Forward!

If you enjoy cheering on your favourite team(s) in a welcoming atmosphere with other football-mad people, then a trip to the home country of the world champions from 10 June onwards is just the ticket. During the European Football Championship, the games of the German national team, the Nationalelf, as well as those of other countries are shown live. Countless venues ranging in size from bars and beer gardens to stadiums and festival grounds create a fantastic atmosphere for watching a game.

Fanmeile Berlin – public screenings at Germany's biggest fan park

One of the most spectacular places to watch a match is the Fanmeile in Berlin that stretches for more than two kilometres from the Victory Column to Brandenburg Gate. All games of the Nationalelf are shown live, and food stalls and giant screens make for an unforgettable footballing experience that will have you cheering and partying.

Cheering on your team and chilling out

Away from the hustle and bustle of the Fanmeile, Germany's capital offers many other opportunities to watch the football in public. You could visit Haubentaucher, a new party and events venue by the river Spree, or chill out on Captains Beach, to the east of Berlin's city centre, where you can enjoy a barbecue, a pool, palm trees and the sand between your toes.

Further highlights for football fanatics

If you still haven't had your fill of the beautiful game after Euro 2016, then a trip along the German Football Route will be right up your street. The 800km scenic route from Aachen to Bielefeld takes you to locations in North Rhine-Westphalia where national and international footballing history was made. One of the stages on the route takes you to the German Football Museum. Open throughout the year, its innovative and interactive exhibitions bring footballing history to life in a fun and stimulating way. Here the Germans' favourite sport provides cultural entertainment for all the family.

Come and join us for a festival of football! Further information on fan parks and public screenings in Berlin is available here.

A regular room can be found anywhere, but have you ever spent the night in a giant wine barrel? We have sought out the most unusual places to spend the night in Germany and featured them for you below.

Branch out in a tree house

If you love nature, then a night in a tree house will be just the thing for you. One of Germany's first tree house hotels is located at the Kulturinsel Einsiedel family fun park. And the tree house hotel Seemühle in the Spessart Hills Nature Park has opened its doors just in time for spring. Here you can enjoy a stay in charmingly furnished houses high up in the forest canopy. Spectacular views and seclusion come as standard, naturally.

Romance on tap

Germany is dotted with winegrowing regions. But the real adventure in the vineyards begins with the accommodation. Many German winegrowing regions offer overnight stays in a wine barrel with views directly over the vineyards. A 'must' for wine aficionados and romantics alike.

A night behind bars

Spend a night behind bars – voluntarily, of course – at the Alcatraz Hotel in Kaiserslautern, situated between Saarbrücken and Mainz. Your food will be served through a hatch in the cell door and you'll be sleeping in a prisoner's uniform. You're sure to enjoy 'doing time' at this hotel.

The suitcase hotel

Your luggage has been safely stowed away, but where will you be staying? In a suitcase, of course! In Lunzenau near Chemnitz you can sleep in an oversized suitcase. And one thing's for sure: you won't be paying for excess baggage here.

There's a world of unusual hotels to discover in Germany. Start the search now for your very own perfect night's sleep.

Who doesn't know the famous fairytales by the Brothers Grimm? Didn't we all listen to stories of Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty or Hansel and Gretel when we were young? Besides the fairytales, the brothers also collated nearly 600 legends and published them in two volumes.

Legendary

This is the motto of the anniversary that will be celebrated all along the German Fairytale Route. From June 2016 to the middle of 2018 the Brothers Grimm will be honoured with a number of events and activities.

The opening of the anniversary celebrations will take place on 25 and 26 June 2016 in Hamelin. The town is also the setting for one of the brothers' most famous tales, the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

The German Fairytale Route

This route is part of a large network of scenic routes throughout Germany. As the name suggests, it was established in honour of the Brothers Grimm and stretches from their birthplace of Hanau to the Bremen Town Musicians in northern Germany. Follow the trail of the literary brothers and their tales and legends along 600 kilometres of pure imagination.

The Legendary Rhine-Romantic Route

German legends come to life along the Legendary Rhine-Romantic Route. The route runs for 500 kilometres through the amazing Rhine Valley with its romantic castles. It links over a hundred places of interest between the shopping city of Düsseldorf and the city of Mainz, famous for its university and Roman history and for the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg.

Further information on the anniversary can be found here.

In 2016 the famous pyrotechnics along the banks of the river Rhine will be celebrating their 30th year in Bonn. To mark this occasion there will be an anniversary display on 7 May 2016 at the city's Rheinaue Park. Fifty festively decorated riverboats, six fireworks displays and around 1,000 Bengal lights will make this an unforgettable event.

Sensational views from the river

Traditionally, the night sky above several stretches of the Rhine is bathed in a magical red glow between May and September. The best views of the Rhine in Flames can be enjoyed from one of the many riverboats that depart in time for the fireworks. You can also enjoy great views and a wonderful atmosphere at any of the numerous festivals along the banks of the Rhine, for example in Bonn, Linz or Bad Honnef.

So why not visit the Rhine in Flames and enjoy fabulous views on – or from – one of the most picturesque rivers in Germany.

Further highlights of the Rhine in Flames in 2016

• Rüdesheim and Bingen: 2 July 2016
• Koblenz: 13 August 2016
• Oberwesel: 10 September 2016
• St. Goarshausen: 17 September 2016

UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley

No trip to visit the Rhine in Flames is complete without visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley. The region between Bingen and Koblenz offers sun-kissed vineyards and breathtaking panoramas. A trip through the Rhine Valley with its many castles and palaces and the famous Loreley is a memorable experience, not just for romantics.

Check out our events database for more dates of festivals and events across Germany.

Click here for tickets and further information on the Rhine in Flames.

On 3 and 4 June 2016 you can visit the leading trade fair of the German aerospace industry at Berlin's ExpoCenter Airport. The ILA Berlin Air Show has been held in Berlin every two years since 1992 and is organised by the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) and Messe Berlin GmbH.

See aircraft from around the world

The ILA Berlin Air Show features segments devoted to civil aviation, space technology, defence and security, equipment and general aviation. More than 1,200 exhibitors from almost 40 countries will present their products, systems and processes from all sectors of the aerospace industry.

Flight through the centuries

Aircraft of all sizes and categories and from every era will be on show on the ground and in the air. There will be several premieres this year, while the highlight of the show will be the various flying displays that feature a range of aircraft large and small spanning all periods of aviation history.

Exhilarating flying displays

The first two days of the ILA Airshow (1 and 2 June 2016) will only be open to trade visitors, but on the last two days (3 and 4 June) it will be open to the general public. The ILA will be open daily from 10am to 6pm, except for the Long Friday on 3 June when the spectacular flying displays and a varied programme of activities go on until 8pm.

The fascination of flight in Germany

Are you a keen pilot or an aviation enthusiast?

If so, you can find out more about man's first attempts at flight and the great aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal at the Otto Lilienthal Museum in Anklam, in north-east Germany. Lilienthal was the first person to make successful gliding flights in an aircraft and made mankind's dream of flight a reality.

You can also explore the story of flying at the Dornier Museum in Friedrichshafen near Lake Constance where you will find a wealth of information on aerospace history.

If we have sparked your curiosity, you can find further information on the ILA Berlin Air Show here.