Top Hiking Trails in Germany

Germany is a huge country with vast swathes of countryside and around 200,000 kilometers of hiking trails to explore.

One of the most impressive trails is the Painter’s Way, which takes in the strange rock formations found south of Dresden. The scenery is incredible, and the formations completely unexpected.

Mountain lovers should head to the Allgau Alps in the south of the country, long a favorite with hikers. Trails wind around snow-topped peaks, and the area is easily accessible from Munich.

Another top trail follows the Rhine Valley between the cities of Bonn and Wiesbaden. The Rheinsteig trail is 320 kilometers long, and takes in castles, forests, vineyards and palaces. Some sections are challenging, with via ferrata helping hikers over the most difficult sections.

If forests are more your thing, take a trip down the Rennsteig, a historical ridge walk through the Thurningian Forest. It runs for 170 kilometers from Eisenach to Blackenstein, and the first mention of the route came in the 13^th century.

Visiting Germany today, it can be hard to imagine the Iron Curtain only came down 27 years ago. Before that the country was divided by a string of watchtowers and fortifications separating East from West. You can now hike the old 1,393-kilometer border on a trail known as the Green Belt.