Germany: Germany, from the cultural wealth of Berlin to the Black Forest of Bavaria

Culture, history, gastronomy, landscapes, city life... Germany has no shortage of attractions when it comes to tourism. No wonder it attracts so many visitors every year.

Why do they come? For many reasons, all of them good.

First and foremost, there are those who love architecture and architectural history. And with 2,000 years of history, Germany is full of human achievements capable of transporting visitors through time.

The Middle Ages can be seen in medieval towns such as Rüdesheim am Rhein, while German Romanticism is illustrated by the magnificent castles of Neuschwanstein and Heidelberg.

From a tourist point of view, however, the most popular monuments are Cologne Cathedral, followed by the Frauenkirche in Dresden and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.

As is often the case in Germany, urban tourism is the most important form of tourism.

Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Frankfurt and Cologne attract huge numbers of visitors every year, who come to discover these cities as much for their architecture as for their cultural life.

Indeed, there is rarely a dull moment in the German cities, with concerts, festivals and major sporting events (the Berlin marathon, to name but one).

There are also street festivals, Christmas markets (an institution) and major events such as the Munich Beer Festival, Christopher Street Day in Cologne, the Carnival of Cultures in Berlin and the carnivals in Mainz and Cologne.

When it comes to culture, German cities have no shortage of exhibition venues either. There are no fewer than 6,250 museums in the country, offering visitors the chance to discover fascinating worlds such as art, history, technology, architecture, literature and natural history. Among the institutions not to be missed are Berlin's Museum Island, Frankfurt's Städelsches Kunstinstitut, where works by old masters and modern artists are exhibited, and Munich's Deutsches Museum, regarded as one of the world's leading technical museums.

A sporting trip through forests and seaside resorts

Germany also stands out for the diversity of its landscapes and the importance attached to the development of nature tourism.

The country is criss-crossed by a network of hiking trails covering no fewer than 190,000 kilometres. Cyclists are also well catered for, with 70,000 kilometres of cycle paths.

Whether on foot, by bike or by car, Germany is a great place to discover the North Sea and Baltic coasts, with their many spas, the Black Forest, Lake Constance, the traditional seaside resorts of the north and the thermal springs of the south.

Lovers of wild nature will be delighted by the choice offered by the 16 national parks, 104 regional nature parks and 15 nature reserves spread throughout the country.

Needless to say, when it comes to the diversity and variety of plants and animals, observers are spoilt for choice. What we can say, however, is that the Allgäu region in southern Germany is one of the most popular for this kind of observation.

German wines are similar to those from Alsace. The most famous are those from the Rhine, as illustrated by the Wine Route. Wine lovers won't want to miss the world's biggest wine festival in Bad Dükheim in mid-September. Germany has thirteen wine-growing regions (around the Rhine, Moselle and Elbe rivers), nine in the south-west and two in the south-east, covering 100,000 hectares - the equivalent of the Bordeaux wine region.

According to the German Wine Institute, Germany produces 50 grape varieties through 20,000 winegrowers, and the good news is that they're getting younger all the time! Young Germans are also drinking less beer and more wine than their elders. Germany is the world's leading importer of wine and the world's leading producer of Riesling, and also produces sparkling wines called Sekt.

Germany is also famous for its beer. Throughout the country, over 1,200 breweries market 5,000 different brands of beer. To sample one of these many beers, visit Munich's Hofbrauhaus, the city's largest brewery (employing over 1,000 people).

Lovers of strong spirits will want to try schnapps, a generic term for any type of strong alcohol capable of warming and uplifting...