According to the travel portal HolidayCheck, Rust has become the top tourist destination in Germany, beating out cities on the Baltic Sea, in the Lüneburg Heath, and in the Allgäu. The comparison was based on the number of official guest arrivals in small cities with at least 5,000 inhabitants, large cities with at least 100,000 inhabitants, and federal states.
Germany's most visited cities
Rust in Baden-Württemberg is the leader in the ranking, with 186.7 tourists per inhabitant. This is due to Europa Park, Germany's most visited amusement park. Binz and Heringsdorf, two Baltic Sea resorts, follow at a considerable distance, with 71.4 and 63.2 guests per inhabitant (GpE) per year, respectively. Willingen, a small town in the Rothaargebirge, takes fourth place with a rate of 52.7. The top five is dominated by the Baltic Sea, with Kühlungsborn, another city by the sea, coming in fifth with 47 GpE.
The Lüneburg Heath is landlocked, but it still attracts many nature enthusiasts. Bispingen, a town in the region, welcomes an average of 46.8 holidaymakers per inhabitant. If you're looking for a seaside vacation, the East Frisian islands in the North Sea are a great option. Norderney, in particular, is very popular, with a rate of 43 GpE. Although the far north is a popular destination, Oberstdorf is the most visited mountain town. The spa town in the Upper Allgäu ranks eighth with 42.4 GpE. The Harz Mountains, which are low mountain ranges, are also a popular destination. In Braunlage's climate health resort, there are 40.8 visitors per inhabitant. Oberding, located in Upper Bavaria, completes the top ten with 39.5 GpE.
This is what it looks like in the big German cities
Regarding major cities in Germany, Frankfurt am Main is the most popular destination, attracting the highest number of visitors in proportion to its population (6.1 GpE). The southern cities of Munich and Heidelberg also rank high, with 4.6 and 4.2 GpE, respectively. For those interested in culture, the Würzburg Residence and the Roman monuments in Trier are UNESCO World Heritage sites worth exploring. These two cities are also among the most visited, with 4.0 GpE each.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the most popular tourist region
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania leads the country comparison with a rate of 4.5 GpE, thanks to the Baltic Sea region. This means that the two city-states of Hamburg and Berlin, with rates of 3.6 and 2.8 GpE, respectively, are relegated further down the list. Bavaria is also popular with holidaymakers and comes in fourth with 2.6 GpE. Schleswig-Holstein is the second federal state on the Baltic Sea, with a rate of 2.5 GpE.
On the other hand, Saarland is not a popular tourist destination, with only 1 guest per inhabitant visiting the small state southwest of the Federal Republic every year. North Rhine-Westphalia is also not considered a tourist magnet, with a rate of 1.1 GpE. Only Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia are visited slightly more frequently, with rates of 1.4 and 1.5 GpE respectively. Lower Saxony and Saxony, with 1.7 GpE each, also cannot keep up with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and other popular states.
