Many people think a good holiday should lead as far into the distance as possible. But that is not strictly necessary. In recent years their own country has emerged for many Germans as one of the most popular holiday destinations.
Alongside fascinating cities such as Berlin and Hamburg, it is above all Bavarian Munich that has managed to inspire tourists at home.
Hotels in Munich
Munich is visited ever more heavily by tourists before and after the Oktoberfest too; indeed the history-steeped Hofbräuhaus at Platzl 9 in the middle of Munich counts as one of the most popular tourist magnets in the whole city. Many an enthusiastic visitor would happily spend the night there. Since that is not possible, the city has seen to it with a tourist-friendly infrastructure that several hotels around the Hofbräuhaus are comfortably reachable within a five-minute walk. Like much in Munich's city centre, these hotels too are traditional houses and mostly rank at four stars.
Munich may be expensive ground in general, but given their outstanding location and excellent service these hotels are downright bargains. For a long recreational holiday, though, they are unsuitable — unless, of course, money is no object. Prices from € 250 per night are no rarity here. Particular care is called for if you plan your exploration of Munich for the time of the Oktoberfest; if that is the case you should see to the planning as early as possible. A piece of economic wisdom runs: “demand determines the price” — and never is demand for hotel rooms in Munich higher than at Oktoberfest time.
The rush of visitors to Munich seems not to end at all: year after year the hotels and guesthouses of Munich count millions of overnight stays. And this trend looks set to continue. Naturally the more rural areas of Bavaria are among the popular travel destinations too, but hardly any other place beats the capital of Germany's largest federal state by area.
Other cities are worth a visit too
Besides Munich as the state capital with its almost 900-year history, other cities are of course a rewarding destination for a short visit as well. Berlin, for example, is the undisputed front-runner when it comes to tourism. According to the count by the Berlin-Brandenburg Statistical Office there were almost 25 million overnight stays in the capital's hotels and guesthouses in 2012. It is precisely Berlin's multicultural diversity and its high density of sights that attract ever more visitors.
German cities in general are recording a genuine tourism boom. Since the early 2000s the statistical figures for guests and overnight stays have outdone themselves ever more. In 2012 they reached a new record: the Federal Statistical Office counted 407.2 million overnight stays for that year — an increase of 3.6 % on the previous year. One may assume, then, that the tourism magnet Germany will keep taking effect in the coming years too and will delight domestic and foreign visitors alike.
Image: Public Domain via Wikipedia