A complete list of all the places I consider worth visiting.

Destination | Type | Description | Score out of 5 |
---|---|---|---|
Büdingen | Town and Castle | One of the most best preserved towns in Germany with beautiful streets of half-timbered houses from the late Medieval period through to the present. The Castle is one of the best preserved in Europe, and includes interiors original to the time of construction. | 3 |
Gelnhausen | Town | The Free City of Gelnhausen has an old town that was nominated for UNESCO status and the best preserved church of the Staufen Romanesque in the Rhineland. | 3 |
Seligenstadt | Town and Monastery | A fantastically preserved old town with the best preserved early modern Monastery complex outside of Bavaria. | 3 |
Münzenberg Castle | Castle Ruin | The inspiring ruins of the Münzenberg castle rise from the landscape and are visible from great distances. One of the most dramatic castle ruins in Germany. | 2.5 |
Ronneburg Castle | Castle | One of the best preserved hill-castles in Germany, with intact Renaissance interiors and an almost completely preserved medieval complex. | 2.5 |
Höchst | Town and Castle | A completely preserved German village inluding a Carolingian Church, Renaissance Castle ruin, Half-timbered village and 19th century historicist avenues. | 2.5 |
Wiesbaden | City | One of the most fully preserved 19th century cities in Germany, full of historicist architecture. | 2.5 |
Frankfurt | City | Germany's financial capital and a major cultural center, little in the way of old town but lots of other things to do. | 2.5 |
Arnsburg Abbey | Monastery Ruin | A picturesque ruin from a unique moment in history, encapsulating the transition from the Romanesque to the Gothic. | 2 |
Philippsruhe Palace | Palace | A splendid 19th century palace and all that remains of Hanau's old town. | 2 |
Offenbach | City and Castle | Despite a reputation for urban decay, there is a nice 19th century old town and a castle with most important Renaissance façade on the Upper-Main. | 2 |
Biebrich Palace | Town and Palace | The summer residence and gardens of the Nassau family with preserved interiors and a charming 19th century town built around it. | 2 |
Königstein | Village and Castle | A massive imperial fortress expanded by the Falkenstein family in the Renaissance and later abandoned as a ruin. | 2 |
Kronberg | Village and Castle | Another Imperial castle, also ruled by the Falkenstein family and later abandoned, but largely restored in the 19th century, including the interior. | 2 |
Bad Homburg | Town and Palace | A major bath and gambling town frequented by famous Russians in the 19th century. Despite wartime losses retains a charming old-town and a large Baroque palace. | 2 |
Bad Nauheim | Town | A minor bath town notable only for its unique Art Nouveau bath complex and charming 19th century avenues. | 1.5 |
Friedberg | Town and Castle | An imperial city built around a castle, which itself is built on the remnants of a Roman border fort. The town is entirely preserved but not well maintained. | 1.5 |
Windecken | Village | A small but charming village in the central Wetterau | 1.5 |
Steinheim | Village and Castle | A small castle built by the Electors of Mainz as a stop on the road between Mainz and Aschaffenburg. | 1.5 |
Heusenstamm | Village | Heusenstamm is the original seat of the mighty Schönborn family, and has a small church designed by the legendary Balthazar Neumann himself. Also has a ridiculous triumphal arch and a small old-town. | 1.5 |
Rumpenheim | Palace | A small but charming village and a reconstructed palace on the Main. | 1.5 |
Neu Isenburg | Village | The remnants of a planned city for religious refugees after the Reformation. Despite catastrophic losses in WWII, retains something of its original charm. | 1.5 |
Oberursel | Village | A nice village that, for the most part, did not survive WWII, but was reconstructed nicely. | 1.5 |
Niddatal | Village | A nice remote village with a church. Though not especially interesting, is typical of what towns would have looked like in the Wetterau. | 1 |
Ilbenstadt Monastery | Monastery Church | The remnants of a Baroque Cistercian Monastery complex. The church has been largely preserved, but most of the monastery itself no longer exists. | 1 |
Birstein | Village and Palace | The Isenburg family continues to reside in their Baroque palace here, and the town itself was once the capital of the Isenburg lands. | 1 |
Bad Soden-Salmünster | Village and Monastery Church | The monastery constructed here was once the most important in the Wetterau. Of this institution nothing survives other than a small baroque church a charming village around it. | 1 |
Wächtersbach | Village and Palace | Another residence of the Isenburg family, has a small village and fortified church tower. | 1 |
Bad Orb | Village | An outpost of Mainz in the Wetterau, it has a small old-town. | 1 |
Dreieichenhain | Village and Castle | A southern stronghold of the Isenburg family, the castle itself is a ruin, but has a charming village around it. | 1 |
Rüsselsheim Fortress | Fortress Ruin | The only Renaissance fortress on the Main, other than the old fortifications of Frankfurt itself. It was partially blown up by the French in 1697. Rüsselsheim itself is not particularly interesting. | 1 |
Schierstein | Village | A small but remarkably well preserved town from the 19th century on the Rhine. | 1 |