German cities to trial free public transport to cut pollution

Plan to be tested in five cities in effort to meet EU air pollution targets and avoid big fines

‘Blissfully unhurried’: hopping around Germany’s ‘forgotten’ islands

The Halligen Islands are so low-lying that high tides flood them each winter, but the laid-back inhabitants are more than equal to the challenge

History lesson: Nuremberg rebuilt – a summer tour of Germany, part two

Nuremburg – great art and cultural attractions in a city known for rallies and trials – and which has restored more than its medieval centre

Colourful characters beneath Berlin – in pictures

Berlin is known for its underground scene of artists, DJs and techno, but it was the actual underground that captured the attention of photographer Sebastian Spasic. In his project Berlin Lines,

10 of the best things to do in Hamburg

The recent opening of the stunning Elbphilharmonie concert hall put the port city in the spotlight, but there is a host of other attractions, plus great cocktails, design hotels and totally delicious fish sandwiches

East Germany’s old mines transformed into new lake district

Despite a €2.2bn regeneration programme, the Lusatian Lake District project, on land once occupied by the GDR’s industrial heartland, remains relatively unknown to non-east Germans. So we took a tour …