Germany Information

Visiting Germany will surprise you with its size and range of cultural attractions as well as scenery. It has big, vibrant cities, stunning mountain scenery, the forests of fairy tales and even glorious beaches. As you’d expect of a country for whom efficiency is a byword, the country and its infrastructure are well organised.

You can fly into several main and regional airports; from the giants of Frankfurt and Munich to the tiny island airport of Norderney. Distances are big in Germany and driving from south to north can easily take ten or more hours, even on the fast autobahns. Because of this, internal flights are a good idea if you want to experience the alpine charms of Konstanz and the bleak windswept vistas of the Friesian Islands in the same holiday. Whilst still requiring a latest check in time of an hour before flights, rare delays on flights mean that you can easily make the south to north journey in around two hours. Seven airlines offer domestic flights and the competition means that prices are good value when comparing price and travel times with the cost of other modes of transport.

As you’d imagine, the road network in Germany is very efficient with well maintained, fast autobahns linking all the major cities. These are toll free, except for lorries, and the roads off the motorways are also well maintained with barriers where necessary. German drivers on the whole are careful and considerate and, despite the high speed limits on autobahns, Germany has a good record on road traffic accidents.

Trains are another option with several types available depending on the route, the price you want to pay or on the speed you want to travel. High speed trains which travel at up to 180mph operate on the route from Cologne to Paris on the western side of the country but even elsewhere many intercity trains are quick and the trains clean and comfortable.

Germany has plenty to attract tourists and before booking a holiday or city break you need to think carefully about what you want from your stay there. There are the cities which are visited frequently by the short break traveller, such as Berlin, Frankfurt and Cologne or the quieter, former East German cities of Leipzig, Dresden and Halle or you can be really different and visit the cities and islands of the north such as Kiel, Schwerin or Rostock.

To help you make up your mind, we’ve created links to Germany’s regional airports telling you what you can find within an hour of them. Take a look before booking and treat yourself to a new part of Germany.