Designed by the architect Balthasar Neumann, the palace has the world's largest continuous ceiling fresco, a work of the baroque painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. UNESCO declared the Würzburg Residential Palace a World Heritage site. And when Mozart's music sounds out in the palace's Emperor Hall at the annual Mozart Festival, the effect is of a total work of art.

The five museums on the River Spree (shown here is the Bode Museum) are another UNESCO World Heritage site. It takes a good day to see it all, from prehistoric exhibits to 19th-century art. The real crowd-puller is the monumental ancient Pergamon Altar - but until restoration work is completed in 2019, it's temporarily off limits.

All he said he wanted was a provisional wooden structure to be burned down after the premiere of his "Ring" tetralogy. It didn't turn out that way: The Bayreuth Festival has taken place in the theater Richard Wagner designed for the purpose since 1876. It is currently undergoing restoration work, and the initial cost estimate of 30 millionen euros (31.6 million) probably won't suffice.

Prince Bismarck, Emperor Elizabeth of Austria: They all came to Bad Kissingen for the waters. The Regent Hall was designed for spiritual renewal, but by the time it was finished in 1913, the era of princely rulers in Europe was nearly over. The entire interior is wood-paneled in neo-baroque style - just like the Festspielhaus in Bayreuth, resulting in a particularly warm, resonant acoustic.

From 1851 until 1986 it was an anthracite mine, now it's a monument to industrial architecture. The "world's loveliest coal mine" is the site of fine dining, exhibitions, concerts, events and performances of every kind. Its website lists 97 attractions from January 10 until February 10, 2017 alone.

Churches, architectural monuments, market squares: Regensburg has plenty of eye candy, and its old city center - along with those of Lübeck and Bamberg - was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city in eastern Bavaria is full of performance venues that are exploited every summer during the Early Music Days in Regensburg. One of them is the Old Town Hall, pictured here.

He spent 27 very productive years here, and Johann Sebastian Bach's earthly remains lie in the altar space of St. Thomas' Church. Just steps away are the Bach Archive and Museum, attracting scholars and music lovers from around the world. Tens of thousands come for the Bachfest in June, during which they can take in outdoor performances at the nearby market square.

One of Germany's oldest free-standing opera houses was built from 1741 until 1743, but the ongoing restoration work has taken much longer - seven years and counting. In the autumn of 2017, the chandeliers, ornamental plaster and velvet curtains will all shine in fresh splendor. The house is just opposite the Humboldt University and adjacent to the newly founded Barenboim-Said Academy.

Even before opening, it counted as one of the most impressive temples of culture. The base is an old harbor storage facility, the wave-shaped glass ceiling graceful and unique. With its two concert halls, luxury hotel and contominiums, the upper structure rests on gigantic steel springs. From the audacious vision to its final completion, the Elbphilharmonie cost the better part of a billion euros.

Germany's most famous opera house is in Dresden's historic city center and is a faithful reconstruction of the structure that architect Gottfried Semper had built in Italian Renaissance style between 1871 and 1878. After nearly complete destruction during World War II, the Semper Opera ceremoniously reopened in 1985 in what was then communist East Germany.

Of the many theaters in Germany rich in tradition, we picked this one. Located in Weimar's city center, the house is the scene of music and dramatic theater and the home base of the Staatskapelle Weimar orchestra. Actually, performances are given on six stages throughout the city - but the statues of Goethe and Schiller only stand in front of this one.

With 2,500 seats, it's one of Europe's largest performance sites for classical music. Incorporated into the structure completed in 1998 is a 19th-century train station in neo-classical style. The Festspielhaus has no orchestra or opera company of its own - just the world's most prominent stars, performing here in concerts and operas and during festivals.

Germany has more than 80 permanent operatic ensembles, and the country's largest opera company is housed in the classicistic national theater on Max Joseph Square in Munich. The Bayerische Staatsoper - or Bavarian State Opera - is also the central performance venue for the Munich Opera Festival, often called the world's most renowned.