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Germany is remarkable for its attractive smaller towns and cities, scattered like gemstones around the country. In these historic hamlets, many of them located less than an hour's train ride from a major metropolis, you'll find a very different Germany. Brimming with the flavors of the past, you can easily savor them as daytrips.
- An easy daytrip from Hamburg, lovely Lübeck epitomizes the maritime culture and redbrick architecture of northern Germany. So many architectural gems are located here that the entire Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site — a place judged to be of exceptional cultural value, according to the United Nations agency that promotes education and the arts.
- Weimar, in eastern Germany, was a cradle of the German Enlightenment of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This small, unspoiled hamlet was home to Goethe and Schiller, among others, and provides a glimpse into 18th-century German life and culture.
- Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a major highlight along the Romantic Road, is a walled medieval city loaded with picturesque charm. You can walk along the old city walls of this perfectly preserved gem and stroll down streets that haven't changed much in hundreds of years.
- A stop on the Romantic Road or an easy daytrip from Munich, Augsburg is full of historic panache and architectural surprises, including Renaissance-era palaces and the oldest almshouse in Germany.
- Located in the Bavarian Alps near Neuschwanstein Castle, Füssen invites you to stroll along its cobblestone streets past stone houses and a rushing mountain river.
- Lindau, a marvelous little island-city in the Bodensee (Lake Constance), has a sunny, flower-filled charm that's perfect for lazing away a day or two. The garden-island of Mainau is a short ferry ride away.
- One of the most sophisticated spa towns in Europe, Baden-Baden offers an extraordinary range of spa treatments during the day and elegant gaming rooms at night.
- Heidelberg, an old university town on the Neckar River, enchants visitors with its romantic setting, historic streets, and enormous castle.
- Stuttgart is the arts and culture capital of southwestern Germany, with major art collections, intriguing architecture, and the second-largest beer festival after Munich.
- Nuremberg is an important center of the German Renaissance that later became an infamous locale for huge, Nazi-era rallies. Remnants and reminders from both eras are plentiful.
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