Guidebook Updates for Germany

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• Following the success of Germany's post-pandemic experiment with a single monthly ticket for nationwide transportation, it now offers the Deutschland-Ticket, which covers regional trains, buses, and urban transit for one calendar month. (It doesn't cover the three fastest classes of trains — you still need a separate ticket to ride any ICE, IC, or EC train.) Tickets are available in stations and via the excellent DB Navigator app (worth downloading if you're doing any European train travel, as it has up-to-date, easily deciphered schedules for the vast majority of Europe's trains). If traveling with others — especially if they're kids under 15 — other offers may be a better deal than the Deutschland-Ticket. Check out your options on our Germany Rail Passes and Train Tips page.
• Per new requirements set by the UK government, all passengers on Eurostar trains to/from the UK must now enter their passport details online before boarding. Once you've bought a ticket, enter your ticket's reference number at Eurostar's Manage Your Booking page to reach the page for entering your passport info. If you don't have a reference number issued by Eurostar, head to the manual check-in desk at the Eurostar terminal. Given the UK's new procedures for border checks, it's especially important to allow plenty of time for check-in (Eurostar recommends that standard-class passengers at least an hour ahead of their departure time; gates close 30 minutes before departure).

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• At the "King's Castles" (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau), it's more important than ever to reserve your timed-entry tickets online in advance. In high season (June–Oct, and especially July–Aug), tickets to Neuschwanstein can sell out weeks in advance. Tickets to Hohenschwangau are easier to come by but can also sell out at peak times.
• Rockslides continue to close the trail at Pöllat Gorge. Visitors can check locally on its status, but closures have been intermittent over the last few years.
• The "Venus Grotto" at Linderhof Castle remains closed through summer 2025 while it undergoes restoration work.
• Hotel Fantasia in Füssen is now called Villa Fantasia.
• Alstadhotel zum Hechten's recommended restaurant in Füssen is now simply called "Zum Hechten."
• Mein Lieber Schwan apartments in Füssen has a new phone number: +49 176 5519 8627.
• Old Kings Design Hostel in Füssen has a new phone number: +49 8362 989 9365. Their correct email address is [email protected].
• The correct phone number for Füssen restaurant Madame Plüsch is +49 8362 930 0949.
• Füssen restaurant and bar Schiffwirtschaft has closed.
• Gästehaus Magold in Oberammergau has a new phone number: +49 151 7086 1830.
• Oberammergau's WellenBerg swimming pool has closed.
• The Sommerrodelbahn (summer luge) at Steckenberg has closed.

For books printed before June 2025, the following may apply:

• The Pergamon Museum is closed to accommodate a thorough renovation that's expected to last 14 years (!). Parts of the Pergamon Altar, however, should be back on display in 2027. During the closure, Pergamon Museum das Panorama, a five-minute walk from the Pergamon just off Museum Island, showcases sculptures and friezes related to the altar, along with other immersive experiences.
• The German History Museum's main building (Zeughaus) and all permanent exhibits are closed and under renovation until at least 2026. Temporary exhibits, however, are on view in the Pei annex building.
• Museum Pass Berlin has increased in price to €32, and the Museum Island Pass has increased to €24.
• A €20 combo-ticket covers all Kulturforum sights. Tickets can be bought online or at any included sight.
• The New National Gallery has reopened after an extensive renovation, displaying a rotating collection of 20th-century art.
• At Charlottenburg Palace, the New Pavilion is now accessible only by guided tours in German, never English.
• The Museum Berggruen is closed for renovation until 2026.
• The only way to see the inside of Potsdam's New Palace is to join a German-language guided tour (English audioguide available).
• Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) now uses only terminals 1 and 2. Terminal 5 has closed.
• The EurAide train information office at the Hauptbahnhof has closed.
• Private operator European Sleeper now runs overnight trains between Berlin and Brussels (3/week, 11 hours).
• The Berlin Wall Memorial has a new phone number: +49 30 213 085 123.
• The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe has a new phone number: +49 30 263 9430.
• Hard Wax music store has moved to Köpenicker Strasse 70.
• Galeries Lafayette department store has closed.
• Several recommended restaurants have closed: Deponie No. 3, Dom Curry, Factory Kitchen, Mogg Deli, Alay by Hasir, Lode & Stijn, and Ali Baba.
• The Ampelmann shop in City West (at Kurfürstendamm 20) has closed.
• In Prenzlauer Berg, the following Kastanienallee-area shops have closed: Heimat Berlin, Kleine Fabriek, and Grünbein. Also in Prenzlauer Berg, in the Kulturbrauerei, the Green Living store has closed.
• In the Hackesche Höfe, Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur and Home on Earth have closed.
• In Bikini Berlin, the Edeka supermarket has closed.
• Hotel Birgit has a new email address: [email protected].
• Amano Hotel has a new email address: [email protected].
• Hotel Zoe by Amano has a new email address: [email protected].
• Calma Berlin Mitte hotel has a new email address: [email protected].
• Hotel Albrechtshof has a new email address: [email protected].
• Hotel Oderberger has a new email address: [email protected].

This older updates pertains to our Berlin City Walk audio tour:

• The Humboldt Forum, in the rebuilt shell of the former royal palace on Museum Island, is now open for visits to its various museums and other cultural attractions.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• Hotel Deutscher Kaiser in Baden-Baden has closed.
• Edo's Hummus Köche restaurant in Freiburg has closed.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• The Kathe Köllwitz Museum is closed for renovation and is expected to reopen in fall 2025.
• The Roman-Germanic Museum remains closed for renovation until at least 2026. In the meantime, major exhibits are on view at the Belgian House (Cäcilienstrasse 46).
• High-speed Thalys trains — which connect Cologne and Dortmund with Brussels and points between (and beyond Brussels) — have been rebranded as, and are now operated by, Eurostar. (Prices have not changed significantly; see our advice for Belgian train travel.)

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• Recommended guide Liane Richter has passed away.

• Hotel Zumnorde is now called Hotel Alma am Anger.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• We no longer recommend taking the alternative route along our self-guided walk (to stops 3 and 4); the neighborhood has become too dangerous to be worth it.
• The tourist information office at the main train station is closed while the station is being renovated.
• Leib & Seele restaurant has moved out of the city center.
• Recommended restaurants Dean & David and Maxie Eisen have closed.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• The Hamburg History Museum is closed for renovation, likely until 2027.
• Bok restaurant in the Schulterblatt neighborhood has closed.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• Admission is now free to city-run museums, including the Old Town Hall and City History Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• The €9 ticket cited as covering the train-and-bus connection between Cochem and Burg Eltz no longer exists, but a day ticket does cover the whole day's travel on both the train and bus (as do other ticket deals; see Germany Rail Passes and Train Tips).
• Baggage storage (which had been helpful for those hiking to Burg Eltz from Moselkern) is no longer available in Moselkern. The nearest storage options for train travelers are in Cochem (at the café in the train station or the lockers by the TI) and at Koblenz Hauptbahnhof.

• Haxnbauer restaurant has reopened, as Haxnbäurin, in a new location at In Tal 38 (between Marienplatz and Isartor).

For books printed before July 2025, the following may also apply:

• The tourist information office outside the main train station (at Luisenstrasse 1) is now open Mon–Sat 9:00–17:00, Sun from 10:00.
• The Neue Pinakothek remains closed for major renovations, with plans to reopen in 2029. Until then, some of its key works of 19th century art are on display on the ground floor of the Alte Pinakothek and in the Schack Collection.
• The Munich City Museum has closed for a major renovation that's expected to last until mid-2031 (!). Its recommended Stadtcafé remains open (until summer 2027).
• Hotel St. Paul has closed.
• The EurAide train information office in the Munich train station has closed.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• The Nazi Documentation Center is now set to reopen in 2025, likely no earlier than fall.
• The English-language guided tours of the Old Town that leave from the tourism office are now only offered Fri–Mon, not daily.
• The chain bridge (Kettensteg) featured at the end of the book's Nürnberg Old Town Walk remains closed (possibly through summer 2025).
• The URL cited in our book for the Historic Art Bunker tours is for a different outfit; this page has info about the tours, which now run twice daily in English. Also, the books' Central Nürnberg Hotels map shows the wrong location for the tours — but the location shown on the books' main Nürnberg map (on page 577 of the 14th edition of Rick Steves Germany) is correct.
• Hotel Keiml has closed.
• Restaurant Sebald has closed.
• The Blaue Nacht culture festival is held only in odd years, and isn't always on the first Saturday in May (it's planned for May 16–17 in 2025).

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• Hotel Maximilian's restaurant is now open only to hotel guests.
• Gasthof-Pension Waldrast has two new phone numbers: +43 676 421 7403 or +43 676 922 6214. Their website and email address also now have hyphens in them: www.waldrast-tirol.com, [email protected].
• Moserhof restaurant has closed.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• The shuttle bus from St. Goar to Rheinfels Castle has been handed over to the local bus company. Visitors can now take bus #681 to the castle, and #682 back to town.
• In St. Goar, Landgasthof Biergarten Rebstock is now called Aries am Rhein.
• In St. Goar, Hotel an der Fähre no longer rents bikes.
• Sweet Frau Kurz, who long rented affordable rooms in St. Goar, has died.
• The Romanticum in Koblenz has closed.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• The Romantic Road bus route between Munich and Rothenburg is no longer running.

• Eagle's Nest Historical Tours is once again offering regularly scheduled three-hour tours, though just three days a week (Tue, Thu, and Sun at 13:15 from Berggasthof Obersalzberg restaurant, €75, includes bus ride up to Eagle's Nest chalet, no kids under 8). Their private tours for up to six people now cost €375 (€355 with cash) and do not include the bus ride up to the chalet.
• Gasthaus Wilder Mann restaurant in the Old Town has closed.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may also apply:

• The Salzburg Museum is closed until at least 2026 while the New Residenz, which houses it, undergoes renovation.
• The Panorama Museum is closed as the city relocates it to its new home in the southern wing of the Orangerie of Mirabell Palace, where it should reopen in 2026.
• The tourist information office on Mozartplatz is now open 9:00–18:00 year-round (i.e. no longer stays open late in summer), as is the office at the train station.
• St. Peter's Cemetery now closes at 19:00 in summer (not 20:00), and St. Peter's Church now closes at 20:00 year-round.
• Prices for bus tickets within Salzburg have gotten slightly more expensive: A one-hour ticket (Stundenkarte) is now €2.40, a 24-hour ticket (Tageskarte) €4.70, and a weekly pass (Wochenkarte) €21.
• A day pass (Tageskarte) that gets you to Berchtesgaden (on bus #840) and covers all buses in the Berchtesgaden region — except bus #849 to the Eagle's Nest — now costs €13.20 (not €11). The last bus #840 from Berchtesgaden to Salzburg now leaves at 19:15, not 18:15 (always confirm locally).
• The best website for checking the bus schedule to Berchtesgaden is now https://albus.at.
• Tickets for the Eagle's Nest shuttle bus #849 can now be booked in advance on the Eagle's Nest website.
• Before booking any tour in the Berchtesgaden region, be sure you're aware of what it does (and doesn't) include:
  • Discover Eagle's Nest three-hour tour (€60) includes the €32 bus ride up to the chalet from Obersalzberg (not all the way from Salzburg) — which means you're paying €28 for a historical talk about the Eagle's Nest chalet; this tour does not take you through the bunkers in Obersalzberg.
  • Eagle's Nest Historical Tours' three-hour tour (€75) includes the €32 bus ride to the chalet, plus a driving tour of Third Reich sites in Obersalzberg, including the ruins of Hitler's Berghof retreat.
  • Panorama Tours' Eagle's Nest tour (€90) leaves from Salzburg and also includes the €32 bus ride all the way to the chalet, but less substantial historical background than offered by either of the outfits listed above. Since a day pass that gets you from Salzburg to Obersalzberg and back is just €13.60, that means you'd be paying about €45 for a relatively short history talk. Panorama's Bavarian Mountains tour drives through the region, and stops in the town of Berchtesgaden, but does not visit the Eagle's Nest or Obersalzberg.
  • Bob's Special Tours' Bavarian Mountain Tour visits the Eagle's Nest and Obersalzberg on its whole day tour (€140), and includes these stops as an option on its half-day tour (€70), but these prices do not include the €32 bus ride up to the chalet.
  • Visiting on your own costs just €32 for the bus ride to the chalet (the Eagle's Nest chalet itself does not charge admission). A day pass that gets you from Salzburg to Obersalzberg and back is €13.60. Consider that visiting on your own gives you more flexibility with timing (buses to Obersalzberg from Berchtesgaden run about hourly, and buses between Obersalzberg and the Eagle's Nest run every 25 minutes).
• The Obersalzberg Documentation Center (above Berchtesgaden) has reopened.
• 2024 prices for Sound of Music tours: €65 with Bob's Special Tours provided you show a Rick Steves book (or a student ID or are under 22; otherwise €70 and €50 for kids under 7), €60 with Panorama Tours (but 10 percent discount for Rick Steves readers who book in person or over the phone and pay in cash), and €43 with Fräulein Maria's Bicycle Tours provided you show a Rick Steves book (otherwise €45; kids' prices remain €25/20 depending on age).
• Hotel pickup for morning Sound of Music tours with Bob's Special Tours begins at 8:30; for afternoon tours, arrive at their office at Rudolfskai 38 by 13:45.
• Hohensalzburg Fortress's museums now close at 19:00 in summer (not 20:00).
• The free concerts held in Mirabell Gardens on now begin at 20:00 on Wednesday evenings (not 20:30; Sunday morning performances still begin at 10:30).
• Mirabell Palace is now open on Saturdays (generally 8:00–18:00, same as weekdays), but closed on Sundays (except during concerts).
• All four of the private local guides recommended in our guidebooks now charge at least 10 percent more than the prices currently listed in our books (and several substantially more than that).
• Tours of the New Residenz's glockenspiel bell tower run Friday at 16:30 in English (otherwise Thu at 17:30 and Fri at 10:30 in German with an English handout). The correct phone number for registering is +43 662 620 808 722.
• Tours of the cathedral now cost €9.
• The Cathedral Excavations Museum is closed for renovations.
• The Norge Exquisit launderette in the New Town (at the corner of Paris-Londron-Strasse and Wolf-Dietrich-Strasse) is now closed on Saturdays as well as Sundays.
• We no longer recommend Hotel Jedermann.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• Nadabei guesthouse has closed.
• Hotel Pieper has closed.

For books printed before June 2025, the following may apply:

• The Town Church of St. Mary is now open daily.
• The Castle Church is no longer free; entry costs €3. In high season, it now closes at 17:00 rather than 18:00.
• The Luther House is closed for renovation, with plans to reopen sometime in 2026. In the meantime, the Augusteum next door displays the most important artifacts.
• The House of History is now closed Monday and Tuesday.

For books printed before July 2025, the following may apply:

• The Mainfränkisches Museum at Marienberg Fortress is now the Franconian Museum (Museum für Franken).
• Hotel zum Winzermännle has a new phone number: +49 931 322850.
• Cafe Michel has closed.