Insight Guides Germany

Insight Guides

• Publisher: Insight
• eBook ISBN: 9781780055466
• Edition: 4
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Travel

Insight Guides: Inspiring your next adventure

Europe's economic powerhouse is home to stunning landscapes and exquisite castles and palaces. Be inspired by the new edition of Insight Guide Germany, a detailed full-colour guide to this dynamic country. Insight Guides' unrivalled coverage of history and culture provides an essential introduction to the German identity, including its people, its rustic cuisine and its contribution to cinema and art.

Inside Insight Guide Germany:

Consult the Best of Germany selection for an at-a-glance guide to the country's most evocative attractions, including the Berlin Wall and Munich's Oktoberfest.
Descriptive accounts of where to go in Germany, from the bustling capital Berlin and stunning countryside along the Rhine River to the scenic Black Forest, romantic Heidelberg and glamorous Bavaria, are enhanced by beautiful photographs, while all major sights are cross-referenced with full-colour maps.
The travel tips section provides a wealth of information on how to plan your trip, plus our selection of the best restaurants.

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides has over 40 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce around 400 full-color print guide books and maps as well as picture-packed eBooks to meet different travelers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture together create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure. 'Insight Guides has spawned many imitators but is still the best of its type.' - Wanderlust Magazine

Eating Out

Price Categories

Restaurant are categorised according to the following approximate prices per head:

€ = less than €10 for a simple one-course meal

€€ = €10-20 for a main course

€€€ = over €20 for a main course

Where to Eat

There’s no need to worry about going hungry in Germany. In every town you will find a wide range of eateries, ranging from open-air Imbiss food stalls to exclusive gourmet restaurants. Portions are generous. For a quick snack, cafés or bistros serve soup, sandwiches, salads and cakes. A Gasthaus or Gasthof usually offers the specialities of the region. Pubs are popular with those locals who want a snack or a home-made meal to accompany their beer or wine, but drinking is the main activity.

All regions have their own specialities and these can differ greatly. If you want to sample the local fare, then ask about the regionale Spezialitäten. The weekly markets are another great best place to buy local specialities, including a good selection of sausages and cheeses. Otherwise, international restaurants are plentiful in every city. Note, however, that Internationale Küche usually means popular dishes from all over the world, such as pasta and Wiener Schnitzel, and unimaginative menus. Vegetarians beware: the emphasis in most restaurants is most definitely on meat, although fish features on many menus. This trend, however, is slowly changing and in the big cities, restaurants are careful to always offer a vegetarian – or even vegan – option. In recent years, Germany has also developed a passion for organic food, with “bio” products sold at every supermarket and a general attention to local and healthy food.

Breakfast served in smaller hotels usually consists of bread rolls with jam, honey, cooked meat slices, cheese and a boiled egg. Larger hotels generally offer a sumptuous breakfast buffet including muesli and fruits. It is quite common for breakfast to be included in the room rate.

Cakes and pastries are normally reserved for the afternoon. Going out for Kaffee und Kuchen (coffee and cakes) is very popular on a Sunday. Cafés serving Kaffee und Kuchen and ice-cream are to be found in all the main tourist spots.

Traditions and Etiquette

Traditionally, the main meal of the day in Germany is lunch. It normally consists of a plate of meat and potatoes or some kind of dumpling with vegetables or a salad as a side dish, possibly with a soup starter. Many restaurants have special lunch offers that are better value than dinner.

Families who have eaten their main meal at lunchtime will probably tuck into bread and butter with Wurst in the evening. But patt...

Table of contents

• How To Use This E-Book
• Germany’s Top 10 Attractions
• Editor’s Choice
• Introduction: The Changing Face of Germany
• Green Germany
• Decisive Dates
• Church, Emperors and Kings
• Insight: Renaissance Faces: Windows on the Soul
• A Golden Age
• Restoration
• Empire to Dictatorship
• Division and Reunification
• Germany Today
• Food and Drink
• The Performing Arts
• Contemporary Art
• German Cinema
• Insight: Festivals
• Introduction: Places
• Introduction: Berlin and the Eastern States
• Berlin
• Potsdam
• Brandenburg and the Mecklenburg Lakes
• Through the Harz to Leipzig
• Berlin to Dresden
• Dresden to Jena
• Weimar and the Thuringian Forest
• Introduction: Munich and the Deep South
• Munich
• Along the Alps
• Insight: Mountains, Lakes and Big Skies
• Eastern Bavaria
• The Romantic Road
• Franconia
• Lake Constance
• The Black Forest
• Introduction: Frankfurt and the Seven States
• Frankfurt
• The Rhine and Moselle
• The Route to Cologne
• The Ruhr
• Heidelberg and the Bergstrasse
• The Fairytale Road
• Introduction: Hamburg and the Coast
• Hamburg
• The North Sea Coast
• Insight: The North Sea: Friend and Foe
• Via Lübeck to Flensburg
• Along the Baltic Coast
• Transport
• Eating Out
• Activities
• A-Z: A Handy Summary of Practical Information
• Understanding the Language
• Further Reading