7 wonderfully beautiful travel destinations for the long weekend on October 3rd

• In the video above: Do you already know the most underrated city in the world? Tip: It is in Europe

Since the Corona pandemic at the latest, many people have discovered that their own country also has countless exciting places to offer. This applies to Germany not only in terms of landscape, but also in terms of historic cities. Like sparkling gemstones, they are spread across the entire republic and shine with history, architecture, sights, cultural life and attitude to life. Everyone knows the big cities like Berlin, Hamburg or Munich. But it is the smaller and lesser-known cities that surprise with their beauty. A journey from north to south – for romantics and the curious.

1. Lüneburg: Historic salt and Hanseatic town, Lower Saxony

Dreamy town on the Ilmenau, south of Hamburg: Lüneburg became rich around 1000 years ago by mining salt and shipping it all over the world. Many well-preserved patrician houses in the medieval city center still bear witness to this today, as does Am Sande Square, which is surrounded by Gothic brick gabled houses.

Due to centuries of salt mining, a number of buildings are crooked between the museum and the Lüneburg Kalkberg. There are many parks along the old city wall and the Ilmenau, which flows through the city, brings a piece of nature to the Hanseatic city. Another highlight: If you want to get out into the countryside after visiting the city, you will find great options in the directly adjacent Lüneburg Heath.

2. Soest: Green sandstone ensemble, Westphalia, unique in the world

What a building material: The local green sandstone is the typical building material in Soest’s old town. The limestone with its green tone gives the centuries-old buildings their special color – something that cannot be admired anywhere else in the world. In the early Middle Ages, Soest, which lies between Dortmund and Paderborn, was once the second largest city in Germany. 600 listed buildings remain from this period – including the city walls – which give the city its charm.

Half-timbered rows, romantic alleys and small gardens are part of it, as is the baroque town hall with its nine-arched hall, the “Tower of Westphalia” and the cathedral museum. Likewise the late Gothic meadow church, the Romanesque house, which is considered one of the oldest residential buildings between the Rhine and Weser, as well as the large pond and the listed watermill from the 13th century. Here you will also find the “seesaw”, a punishment instrument painted in the shameful color of yellow, from which sinners were “rocked” into the pond.

3. Quedlinburg: half-timbered town straight out of a picture book, Saxony-Anhalt

This is pure romance: half-timbered houses everywhere, unique in quantity and quality. With its 1,200 half-timbered houses from six centuries, medieval Quedlinburg is considered the picture-perfect town of half-timbered buildings. And as one of the largest area monuments in Germany. In the old town alone with its winding streets, around 800 half-timbered houses are designated as individual monuments. With a city wall, rustic restaurants and accommodation in historic houses, the town of 28,000 is one of the most romantic in Germany.

One of the most notable half-timbered houses is the “Alte Klopstock” from the late 16th century, which is named after the famous Quedlinburg ode poet Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock. In 1994, UNESCO declared the medieval city a world cultural heritage site – no wonder given the unique unity and density of the houses, which reflect all eras of half-timbered construction. If you still want more after city walls, cobblestone streets, winding alleys, romantic squares and half-timbered houses, get on the Harz narrow-gauge railway. Located just a stone’s throw from the Brocken on the eastern side of the Harz, Quedlinburg has been connected to the narrow-gauge railway network since 2006. From here you go directly to the highest mountain in the Harz, the Brocken.

4. Würzburg: Baroque residence, castle and wine, Franconia

What a drama: Shortly before the end of the Second World War, 90 percent of the former capital of the Grand Duchy of Würzburg was destroyed in just 17 minutes. It took until the 1970s to rebuild the Lower Franconian town, which is idyllically located in a valley on the Main, with its baroque churches and town houses. As if by a miracle, the residence built by Balthasar Neumann remained almost intact and is still considered the highlight of Baroque palace architecture today – also because it combines the most diverse varieties of European Baroque.

UNESCO also agreed with this opinion in 1981 when it declared the residence a world heritage site. The Marienberg Fortress surrounded by vines, the Marienkapelle, the Falkenhaus, the old Main bridge with its almost five meter high figures of saints and all the wine bars in the city center are among the highlights of the university town. Hikes and excursions to the directly adjacent vineyards and river cruises on the Main are also available here.

5. Heidelberg: university town with romantic ruins, Baden-Württemberg

Where is the most famous ruin in the world? In an exposed location in Heidelberg: above the valley floor on the northern slope of the Königstuhl, in the middle of green forests. The pink-red Neckar Valley sandstone still makes Heidelberg Castle, which was partially destroyed in the 17th century, shine in warm tones today. Tip for romantics: When you walk through the old town you can always see the castle.

The Old Bridge, picturesque alleys, dreamy squares and small cafés, where students from the city’s five universities also enjoy life, invite you to marvel and linger. The Church of the Holy Spirit rises directly on the market square, opposite the town hall. A steep staircase leads to the church tower of the late Gothic building – the highest point in the old town. The effort is worth it. You will be rewarded with a fantastic panoramic view over the roofs of the city, over the Neckar to the Rhine plain, to Mannheim and the Palatinate Mountains.

6. Eichstätt: magnificent baroque city, Bavaria

In the geographical center of Bavaria lies a baroque jewel: Eichstätt with its around 14,000 inhabitants. As the capital of the Altmühltal, the university town enjoys a good reputation among hikers, cyclists and paddlers as a destination for outdoor activities. But Eichstätt can boast much more, as it remained almost unscathed during the Second World War. The many historical buildings are so well preserved that they will delight every baroque fan.

The Swiss baroque architect with the appropriate name Jakob Engel turned Eichstätt into a magnificent baroque city with the prince-bishop’s residence, the cathedral courts and entire streets. Dozens of churches and monasteries, the Cobenzl Castle, the city wall with towers and museums such as the Diocesan Museum with cathedral treasures invite you to take romantic walks and sightseeing. If you want to travel even further into the past, you can see one of the most famous fossils in the world here: the so-called Berlin specimen of the ancient bird Archeopteryx was found on Blumenberg near Eichstätt.

7. Lindau: Mainland and island paradise on Lake Constance, Swabia

Lindau is located on the most beautiful side of the largest lake in Germany – with a view of the majestic Alps with their snow-covered peaks. The special thing about the city of 25,500 inhabitants is that only its old town is on an island. The old town island is connected to the new town by a bridge. At the harbor entrance, the landmark, a Bavarian lion, rises six meters high, and on the other side is the 33-meter-high New Lighthouse.

Anyone who climbs its 139 steps will be rewarded with a spectacular panoramic view of the island city, Lake Constance and the Austrian and Swiss Alps. And there are even more towers from the Middle Ages: the Mangturm and the Diebsturm with its colorful bricks and playful corner turrets. The baroque city palace “Haus zum Cavazzen” on the market square is also an eye-catcher. Thanks to its facade paintings and the mighty hipped roof, it is considered the most impressive house on Lake Constance.