Couples - Germany is Wunderbar

Germany’s oldest and smartest seaside hotel

The Grand Hotel Heiligendamm, first built in 1793, quickly became a spa retreat for the aristocracy of central Europe. But it has been a struggle to keep in going in modern times.

Chemnitz comes in from the cold

In the early 20th century it was the wealthiest city in all Germany, and during the Communist period it was one of the four big hitters of the GDR (German Democratic Republic). Today, the other three – Berlin, Dresden and Leipzig – have all moved on, but Chemnitz has lagged behind.

Germany Holidays: Prora, a giant resort with a dark past

Built by the Nazis as a giant holiday resort for the masses, Prora on Germany’s Baltic coast has recently been reborn as a complex of upmarket apartments and hotels

Germany Holidays: Checkpoint Alpha

Everyone knows Checkpoint Charlie, in Berlin, but Checkpoint Alpha in Helmstedt was far more active – and a lot of it is still there, as a memorial to the internal border between West and East.

Germany Holidays: Schwerin, a gem in the east

Left alone by the industrial development of the former East, Schwerin and its castle have recaptured their ducal majesty since Reunification

Germany Holidays: Wismar, Germany’s little Sweden

A big chunk of Germany’s Baltic coast around Wismar was once Swedish, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Germany Holidays: Magdeburg’s zany Zitadelle

Magdeburg’s bleak recent history is readily overlooked when you clap eyes on its zany Grüne Zitadelle, a multi-use building by Austrian genius Hundertwasser.

Germany Holidays: The real Santa’s workshop

Seiffen, a former mining village in the Ore Mountains south of Dresden, has around 130 workshops making traditional wooden figures and decorations for Christmas shops and markets

Germany Holidays: Meissen and porcelain

The story of how a small town on the Elbe became the centre of European porcelain production and remains so right up to the present day.

Germany Holidays: Weimar, classic with a twist

Weimar has a unique classical heritage and an air of elegance. Moreover this vibrant Thuringian town also knows its onions – and celebrates them with a big onion bash every October!