Top Germany Guidebooks

Lonely Planet Germany is loaded with essential information for your Germany trip. This guidebook, which is organized by Germany’s federal state, gives detailed information on German cities, their sights, hotels, and restaurants, as well as travel tidbits, anecdotes, and well-written chapters on Germany’s history and culture. Lonely Planet Germany includes maps of Germany's 16 states, 35 German cities, and a fold-out map of Berlin’s transportation system.

Completely updated every year, you can be sure that Frommer’s Germany 2010 offers accurate prices, directions, and opening hours for everything Germany. This very reliable guidebook covers all of Germany’s important attractions, hotels, restaurants and bars for a wide range of budgets.

For those who have to see it to believe it, DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Germany is the perfect guidebook. It is filled with beautiful photos, illustrations and 3-D maps of Berlin and Munich; the accompanying texts about sights, cities, and travel essentials are short and to-the-point. Eyewitness Travel Guide is organized by Germany’s states, and there are two detailed sections on Berlin and Munich.

Let's Go Germany is a great choice for students or travelers on a shoestring budget: This Germany guidebook covers mainly hostels, and low-budget hotels and restaurants. Organized by Germany’s regions, Let’s Go includes 3-D topographical maps and a chapter dedicated to studying, volunteering, and working in Germany. 

Written in a personal and entertaining tone, Rick Steves describes his favorite places in Germany. Rick covers hotels, restaurants, and nightlife for the independent traveler and also includes interesting events and destinations off-the-beaten track. Just make sure you check the table of contents before you opt for this guidebook - Rick Steves only writes about cities he visited himself, so some parts and cities of Germany are not covered extensively.

What The Rough Guide Germany is missing in glossy photos, it makes up with detailed, well-researched background information about German cities, attractions, itineraries, hotels, and restaurants. This guidebook also includes interesting essays on German history and art. Starting with Bavaria in the South and ending with the East of Germany, the Rough Guide takes you through Germany in a clockwise order.

The long-standing Michelin Green Guide Germany is a very reliable travel book; Germany's cities and regions are organized in an alphabetical order and by their German name (e.g. Köln instead of Cologne). You can quickly identify important landmarks and attractions on the “Principal Sight Map” and with the tried and true Michelin star-rating system.
For gourmets, there is also a Michelin Red Guide Germany 2010, which highlights the best restaurants and hotels in Germany.

Karen Brown's Germany 2009 focuses on accommodation and itineraries in Germany; the guidebook covers 7 scenic driving routes (including Bavaria, Black Forest, castles along the Rhine, and the Romantic Road, among others) and describes 140 charming hotels, inns, and bed-and breakfasts all over Germany.