Things to See in Germany

The one-time headquarters of East Germany's notorious secret police now houses the so-called Stasi Museum. Here you can marvel at cunning surveillance devices, snicker at kitschy communist trinkets and see the austere office of longtime Stasi chief Erich Mielke, once the most feared man in the GDR.

Appearing through the mountain-top mist like a surreal fantasy is the world's best-known castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein. Ludwig II planned this castle himself with the help of a stage designer rather than an architect. It was conceived as a giant stage to recreate the world of Germanic mythology immortalised in the operatic works of Richard Wagner.

Anyone with an interest in German literature should visit Goethe Haus, the birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe in 1749. Goethe lived here until moving to Weimar in 1775, an act that many Frankfurters find hard to forgive. It was also here that Goethe penned his ode to suicide, The Sorrows of Young Werther, and began work on Faust.

A trove of weird treasures, Schloss Linderhof was Ludwig II's smallest but most sumptuous palace. Finished in 1878, the palace hugs a hillside in a landscape of French gardens, fountains and follies. The reclusive king rarely received visitors here. Like Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof was inspired by Versailles and dedicated to Louis XIV, the French 'sun king'.

Two million people ply the Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road) every year, making it by far the most popular of Germany's holiday routes. That means lots of signs in English and Japanese, tourist coaches and kitsch galore. Running north-south through western Bavaria, the Romantic Road covers 420km (261mi) between Würzburg and Füssen near the Austrian border.

One of the last stops on the Romantic Road, Füssen is a small town nestled between towering Alpine peaks and Schwangau. Together these towns form the Royal Corner, home to King Ludwig Wilhelm II's fantasy castles. Ludwig II didn't get along with his ministers and relatives who had him diagnosed as unfit to rule; soon after, he was found mysteriously drowned.

The oldest and most precious section of Aachen Dom is Charlemagne's Pfalzkapelle (palace chapel), an exquisite example of Carolingian architecture. Completed in 800, the year of the emperor's coronation, it's an octagonal dome encircled by a 16-sided, two-story ambulatory supported by antique pillars from Italy.

Ludwig II spent his childhood at the sun-yellow Schloss Hohenschwangau. Originally built by Schwangau knights during the 12th century, the palace's current form dates from the 1830s after Ludwig's father, Maximilian II, had the ruin reconstructed in neo-Gothic fashion. It's less ostentatious than the fairy-tale Neuschwanstein and has a lived-in feeling.

One of Berlin's most photographed locations, Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) once marked the impenetrable boundary between East and West Berlin. Built in 1791, Brandenburger Tor has often been a centre stage for Berlin's militant political rallies, including the memorable celebrations in November 1989, when the Berlin Wall was torn down.

Home of the cuckoo clock, the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) gets its name from its dark, slightly sinister canopy of evergreens: this is where Hansel and Gretel encountered the wicked witch. The vast expanse of hills, valleys, rivers and forests stretch from the swish spa town of Baden-Baden to the Swiss border, and from the Rhine almost to Lake Constance.

Deutsche Skiverband (German Skiing Federation) is a good central resource for skiiers wanting information about locations, conditions and prices.

The Deutscher Alpenverein is a good resource for information on walking and mountaineering, and has over 350 local chapters throughout Germany. It also maintains numerous Alpine mountain huts, many of them open to the public, where you can spend the night and get a meal. Their website is in German only.

Home Company is a nationwide network of flat-sharing agencies that can arrange long-term rentals; its website has all the details, also in English.

A useful resource for tourists; it also has an entire section dedicated to information about vacationing in Germany with a disability with helpful links.

The National Tourism Coordination Agency for All People is a central clearing house for inquiries about travelling in Germany as a person with a disability. Has lots of links to local agencies.

Lesben- und Schwulenverband Deutschland fights for gay and lesbian rights, and legal and social equality.