Germany’s Infinite Winter Wonderland

Germany is brimming with Wunderlands. For gearheads, there is Auto-Wunderland. For train enthusiasts, we have Miniaturzug-Wunderland. And of course, for cuckoo clock collectors, there’s Kuckucksuhr-Wunderland. 

However, our favorite kind of Wunderland is a Winterwunderland. And lucky for us—and you—we happen to know just the place (or 21 places) to find that unique spirit of enchantment that only winter in Germany can bring.

Each year, Germany welcomes the cold season with culinary specialities. In Dresden, 63 bakeries collaborate to make a four-ton mega-stollen, complete with a costumed parade. To fully enjoy the cake, pair it with a goblet of flaming punch, or Feuerzangenbowle, topped with a blazing hunk of sugar.

And that’s just the tip of the eisberg. There’s so much more Deutschland Winterwunderland to explore. If channeling your inner ice queen, you might escape to this medieval 12th-century hunting lodge, gazing imperiously from atop a towering boulder. Should you prefer more solid ground, take yourself on a date to Linderhof Palace, blanketed in quiet after a fresh winter’s snow.

From there, catapult yourself into a utopian future with a trip to Grüne Zitadelle, a mixed-use city complex that’s part Candyland, part Salvador Dali. And if that has you feeling a bit off kilter, then stumble over to Jahrtausendturm, a leaning tower filled with interactive experiments.

Not into castles and palaces? We got you. This list also includes a glockenspiel, floating train, and sunken gondola. Wherever the snow leads you, we promise there’ll be wunder along the way.