 'Michel' church is not only the most important baroque church in northern Germany; it could also be seen as one of the world's tallest lighthouses. For many years, it has served as an important landmark for boats travelling on the river Elbe. The 132 metre tower has almost 450 steps leading up to a viewing platform, which offers wonderful panoramic views of Hamburg and the harbour – especially at night. Other attractions include the 52 metre long nave with its impressive 20 metre high altar and Germany's biggest clock tower, whose hands alone weigh 130kg each.

There is so much more to see and do when visiting Hamburg, Germany. You are going to have to just see it for yourself. Travel to Germany with Celtic Tours World Vacations

Rhine Valley, Germany

Where the Rhine carves its way through the slate mountains between Bingen and Koblenz, you're also in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley UNESCO World Heritage site, an area full of castles that embody the German Romantic tradition. The settings featured in the Rhine's myths, tales and legends are perfect for discovering on foot or by bike – you're sure to be impressed! Visit our website for Germany Vacation Packages

Germany: Towns and cities – from big nights out to romantic old quarters

 There is something for everyone in Germany's towns and cities – whether it's the big city buzz or the famous architecture, the historic sights or the packed shopping streets, the enchanting medieval houses or the scintillating nightlife.

Incredibly, there are more than 10,000 towns and cities in Germany between the North Sea and the Alps. And each one has a charm all of its own. In these vibrant destinations, you can look forward to concerts, cultural events, and high-calibre museums. There is also plenty to discover in the way of monuments and historical buildings.

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The Oldest Monastery Brewery in the World!

Most people visit the Weltenburg Abbey for the beer, but the abbey church is not to be missed! The Weltenburg Abbey is the oldest monastery in Bavaria. And the oldest monastery brewery in the world.

Situated on a peninsula in the Danube, on the so-called “Weltenburg Narrows”, the Weltenburg Abbey is a perfect stop on your next Danube River Cruise. The Benedictine monastery was founded by Irish or Scottish monks in about 620. The monastery courtyard is surrounded by Baroque buildings, the highlight of which is the abbey church, dedicated to Saint George. The church was built in 1716 by the Asam Brothers. Its’ amazing Baroque Architecture is complimented by beautiful frescos and marble and gilded gold walls.

The Weltenburg Abbey brewery has been in operation since 1050, and is considered the oldest monastery brewery in the world. The Abbey brewery specializes in dunkels, a dark German beer that typical ranges in color from amber to dark reddish brown. Dunkels are characterized by their smooth malty flavor.

Why not stop into the Weltenburg Abbey in Bavaria on your next Danube River Cruise for a dunkel beer or two? Visit Celtic Tours website for a complete listing of all of our European River Cruises.