Barbara Geier: Germany’s hidden old-town stars

TEXT & PHOTO: BARBARA GEIER

Cobblestone streets, timber-framed houses, and market squares lined with historic town halls – when Germans plan a weekend city break or day trip, a nice Altstadt (old town) is high up on the list of favourite destinations. But which historic city centres attract the most interest, you might ask? Even if you don’t, I have an answer for you.

Holiday rental platform ferienwohnungen.de has analysed how often German old towns are searched for on Google, covering all of the country’s 2,052 cities with official city status and using the combination of each city’s name and the word Altstadt. The results are refreshing, as the top ten are – almost – free of the usual suspects and big-city favourites. Berlin and Munich are not even in the top 20. Instead, there’s a good mix of smaller and lesser-known destinations that are well worth discovering for UK travellers. And for me, too, because it turns out I have quite a few gaps when it comes to what my fellow Germans – based on online search behaviour – consider particularly interesting old towns.

Let’s take a closer look at the top ten, then. At number one, we have Heidelberg, with 44,117 monthly searches – almost twice as many as the runner-up. That one I know, and very well too, as it’s not far from my home town. No surprises here: the old town is indeed picturesque and ticks a lot of the romantic boxes for domestic and international travellers. The runner-up is Düsseldorf, which did surprise me a bit, I have to admit. I’ve been there, and yes it’s nice, but so are plenty of other cities. I suspect the fact that Düsseldorf’s old town is famously known as the longest bar in the world, with pubs, bars and traditional breweries packed into a compact area serving the city’s signature Altbier, might have something to do with the high search volume.

Next up is Lübeck’s UNESCO-listed old town at number three, which I’m particularly happy about. Once the most powerful in the Hanseatic League, this northern German city has one of the country’s best-preserved medieval old town ensembles, including the landmark 15^th century Holsten Gate. I’ve been twice and have the fondest memories of exploring cobbled alleyways lined with charming little cottages. Not to mention Café Niederegger, home of marzipan and other sweet delicacies, but that’s another story.

Now, ranks four to eight are where I have some catching up to do: Füssen, the gateway to the castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau; Osnabrück, one of the oldest cities in the northern German state of Lower Saxony; Rostock on the Baltic coast; Hanover (where, allegedly, the purest High German is spoken); and Bamberg in Franconia, which boasts another UNESCO-listed old town. Apart from a very brief stopover in Rostock without actually visiting the old town, I haven’t been to any of these places, and some (ok, Hanover) I hadn’t previously associated with a picturesque old town at all. But no offence, dear people of Hanover – happy to be proved wrong!

To wrap things up, the final two spots in the top ten of Germany’s most searched-for old towns go to Hamburg (always worth a visit, from my perspective) and Münster, where I once went on a very short work trip and was sorry not to have time to explore this very pleasant city beyond the meeting room. So, I hope you’re now sufficiently inspired for your German autumn or winter city break with a historic heart. After all, Christmas markets and old towns are a great combination…

Barbara Geier is a London-based freelance writer, translator and communications consultant. She is also the face behind www.germanyiswunderbar.com, a German travel and tourism guide and blog that was set up together with UK travel writer Andrew Eames in 2010.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Discover Germany, Switzerland & Austria.

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