Germany - Tourism, travel, and recreation

Germany is famous for its beautiful scenery, particularly the Alps in the south and the river valleys of the Rhine, Main, and Danube; the landscape is dotted with castles and medieval villages. Theater, opera, and orchestral music abound in the major cities. The area that was formerly the GDR offers a number of Baltic beach resorts and scenic Rügen Island. Residents of the US, Canada, the UK, Mexico, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries need only a valid passport to enter Germany for a period of under three months. All border formalities for residents of other EC countries were abandoned with the lifting of trade barriers in 1993.

Facilities for camping, cycling, skiing, and mountaineering are abundant. Football (soccer) is the favorite sport; Germany hosted and won the World Cup competition in 1974. Tennis has become more popular since Boris Becker won the Wimbledon Championship in 1985. The Olympic Games were held in Berlin in 1936, during the Hitler years, and at Munich in 1972.

In 2000, about 18,983,000 foreign visitors arrived in Germany and receipts from tourism totaled $17.8 billion. As of that year, there were over 1.6 million hotel beds with a 35% occupancy rate.

In 2002 the US Department of State estimated the daily cost of staying in Frankfurt at $255. Daily expenses were an estimated $243 in Hamburg, $268 in Berlin, and $215 in Bonn.