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villages. Follow the river south, perhaps stopping in postcard-pretty St Goar and Bacharach. Next, follow in the footsteps of Mark Twain in bewitching Heidelberg, Germany’s oldest university town. Take a break from culture in the celebrity haven of Baden-Baden, the legendary spa resort where you can soothe sore muscles in luxurious bathing temples. The town is also the northern gateway to the Black Forest, where you should stop in almost ridiculously picturesque Gengenbach and Triberg on your way to vibrant Freiburg, with its imposing minster and fabulous alfresco life in cobbled streets as tangled as computer cables. From here cut east to the vast Lake Constance and follow its scenic northern shore to lovely Lindau, a teensy island laced with a maze of cobbled alleys jutting into the water. You’re now in Bavaria, en route to the fairy-tale castle of Füssen’s Neuschwanstein and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where a train-and-cable-car combo delivers you to the top of the Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain. Come back down to earth in a beer hall in Munich, before wrapping up your journey by oohing and ahing your way up the Romantic Road. Essential stops include Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Würzburg, from where it’s a quick drive back to Frankfurt.

Germany’s southern half presents the mother lode of historic cities, soul-stirring scenery and spirit-lifting culture, as this grand, 1500km loop reveals. It can be ‘done’ in two weeks, but more time lets you connect more deeply with this land and its feast of treats, treasures and temptations.

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ROADS LESS TRAVELLED

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Mid-German Meanderings Two Weeks / Düsseldorf to Lutherstadt Wittenberg

Kick off your west–east passage in bustling Düsseldorf, a magnet for fans of art, shopping and a good time. Those with a penchant for the offbeat will hit the mother lode on the Industrial Heritage Trail through the nearby Ruhrgebiet. Quirky delights include former gas tanks filled with art in Oberhausen, blast furnaces turned into free-climbing zones in Duisburg and a colliery turned museum and adventure playground in Essen. East along the A44, stop in Soest and Paderborn, both famous for their churches. Plunge into the world of fairy tales in Hamelin, the Renaissance town of The Pied Piper of Hamelin fame. Close by is restored Hildesheim, celebrated for the huge bronze door gracing its cathedral. Continue on to charming Goslar, with a 1000-year-old mine and an 11th-century palace. 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, famous for its colourfully painted medieval houses and as the terminus of the narrow-gauge Harzquerbahn railway to Nordhausen in Thuringia. Continue on to charming Quedlinburg, a well-preserved ensemble of half-timbered houses. Then make a beeline straight for Dessau-Rosslau, a city that’s synonymous with the Bauhaus school of architecture. Ramble around the lush gardens of Gartenreich Dessau-Wörlitz before finishing up in the birthplace of the Reformation, 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.

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BEST OF THE BALTIC Two Weeks / Flensburg to Greifswald

Though no stranger to domestic tourism, Germany’s towns and resorts fringing the Baltic Sea rarely make it onto international travellers’ itineraries – undeservedly so. The first stop, Flensburg, easily reached by train or autobahn from Hamburg, is Germany’s northernmost town and beckons with a handsome Altstadt. Schleswig, a quick hop south, cradles a huge fjord and boasts the intriguing Viking Museum and art-filled Schloss Gottorf. Next up is Lübeck, a highlight on this route, with a fairy-tale skyline, enchanting old town and delicious marzipan. East of here, Swedish-flavoured Wismar woos you with a postcard-pretty setting and a lovely