54 Best Sights in The Fairy-Tale Road, Germany

Located directly on the seafront, this unique interactive museum takes visitors through nine stations covering the various climatic regions of the Earth. The history of the climate—ranging from the origins of the Earth 3.9 billion years ago and looking forward to the year 2050—is on display in this museum dedicated to helping visitors understand what factors determine the weather and the climate. There are special exhibitions, which change about every six months, that  focus on specific climate themes. 

The priceless art collection of this regional museum includes works by Tilman Riemenschneider, Veit Stoss, Hans Holbein the Younger, Claude Monet, and Lucas Cranach. There are also historical and natural history sections.

The former royal palace of the Hanovers—whose members sat on the British throne from 1714 to 1837 as Kings George I–IV—stands grandly beside the River Leine, and is now home to the Lower Saxony State Parliament. Although the interior of the palace is largely closed to the public, its imposing Corinthian columns and river setting provide some excellent photo ops.

Amid the thick trees of the Wilhelmshöher Park, it comes as something of a surprise to see the turrets of a medieval castle breaking the harmony. There are more surprises at the Löwenburg, for this is not a true medieval castle but a fanciful, stylized copy of a Scottish castle, built in 1793 (70 years after the Hercules statue that towers above it). The Löwenburg contains a collection of medieval armor and weapons, tapestries, and furniture. Tickets must be reserved in advance online.

Bremen's impressive market square sits in the charming Altstadt. It's bordered by the St. Petri Dom, an imposing 900-year-old Gothic cathedral; an ancient Rathaus; a 16th-century guildhall; and a modern glass-and-steel state parliament building, with gabled town houses finishing the panorama. Alongside the northwest corner of the Rathaus is the famous bronze statue of the four Bremen Town Musicians, one atop the other in a sort of pyramid. Their feats are reenacted in a free, open-air play at the Neptune Fountain near the cathedral, at noon each Sunday, from May to September. Another well-known figure on the square is the stone statue of Roland, a knight in service to Charlemagne, erected in 1404. Three times larger than life, the statue serves as Bremen's good-luck piece and a symbol of freedom and independence. It is said that as long as Roland stands, Bremen will remain a free and independent state.

Don't leave Bremen's Altstadt without strolling down this street that was once lined by coopers (barrel makers). Between 1924 and 1931 the houses were torn down and reconstructed in a style at once historically sensitive and modern by the Bremen coffee millionaire Ludwig Roselius. (He was the inventor of decaffeinated coffee and held the patent for decades.) Many of the restored houses are used as galleries for local artists. At one end are two separate museums housed in the 17th-century Ludwig Roselius-Haus, one which showcases late-medieval art and a silver treasury, and a unique collection of German and Dutch art; these pieces contrast with the paintings of Paula Modersohn-Becker, a noted early expressionist of the Worpswede art colony whose work is housed in the same building. Notice also the arch of Meissen porcelain bells at the rooftop. Except when freezing weather makes them dangerously brittle, the bells chime daily on the hour from noon to 6 from May to December (only at noon, 3, and 6 from January to April).

The former 16th-century "Wedding House" stands just steps away from the market square, housing the regional history museum. Its collection recounts 1300 years of the city's history with displays and multimedia stations. The ground floor is dedicated to the period from pre-history to the Reformation, while the first floor illustrates the city's history to the present day. 

This collection contains over 10,000 works of art, ranging from 19th-century landscape paintings to 20th-century abstracts, as well as more contemporary art, including sculptures, installations, and multimedia pieces. There is also a permanent exhibition called \"about: documenta,\" which looks at the history of the contemporary art exhibition that happens in Kassel every five years and shows original works from past documenta exhibitions.

The massive New Town Hall was built at the start of the 20th century in Wilhelmine style (named for Kaiser Wilhelm). The pomp and circumstance were important ingredients of the German bureaucracy of the time. Four scale models on the ground floor depict Hannover in various stages of development and destruction: as a medieval walled city, in the years before World War II, immediately following World War II, and in its present-day form. An elevator rises diagonally to the dome for a splendid view. Public tours are conducted twice-monthly from March to October (book online at  www.visit-hannover.com) but don't include the ascent to the dome (those tickets are purchased separately).

The solid bulk of Hanau's 18th-century Rathaus stands behind the Grimm brothers statue. Every day at noon its bells play tribute to another of the city's famous sons, the composer Paul Hindemith (1895–1963), by chiming out one of his canons. Every Wednesday and Saturday, a farmer's market fills the square in front of the baroque building.

Hannover's neoclassical opera house, completed in 1852, has two large wings and a covered, colonnaded portico adorned with statues of great composers and poets. The building originally served as the court theater, but now is used almost exclusively for opera. It was gutted by fire in a 1943 air raid and restored in 1948. Unless you have tickets to a performance, the only part of the interior you can visit is the foyer (official tours are held on a near-monthly basis; reservations are required).

A 15th-century statue of Charlemagne, together with seven princes, adorns the Gothic town hall, the only European town hall built in the late Middle Ages that has not been destroyed or altered, managing to survive in its original form over the centuries. It was Charlemagne who established a diocese here in the 9th century. The Rathaus acquired a Weser Renaissance facade during the early 17th century. Tours, given when no official functions are taking place, are in German and English and take you into the upper hall as well as the Golden Chamber, a magnificent plenary hall. Inside, the model ships that hang from the ceiling bear witness to the importance of commerce and maritime trade for the city. Their miniature cannons can even be fired if the occasion demands.

Bad Karlshafen's baroque beauty, the town's best example of the stunning architectural style, stands in surprising contrast to the abundance of half-timber houses found along the rest of the Weser. Inside, the building is still used for administrative purposes, so it is not accessible to the public.

Schloss Steinau is straight out of a Grimm fairy tale. It stands at the top of the town, with a \"Fairy-tale Fountain\" in front of it. Originally an early-medieval fortress, it was rebuilt in Renaissance style between 1525 and 1558 and first used by the counts of Hanau as their summer residence. Later it was used to guard the increasingly important trade route between Frankfurt and Leipzig. It's not difficult to imagine the young Grimm boys playing in the shadow of its great gray walls or venturing into the encircling dry moat.

The castle houses a Grimm exhibition, which displays the family's personal effects, including portraits of the Grimm relatives, the family Bible, an original copy of the Grimms' dictionary (the German equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary), and all sorts of mundane things such as spoons and drinking glasses. Climb the tower for a breathtaking view of Steinau and the countryside.

An important museum of modern art, the Sprengel holds major works by Max Beckmann, Max Ernst, Paul Klee, Emil Nolde, Oscar Schlemmer, Hans Arp, and Pablo Picasso. A recent addition to the museum added space to feature contemporary artists reflecting on space, light, and perception. The street where it's located is named after Kurt Schwitters, a native son and prominent Dadaist, whose works are also exhibited.

This Romanesque-Gothic Roman Catholic church near the old town hall (Rathaus) was elevated to basilica-minor (small cathedral) status by the Vatican in 2004. It stands on the site of a chapel built by Boniface around 723. Built originally in the 12th century, the current church has been altered and renovated over the centuries. The basilica's library displays manuscripts from the 8th to the 17th century, as well as important church documents and incunabula (early printed books). The cathedral museum contains sacred relics (Eucharistic vestments, statues, and reliquaries). The highlight is the 11th- to 12th-century Emperor Henry Cross, adorned with gems and pearls. During the 90-minute guided tour, you'll discover the crypt with St. Wigbert's tomb, the cathedral library, the cloister, and the museum.

Construction of the cathedral began in the mid-11th century. Its two prominent towers, one of which can be climbed, are Gothic, but in the late 1800s the cathedral was restored in the Romanesque style. It served as the seat of an archbishop until the Reformation turned the cathedral Protestant. It has a small museum and five functioning organs. On Saturdays at 12:30 there are guided tours of the cathedral.

The Tierpark Sababurg is one of Europe's oldest wildlife refuges. Bison, red deer, wild horses, and all sorts of waterfowl populate the park. 

The Vonderau Museum is housed in a former Jesuit seminary. Its exhibits chart the cultural and natural history of Fulda and eastern Hesse. A popular section of the museum is its planetarium, which has a variety of shows, including one for children. Since it has only 35 seats, an early reservation via email or telephone is advisable. 

Fascinating narrow lanes, crooked steps, superbly restored half-timber houses, and venerable old churches abound in the old town of Marburg; the narrow Wendelgasse takes you up 175 stairs through the city, surrounded by old timber-framed houses.

This huge spa facility sitting on the banks of the Weser River has whirlpools, sauna and steam baths, thermal saltwater pools, and an outdoor pool that is said to be as salty as the Dead Sea. The spa's waters are famed for their therapeutic benefits, and a couple of hours bathing in them often helps relieve aches and stress. Massages are available to further aid the relaxation process.

In case you don't get enough half-timber on the Fairy-Tale Road there is also the German Half-Timber Road (Deutsche Fachwerkstrasse), with lots more storybook architecture. A map and brochure can be obtained from the Deutsche Fachwerkstrasse.

Two separate museums are housed in this 17th-century building that stands at one end of Böttcherstrasse. Ludwig Roselius-Haus showcases late-medieval art and a silver treasury, and a unique collection of German and Dutch art. These pieces contrast with the paintings of Paula Modersohn-Becker, a noted early expressionist of the Worpswede art colony whose work is housed in the same building. Notice also the arch of Meissen bells at the rooftop. Except when freezing weather makes them dangerously brittle, the bells chime daily on the hour from noon to 6 from May to December (and only at noon, 3, and 6 January–April).