The excitement is mounting: after a six-year break, the long-awaited Skyscraper Festival is back in Frankfurt on 25 and 26 May 2013. There will be a whole host of things to see and do up in the skyscrapers of 'Mainhattan' and on the streets below. The rare opportunity to climb to the top of the city's high-rise buildings attracted more than 1.2 million people to the last festival in 2007 – not only from Hessen and Germany but from all over the world. The skyline in Frankfurt, the highest in Europe, symbolises the financial strength and vitality of the city and is celebrated in spectacular style at the festival.

In addition to this infrequently held event, Frankfurt hosts many annual highlights such as the Museum Embankment Festival and Museums Night.

Experienced pairs of walkers in the 50+ age group have until 17 May 2013 to register for this year's 'Best of Wandern' tour, taking place from 26 to 30 June. The competition, which offers participants a varied programme, is organised by destinations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in collaboration with outdoor equipment manufacturers. As well as exploring scenic countryside and testing new walking equipment, the pairs of walkers evaluate recommended excursions and tours. The walking is made all the more enjoyable by accompanying events such as cooking a regional meal.

The MMK Museum of Modern Art in Frankfurt is showing an exhibition by Carsten Nicolai until 5 May 2013. The 'unidisplay' installation presents the findings of Nicolai's research on the psychology of perception and explores time, the language of signs and optical illusions. The second part of the exhibition is the 'uni(psycho)acoustic' sound chamber which Nicolai developed in collaboration with students from the Städel Art Academy and augments the 'unidisplay' installation on an auditory level.

Though still relatively young, the MMK Museum of Modern Art has established itself as one of the world's foremost museums for contemporary art. Its collection comprises more than 4,500 works of international art and it regularly presents works by young aspiring artists in the Zollamt, a satellite exhibition site.

The Association of German Nature Parks celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2013. Nature parks and nature reserves are among the most beautiful and precious landscapes in Germany. They promote sustainability, protect nature and teach us about the environment and are valuable recreational areas for locals and tourists alike, offering wonderful unspoilt scenery. Cycling and walking tours are the best ways to explore the nature parks.

The 104 nature parks in Germany account for around 25 per cent of the country's total land mass and consist primarily of conservation areas. Among the largest are the Eifel hills in North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate and the Bavarian Forest.

The 6th Bamberg World Heritage Run is being held on 5 May 2013. It is a sporting and cultural event rolled into one, taking runners past some of the most beautiful sights in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Bamberg. There is a particular challenge in store for participants of the half marathon as their route passes over Bamberg's seven hills. The Bambini Children's Run, meanwhile, enables younger runners to take an active part in the event.

Bamberg's old quarter has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1993. It is a prime example of a central European town that has retained much of its layout and architecture from the early Middle Ages. The townscape is dominated by the four towers of the imperial cathedral – only one of the many attractions to be found in Bamberg.

The 39th Germany Travel Mart™ in Stuttgart is being hosted from 5 to 7 May 2013 by the German National Tourist Board (GNTB) in collaboration with Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH. The GTM platform gives German tourism providers an opportunity to showcase their products and services to travel trade professionals from around the world. Industry experts from around 45 countries are expected to attend this year, giving tourism providers from Germany the chance to talk in person to representatives from their individual source markets. The GTM is hosted by a different German city every year and, along with the ITB in Berlin, is the leading event for the German travel trade.

Stuttgart Exhibition Centre, which reopened in 2007, is now the most modern and architecturally ambitious exhibition and conference centre in Europe.

Franz von Lenbach's villa in Munich houses one of the world's largest collections of works by the Blue Rider artists. Alongside these most notable paintings, the arthouse also features works by 19th century Munich painters and contemporary international artists.

Following a four-year rebuild, this museum of international standing is set to reopen its doors in May, giving visitors the chance to see the exhibition rooms in the villa and in the underground Kunstbau gallery in a new light – literally and figuratively. The museum's new lighting, which gives the exhibition a distinctive ambience, is the first of its kind in Germany.

Munich boasts a thriving museum scene, including many other reputed establishments such as the Pinakothek der Moderne.

50 years after President John F. Kennedy delivered his famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech to a crowd of hundreds of thousands on 26 June 1963, a wide range of events are being staged in Berlin between 30 April and 29 June 2013 to commemorate the impact of his immortal words on the city's history. The diverse programme includes exhibitions, bus tours and special guided tours, plus talks given by those who were there to hear JFK speak.

Lovers of art and culture will be pleased to see Berlin's popular Gallery Art Weekend is taking place between 26 and 28 April 2013. A selection of galleries will be opening their doors and inviting visitors to take part in this celebration of creativity and culture.

Europe's biggest oldtime jazz festival once again invites visitors to tap their feet to jazz beats in music venues across Dresden. From 12 to 19 May 2013 the International Dixieland Festival returns to Dresden for its 43rd year with a diverse programme of solo artists and jazz groups from all over the world. The festival showstopper has to be the Riverboat Shuffle, which sees the world's biggest fleet of paddle steamers take to the waters of the Elbe. Though with all those New Orleans boats, you'd be forgiven for thinking you were on the Mississippi. A fun day out for all the family – whether on board or on the riverbank.

In Dresden you can admire architecture from the Renaissance, baroque and classicist periods or escape to the surrounding countryside. The parkland at Pillnitz Palace is a particularly popular destination for a relaxing day out.

Visitors to Flensburg between 9 and 12 May 2013 have the chance to see a cross-border event of cultural and historical significance. The International Rum Regatta, held annually since 1981, is a celebration of the region's rum heritage and is attended by sailors aboard some 130 historical merchant vessels. In recent years the event has attracted up to 100,000 spectators. The north of Germany is known for its many sailing events – including such annual favourites as Kiel Week and Hanse Sail in Rostock.

Flensburg is also the perfect starting point for a sporting journey through Germany along the German Golf Route. Stretching all the way to Passau in the south, the route takes in a great range of golf courses where you can chip and putt to your heart's content.