Summertime is Festival Time in Germany

Highlights

The Ruhr region as European Capital of Culture offers alone 23 music festivals in July and August.

Highlights are the Love Parade in Duisburg, formerly held in Berlin, with 1.5 million visitors (July 24) and the ‘Bochum Total’ city festival with several German and international stars on different stages throughout the city (July 15 -18).

In Xanten, near Cologne, the annual summer festival in the ancient Roman amphitheater is a highlight for friends of opera, musical and theater performances. International artists provide spectacular, high-quality entertainment and the outstanding acoustics in the 2000 year old open-air theater (August 13 - 29).

The museum embankment festival in Frankfurt is a cultural highlight in Germany’s annual festival calendar. Spread along the River Main, the festival features a non-stop program of cultural events and also takes in numerous major museums, theaters and concert halls across the city (August 27 - 29).

Cologne hosts this year the VIII Gay Games and the world-wide gay-community will celebrate with sport and cultural events throughout the city. More than 10.000 participants from 70 countries will participate (July 31 - August 7).

Hamburg

Hamburg, on the River Elbe not far from the North Sea, boasts urban lifestyle, great museums and shopping arcades. In the summer there is a great Mediterranean vibe right in the middle of the city; the days are long and warm and the people stay out until late at night enjoying the green parks, urban beaches and summer festivals.

From June to September, Hamburg hosts a wide range of events featuring music and art, film and literature. The summer's biggest cultural event is the International Summer Festival at the Kampnagel crane factory. Creativity knows no bounds in these converted industrial halls, where an exciting mix of international dance and theater, concerts and thought-provoking debates will be setting the tone over the three weeks (August 12 - 29).

The Dockville Festival in the Wilhelmsburg district, Europe's largest river island, explores new avenues with its eclectic program, being a gigantic playground devoted solely to music and the arts (August 13 - 15).

Hamburg's summer festival season culminates in the Reeperbahn Festival, which features 150 bands on 20 or so stages around Spielbudenplatz square in the heart of famous St. Pauli. The program, which demonstrates a strong commitment to up-and-coming international music, excludes mainstream headline acts in favour of promising newcomers representing a multitude of genres (September 23-25, 2010).

People getting around by bike, bus or on foot in Hamburg is a perfect way to visit the city’s many idyllic parks and beautifully laid out gardens in a variety of sizes. Known as the 'green city by the water', there are so many ways to appreciate its natural beauty, whether relaxing in the shade of gnarled oak trees overlooking the Alster Lake or Elbe River. The municipal park has sweeping lawns and an array of leisure activities, the popular Planten un Blomen Park boasts a tropical house and Europe's largest Japanese garden, and the Alsterpark offers picturesque green spaces and panoramic views by the shores of the lake.

Bremerhaven

Situated on the River Weser close to the North Sea coast, the harbor city of Bremerhaven is a starting point for fabulous, well sign-posted cycling routes and summer festivals.

Every five years Bremerhaven celebrates with the "Sail Bremerhaven" one of the largest maritime festivals in Germany. Windjammers and special ships of all sizes, classes and types will meet on the quays, led by the famous"Gorch Fock" of the German Marine fleet. The world’s most beautiful Tall Ships invite to come on board and a diverse family program on land, at sea and in the air promises a great maritime experience (August 25 -29, 2010).

Annual highlights are the various annual maritime events in the seaside city. For more than 20 years the opening of the Bremerhaven summer is celebrated with the "FishParty", here guests can enjoy the culinary variety of the sea in many variations. The "Weekend on the Geeste" is three days full of activities to participate and celebrate among stands with old handicrafts, sail ships and live music.

The wide open meadows of the green plains along the river are great for biking and many interesting bicycle paths and packages are geared especially to cyclists. The Weser Cycle Route is one of the most attractive cycling routes in Germany. Mainly off-road routes, the biking tourist will find a diverse landscape with castles and fairy tale figures. The experiences range from the romantic of the Weser renaissance to the big ocean liners in Bremerhaven. The Cycle Route Unterweser connects Bremerhaven to the Hanseatic city of Bremen. The sign-posted route takes cyclists along both sides of the Weser River, offering a majestic panorama and is easily doable within a day trip.

Another fascinating adventure with a length of almost 4000 miles awaits the cycling tourist along the North Sea Cycle Route leading through eight countries around the North Sea and through the Seaside City of Bremerhaven. It is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s longest posted cycle route.

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