Best Time to Visit Germany

The best time to visit Germany is during the spring and early fall, but only during certain months. May, September, and October are the best months to visit by far.
Every spring, festivals of all shapes and sizes take place around the country leading up to Oktoberfest in the fall, and during the month of May is when Germany begins to warm up. The fall is harvest season in Germany’s wine country when Indian Summer, or Altweibersommer, is a great time to get out and enjoy the colors, tour vineyards, or take a cruise on the Rhine River. 

May
May 1st in Germany is called May Day or Labor Day. Everyone is out and about and small towns hold festivals that include raising a May Pole that people climb in a race to the top. In bigger cities like Berlin, there are usually political gatherings with Social Democrats that organize rallies and protests.
A different celebration that takes place in May is the blooming of cherry blossom trees imported from Japan after the Berlin Wall fell. The trees line the areas where the wall used to stand. One of the best spots to see the short-blooming blossoms is near the Lichterfelde Süd Station in the borough of Steglitz-Zehlendorf in Berlin.
While the Munich Springfest brings fewer crowds to the city’s streets than Oktoberfest in the fall, the festival brings people out in droves to enjoy the spring weather and grab a beer at one of the four tents. An amusement park, firework displays, and live music are all part of the fun, as is an amazing assortment of German cuisine that you can enjoy between pints.

September
September sees the temperature drop slightly from the previous months but the rains are kept at bay for most of the month. Along the Rhine River is the “Rhine in Flames,” festival where hundreds of thousands of people gather at different spots in various towns between May and September for wine festivals and spectacular fireworks displays. 
During the last half of the month, Oktoberfest takes place in Munich and lasts until the first Sunday of October. Millions of people flock to the city annually for fun, traditional music, food, and beer during the three weeks that the century-old festival takes place.
For those that prefer wine, the Rheingau Wine Festival takes place every September in Frankfurt. The city sees winemakers from the Rheingau region when over 600 varieties of wine come to town so people can taste them along with a great selection of food stalls that complement the offerings.

October
October 3rd is German Unity Day, this holiday celebrates when East and West Germany became unified in 1990. This holiday offers live music and activities for adults and children alike.
Towards the middle of the month and lasting for a week in Berlin’s Festival of Lights that sees the capital come alive with the works of visual and multimedia arts many of which are projected on the facades of buildings around town.
Also in Berlin during October is Berlin Food Week. Restaurants, caterers, and the rising stars of the culinary world gather to present menus from fifty of the city’s top restaurants along with cooking demonstrations and workshops.
For more information about what you can see and do during a trip to Germany, contact one of our travel experts.

Germany (Berlin)